Rule Change: Completed
Overview
We have made a final rule determination to accelerate the rollout of smart meters
On 28 November 2024, the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) published a final determination and final rules for the Accelerating smart meter deployment rule change project.
The final rules will deliver an efficient rollout of smart meters to all customers by 2030, under an improved metering framework in the National Electricity Rules (NER) and National Energy Retail Rules (NERR).
The final rules will benefit consumers. They will increase the amount of information available to consumers about their energy use, allow consumers to better understand and manage their bills, and open up access to new and better retail service options.
More broadly, the final rules will benefit all energy stakeholders by enabling a more efficient, lower-cost, and lower-emissions energy system.
The final rules deliver two core reforms plus a set of four supporting reforms, which together pave the way for universal uptake of smart meters by 2030.
Context and background
On 29 September 2023, the AEMC received a rule change request from SA PowerNetworks, Intellihub, and Alinta Energy to accelerate the deployment of smart meters. This rule change request mirrored recommendations made by the AEMC in the 2023 Review of regulatory framework for metering services (the Review).
The Commission decided to fast-track this rule change request, given:
- it is consistent with relevant recommendations made by the Commission in the Review
- we considered that there was adequate consultation with the public during that Review on the relevant recommendations.
We published a draft determination on 4 April 2024 to seek stakeholder feedback on the draft rules. We received significant interest from a broad range of stakeholders, including at our public forum and through submissions to the draft determination.
We also published a directions paper on 15 August 2024. This paper sought stakeholder feedback on proposed enhanced consumer safeguards for the accelerated smart meter rollout, in addition to those identified in the draft determination.
These additional safeguards were proposed in response to stakeholder concerns regarding the impact of retail tariff variations following a smart meter deployment, and feedback from some stakeholders that the consumer safeguards proposed in our draft determination should be enhanced. Stakeholders provided feedback on our directions paper through a public forum and submissions to the directions paper.
The feedback we received throughout this rule change process has been important in informing our position for the final rule determination. We thank stakeholders for their valuable contributions and engagement throughout both the Review and rule change processes.
For documents and more information on the retail rule change, please refer to page RRC0052.