What can your electricity meter do for you?
Have you ever...
Received an estimated electricity bill?
Doubted how much your electricity bill was?
Wondered how much electricity you use in a day?
These 3 steps will help you link your electricity bills and usage to the information from your electricity meter.
1 Find your meter
Your electricity meter is inside or near your electrical box.
We suggest taking a photo of the meters so that you don’t have to stand by the box too long.
There are 3 types of meters:
Smart meter
Digital (but not smart) meter
Clock or wheel meter
The photos below will help you identify which type of meter your home has.
This is a smart meter. The feature that distinguish it from all other meters is the antenna. It can be a black bar attached to the bottom of the meter, or it can be a cone sitting on top of your electrical box.
This is a digital meter.
Those are clock or wheel meters.
2 Learn how to read a meter
Smart meter
The good news is that smart meters don’t need to be read manually because they automatically send information to your retailer or to a display in your home. Your bills are always accurate.
To identify a smart meter, the main indicator is the antenna to communicate through 4G network.
On this image, the antenna is the black rectangle at the bottom of the meter. For other situations, it might be a cone sitting on top of your electric box.
Did you know…
In 2024, around 40% of Queensland homes have a smart meter.
By 2030, retailers are mandated to install a smart meter in all homes.
It is likely that by 2030, no one will need to read their meter at all!
Digital meter
Digital meters have a scroll button because they measure several things, for example, your home consumption and solar export.
Understanding what the readings are for, however, can be tricky. Your electricity bill might provide helpful information about what each reading represents in your home.
Clock or wheel meter
This is the most challenging meter to read.
Wheel meters have five dials. When the pointer is between two numbers on a dial, the reading will be the lower number.
If the pointer is between 9 – 0, it will be 9.
When the pointer is exactly over a number, there are 2 possibilities:
If, on the dial to the right, the pointer is between 0 and 3, then the reading is the number where the pointer sits.
If it is between 7 and 0, then the reading is the preceding number.
Video: How to read a clock meter
3 What to do with your reading
Once you have read your meter, you can:
Submit a self-read to your retailer to rectify or avoid estimated bills.
Compare your actual reading with the one listed on your bill. If they are significantly different, your bill might be incorrect.
Calculate your electricity consumption in a certain period. For example, if you read your meter on Monday at 7AM and read it again on Tuesday at 7 AM. The difference between the two readings is your consumption in 24 hours.
Next steps
Visit the website of your energy retailer or distribution network (Energex or Ergon), to submit a self-read.
Contest your bill with your energy retailer.
For further help