Households across Auckland are about to get smarter with the start of a meter installation programme that will see more than 300,000 Mercury Energy customers receive a high-tech smart meter, through metering services provider, Metrix.

Smart meters offer a number of immediate benefits to consumers and could pave the way for far reaching changes to New Zealand’s retail electricity sector.

The new meters record usage in 30 minute periods, meaning that information for bills will always be accurate and up to date. This information could also be used to help customers manage their power consumption.

The new technology allows the meters to be read remotely replacing physical visits by meter readers each month. The adaptive radio mesh technology used to conduct the remote readings was first developed for military applications to provide maximum reliability in difficult conditions.

Mercury Energy’s General Manager, John Foote says delivery of the smart meters is the first step in what should be a fundamental change to New Zealand’s electricity sector.

“The use of smart meters enables the development of more flexible electricity pricing plan options that can be tailored to customers’ needs – much like mobile phone plans today. We are only at the start of the journey but this could have the same impact on the retail electricity sector that electronic transaction technology did in the banking industry in the late 1980s and early 1990s,” he says.

To better understand potential changes in the New Zealand electricity sector, Mercury Energy has partnered with Otago University to conduct a study of ‘demand side response’. This study will examine how customers use better information on consumption and different pricing plans to change their energy usage behavior. This study will be the most comprehensive of its kind globally and is expected to take 12 months to complete.

Mr. Foote says smart metering delivers immediate benefits to consumers. “The new meters will provide detailed consumption information. With this increased knowledge we may be able to help our customers to better understand and control their usage, potentially saving themselves money and helping the environment at the same time. Also, remote meter reading offers greater convenience for customers who have inside meters, dogs, alarms and gates.”