Rollout of digital smart meters to be completed by 2030 in NT
The days of a meter-reader coming to check your electricity usage will soon be a thing of the past in the Northern Territory. The rollout of digital smart meters is expected to be completed by 2030 with almost 50 per cent of homes already converted, but the accuracy of the new technology is being questioned.
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00:00 Kerry Carpenter is a stickler for budgeting and keeping on top of her expenses.
00:07 So when her electricity bills started increasing sharply, she knew something wasn't right.
00:13 Same amount of electricity, no new installations, no new spas or different habits.
00:20 Kerry noticed the change after a new smart electricity meter was installed at her unit,
00:26 replacing an old mechanical meter, and she began to receive bills monthly instead of quarterly.
00:32 I have been invoiced two smart meter bills and collectively those two are nearly as high as my highest ever quarterly bill in the last three years.
00:44 She's not alone. The ABC has been contacted by numerous other Darwin residents who have seen their bills rise,
00:52 with some customers getting charged double what they were pre-installation of their smart meter.
00:58 The Northern Territory Ombudsman Peter Scheuer has confirmed he's aware of concerns, but wouldn't comment on individual smart meter complaints.
01:06 Certainly these meters are very accurate. They're the same meters that are used around the rest of the country.
01:12 It's taken 10 years, but the rollout is now halfway completed along the Darwin to Catherine energy grid.
01:18 The company which charges customers, Jucana, declined an interview,
01:22 instead saying in a statement that there are various reasons why customers may see a change in their bill,
01:29 noting it receives electricity usage data from fellow government-owned corporation Power & Water.
01:35 The price rises for some come as the NT government claims it's reducing cost of living pressures for households ahead of August's Territory election.
01:43 I talk to people all the time, they're really feeling that cost of living pressure through interest rate rise.
01:48 So of course as a government we want to make sure that we're not putting an extra impost on people.
01:52 But that's little consolation for those nervous about each monthly bill.
01:57 [BLANK_AUDIO]