Estimated meter data - NSW vs VIC

“Estimated meter readings are a thing of the past. With a smart meter, you are charged for the exact amount you use.” ¹

NSW Climate and Energy Action

The rollout of smart meters aimed to eliminate estimated meter readings and ensure customers are billed on actual usage².  

In NSW, around 46% of households had received a smart meter by mid-2024.³ However, as the saturation of smart meters increased, so has the number of complaints to EWON about estimated bills. Complaints about estimated bills now make up around 13% of all electricity complaints to EWON, compared to 2017 when they accounted for just 8.7% of complaints.

Estimated bill complaints to EWON from customers with smart meters are about:

• communications failures at the meter, or between the meter and the MSP

• delays or failures in the transfer of meter data between the MSP and the customer’s energy retailer.

• electricity meter installations and replacements.

• communications black spots.

In comparison, the Victorian rollout of smart meters began in 2009, implemented by the State’s five electricity networks. A decade after the rollout of smart meters, complaints about estimated bills make up only 1-2% of all electricity complaints made to the Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria.⁴ Victoria retained distributors and NSW introduced MSPs to be responsible for metering. Our respective complaint data indicates different estimated bill outcomes in the two states.