Whilst the issue of and justifications for Smart Meters and their roll out across Victoria (aiming to be complete by 2013) is not completely an environmental or tenants one, we have been asked enough questions about it over the past few months that we deemed there be enough reason to write a special post about it. I met with the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) for a special briefing on Smart Meters, what they are and how they will affect Victorian residents, so here’s a round up of salient points in (hopefully) easy to understand language…

First and foremost, your best points of information are the DPI’s Smart meters website and specifically their PDF information sheet, they also have an FAQ’s section that is slowly being added to.

I guess the department’s reasoning for rolling out the smart meters should be tackled first. As you may or may not know, your electricity meter is actually owned by your power supplier (not the same as your power company) and they are replaced periodically anyway, this round of replacements matches up with the near 30 year lifespan of some current meters. Smart Meters are nothing new or revolutionary and are popping up in several countries around the world and I have even experienced them in the past whilst living in the UK.

Initially they will enable electricity retailers to monitor usage on a half hourly basis instead of (as they currently do) sending out meter readers periodically to read meters (frequently they can’t reach meters and make estimates). As an offshoot they will result in consumers possessing an immediate ability to be able to monitor their consumption and hopefully make more informed decisions on their usage and the electricity plans they sign up to, fundamentally leading to more flexible plans to suit different lifestyles.

Many of us are opposed to change and view Smart Meters not only as un-necessary but another way to get more money out of consumers, especially when electricty costs are deemed to be rapdily escalating. As far as I could tell, this isn’t the case and they are generally a ‘good thing’, hopefully leading to more of the public analysing and maybe even lowering their electricty usage.

For all the ‘Green Renters’ out there, what are my points to be aware of?

• Current meters are owned by the electricity supplier and nothing to do with your Landlord, so they should have no objections to them being changed. In fact it states in the Tenancies Act, that they must allow free and un-hindered access to them.
• There is no immediate and on the spot cost associated with replacing meters, you have actually been paying for them slowly through supply fees on your electricity bill, so report anyone who asks for any whilst replacing yours.
• You will receive 3 letters within a 40 day period alerting you to when your meter will be replaced, these will give a ten day window as to when the meter will actually be replaced. When it is replaced, your power will be off for between 30 – 60 minutes.
• In the future there will be 3rd party hardware and software available to enable you to perform your own monitoring and analysis of your usage.