Call to halt smart-meter installations

Electricity smart meters should be shunned until they really are smart, the country's top environmental watchdog says.

Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Jan Wright, who called the meters "dumb meters" in a report in June, wants a moratorium on their installation.

In a submission to the Government's ministerial review of the electricity sector, she said the advanced meters being installed by power companies lacked the technology to truly make them "smart".

"I am concerned that unless action is taken, millions of dollars will be wasted and the public will reject any kind of electronic meter, smart or not."Making a meter truly smart before it was installed would cost just a few dollars. However, upgrading them later would cost householders about $150 because a technician would be needed.

Proper smart meters talked to smart appliances to allow consumers to save power and use cheaper electricity and would be needed to co-ordinate the recharging of electric cars.

"Electric vehicles are expected to be introduced into the New Zealand market over the next 10 years. New Zealand needs to prepare for this or risk overloading local networks," Wright said.

A spokesman for Energy and Resources Minister Gerry Brownlee said 116 submissions on the ministerial review had arrived by Friday, along with requests for six extensions.

There was a "broad range" of submitters, he said. The review's recommendations included scrapping the Electricity Commission, a $5 million annual fund to promote the benefits of customers switching suppliers, shortening the maximum time allowed for retailers to switch customers with smart meters from 23 days to three days, and swapping assets between state-owned power companies to reduce their dominance.

- © Fairfax NZ News