Power of Choice is the name given to set a regulations designed by the Australian Energy Market Commission to give you greater choice in the delivery of some electricity services.
For metering services that means increased competition in the metering market, from 1 December 2017.
Under these rules, energy retailers - the company you choose to send you your bills - will be responsible for installing any new and replacement meters. For residential and small business customers any new or replacement meter will be a smart meter (also known as digital or advanced meters).
| Essential Energy | Your retailer of choice | |
| Installation of new smart metering equipment | No | Yes |
| Meter reading of smart meters | No | Yes |
| Meter reading of historic "Essential Energy" meters* | Yes | No |
| Replacement of non-compliant meters | No | Yes |
| Notification to customer of power outage associated with meter replacement | No | Yes |
* We will continue to provide reading, testing and maintenance services for meters that have not been installed under the Power of Choice rule change. This includes all meters that were installed by Essential Energy or an agent of Essential Energy. Typically these meters would feature “Essential Energy” branding.
Some retailers are already changing customers over to smart meters, so they can provide a net metering solution for former solar bonus scheme customers.
More information
Australian Energy Regulator Smart Meters Frequently Asked Questions
Essential Energy’s standard terms and conditions for the provision of metering coordinator services for Type 5, 6 & 7 metering installations
