On 11 December 2012, the National Measurement Institute; a division within the Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research and Tertiary Education, announced the removal of an exemption for a subset of electricity meters installed from 1 January 2013 onwards. Since 1995 electricity meters have been exempt from national requirements to be pattern approved and verified to allow time for the necessary standards and infrastructure to be established. Pattern approval is the process of testing and assessing a type of electricity meter to ensure that it is capable of maintaining accuracy when subjected to influences and disturbances such as temperature variations, electrical interferences, voltage variations and harmonics. Verification is the process of assessing whether an individual meter operates within specified limits of error. The main problem associated with the exemption was that there was little market incentive for sub-metering providers to choose more accurate meters. Inaccurate electricity meters were found to lead to over-charging and under-charging by up to 13-14 per cent. The decision means that any meters used for trade which measure less than 750 MWh per annum will need to be pattern approved and verified before they can be installed. These types of meters are commonly used by households and small businesses. There will be no impacts on meters installed prior to 1 January 2013. With improved technology in meters the option to lift the exemption was preferred to ensure that electricity meters are accurate and capable of maintaining accuracy in conditions of use. The compliance costs per meter are expected to be around 78 cents. A Regulation Impact Statement was prepared by the National Measurement Institute and has been assessed as adequate by the Office of Best Practice Regulation.
- Electricity Meters - RIS [
2.7 MB] - Electricity Meters - RIS [
2.2 MB]