Consultant reports: Smart meters & tariff structures

The Commissioner requested four reports from consultants to look at electricity meters and pricing plans. The reports consider the international experience of using meters and tariffs, and the ways in which they might be applied in New Zealand.

Power companies plan to install a new kind of electricity meter, called a smart meter, in most New Zealand homes over the next few years. So it is a good time to consider the options available. Smart meters could help households reduce their environmental impact through managing electricity use better.

The Commissioner is keen to ensure that the best advanced meters are chosen for New Zealand use. We are doing this by investigating the potential environmental benefits of different meters so any benefits can be recognised and understood.

Linked to this work on smart meters, is a review of the use of different pricing plans (or tariff structures) to reward households for managing their power use more efficiently.

Any recommendations in the reports are those of the authors and not necessarily endorsed by the Commissioner.

The Commissioner published her report and recommendations Smart electricity meters: How households and the environment can benefit in June 2009.