NSA calls for greater consumer protections around Smart Meter rollout

The Australian Energy Market Commission has removed the ability to opt out of a new smart meter installation happening across Qld, NSW, SA, the ACT, and Tasmania. Smart meters give retailers the ability to apply different tariffs to customers. 

These tariffs (time of use & demand) charge different prices for energy at different times of the day. Disturbingly, the ability to opt-out from smart meters ends 1 June 2025, but consumer protections apply from 1 Dec 2025. Energy retailers are already trying to move people onto smart meters before 1 June, before consumer protections apply. NSA is opposed to customers being transferred to new tariffs they don’t understand as it could result in higher energy bills, as covered by Nine News here.