Mechanical meters
Traditional mechanical meters (including those with a dial display or an odometer-style display) only keep track of your total accumulated electricity usage. If you have one of these meters, you are charged the same amount for the electricity you use, regardless of when you use it.
Below are some examples of mechanical electricity meters.
Advanced (electronic) meters
The new, advanced meters record how much electricity you use in 30 minute intervals. This means that you can have different electricity rates for usage at different times of the day.
Some of the benefits of advanced meters include more detailed information on your energy use (in some cases, provided in real time) and the opportunity for new pricing plans that provide incentives to reduce your demand for electricity during peak times.
These meters are also known as interval meters, time of use meters and smart meters.
Advanced electricity meters are read by probes that automatically download the 30 minute interval data. Your metering information is sent directly to our metering and billing systems. There are up to 10 separate checks of your electricity use data before it reaches your final bill.
Below are some examples of advanced meters.
New generation smart meters are being installed in selected homes as part of the Smart Grid, Smart City project, Australia’s first commercial scale smart grid trial.