Hundreds of thousands of Victorian households can now closely monitor their daily power consumption based on information generated by the smart meters.
Six years after the former state government controversially mandated the rollout of smart meters to all Victorian homes and businesses, a handful of electricity distributors and retailers have launched free web portals that allow eligible consumers with fully activated smart meters to see how much power they are using.
After trialling its internet portal for several months, Origin Energy will today officially launch Origin Smart, which allows customers to see how much they are spending on electricity, every half hour and up to just 24 hours earlier.
The portal also provides an estimate of future electricity bills and allows users to set daily expenditure targets and compare usage with previous weeks and months and households of a similar size and occupancy.
A spokesman for Origin Energy says the ability to measure usage and costs 48 times a day rather than four times a year will give households greater ability to save on their electricity and help prevent bill shock.
”It allows people to make more informed choices about when they use power,” he said. ”Already from the trials, we’re hearing of people making subtle behavioural changes to try and save money.”
In June, electricity distributor Jemena launched a similar web portal - Electricity Outlook - using information from its smart meters and United Energy is also trialling its portal.
The Department of Primary Industries says that as of July 31, 1.35 million smart meters have been installed in Victoria and that almost 900,000 of those are being read remotely.
The deadline for the smart meter rollout, expected to cost $2.3 billion, is the end of 2013.
The program has been criticised for its cost blowout, which has added an average $100 to annual power bills since installations began in 2009, and fears that time-of-use tariffs, now subject to a moratorium, could disadvantage stay-at-home mothers, the disabled and pensioners.
While some consumers have in-home displays, subsidised displays under the government’s Energy Saver Incentive scheme are not expected to be available until later this year.
Essendon engineer Richard Keech, who uses the Jemena portal, says it has enabled him to be even more conscientious about his power use.
”Having used it for several months, I now know what my normal use is. So, if my usage is ever more than that I can … do something about it,” he said.
