Electricity Bill should include mandatory smart meter chip requirements, says PCE

Thursday 10th December 2009

The New Zealand government should add mandatory smart meter technology requirements to the Electricity Bill, introduced to Parliament today to enact Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee's energy sector reforms, says the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.

The commissioner, Jan Wright, told the commerce select committee today that power companies were wrong to suggest it was too early to include Home Area Network (HAN) chips in smart meters.

In an impassioned plea for her recommendations to be adopted, Wright was deeply critical of the sector's responses to her report in June recommending mandatory HAN chip specifications for New Zealand meters, especially the claim that retro-fitting was the most efficient way to respond to eventual customer demand for more advanced smart meter uses.

"A HAN chip in a meter provides a basis for consumers to be able to control their own electricity use intelligently," said Wright, yet no power company could even offer them to customers today, even at the customer's expense."

She also said analysis for the Ministry of Economic Development critiquing her view should "not be taken seriously" because it overstated costs and understated benefits from HAN-enabled smart meters by factors of 4 to 10 times the figures available from Australia, where HAN-enabled smart meters are being rolled out in Victoria, using the Zigbee open access code.

"Australia requires HAN chips by 2013, and New Zealand has a common appliance market with Australia," Wright said.

"Whirlpool in Australia has a strategic alliance with Fisher & Paykel. Whirlpool is aiming to manufacture a million smart clothes driers by 2011 and make all its appliances smart by 2015.

"The criticism that I want to put the cart before the horse is wrong – it’s the other way round. The HAN needs to come first. Noel Leeming, L V Martin, and Dick Smith will make sure that the smart appliances, smart plugs and In-Home Displays are available."

New Zealand's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority was also requiring that all heat pumps sold from 2013 onwards be "smart", giving the lie to claims that smart appliances are not yet coming to market.

"Why are we not getting this right?" she said.

While retro-fitting newly installed smart meters was feasible, it would require home visits by installers at a cost of anywhere between $75 and $150 per visit, while fitting the HAN device pre-installation cost $20.

The Electricity Bill, covering electricity market reforms announced yesterday has been tabled in Parliament and is scheduled for its First Reading next Tuesday.

Businesswire.co.nz

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