Power of Choice for customers
To provide you with more options to manage and control your electricity usage and power bills, the electricity industry introduced ‘Power of Choice’ from 1 December 2017.
Power of Choice delivered a suite of reforms to the electricity regulatory framework to:
- assist consumers in making more informed decisions about electricity usage
- expand competition in metering and related services
- provide more efficient and flexible energy pricing offers for residential and small customers
- introduce new products and services into the Electricity Market.
Customers living in some parts of Queensland supplied by isolated networks are exempt from the Power of Choice reforms. See the full list of exempt areas (PDF 194.3 kb).
What are the key changes?
- Since 1 December 2017, all new electricity meters for residential and small business customers need to be smart meters
- Older-style meters will be phased out and replaced over time until all meters are smart
- All Type 4 smart meters will be installed by a competitive Meter Provider
- The Metering Coordinator is responsible for coordinating installation of meters by the Meter Provider
- Your electricity retailer and the associated Meter Provider will be the primary contact for work relating to Type 4 metering.
What does this mean for you?
Smart metering technology will give you more choice and control through:
- Easy to monitor power usage
- Accurate meter readings
- More timely data - captured in 30-minute intervals.
Contact your electricity retailer for more detail on the benefits of these changes.
What does this mean for us?
- Our Field Crews are no longer responsible for installing or replacing meters as this is now done by the Meter Provider
- We will continue to be responsible for the supply of electricity and maintenance of the distribution network in Queensland
- We will remain responsible for Type 6 meters, until they are replaced by a smart meter, and for Type 7 metering (unmetered supply).