Electricity
How can I read my meter?
Your electricity meter is a very reliable, precision instrument that registers the amount of electricity been drawn from your premises. Depending on the type of meter you have, please follow the instructions below on how to read your meter.
Types of Meters
Electromechanical Dial Meter
The electromechanical dial meters have four, five or six dials and the adjacent dials alternate between moving clockwise and anti-clockwise.
The dial meter in the illustration below is read in the following way:
- Stand directly in front of the dial meter.
- Read each dial in turn going from left to right, writing down each figure.
- When the dial hand points between two numbers, write down the lower of the two numbers. For example, if it points between 0 and 1 write 0. Between 5 and 4 write 4. If the dial hand points between 9 and 0, write 9.
- When a dial hand appears to be exactly on a number as on dial (D), look to dial (C) to the right. If the hand on dial (C) has not passed zero, the number 5 has not actually been reached on dial (D) and the reading on that dial is the next lower number....4.
- In this illustration below the reading is (E)0 - (D)4 - (C)9 - (B)8 - (A)1. That is four thousand, nine hundred and eighty one kilowatt hours.
Note that if the meter has a red dial this should be ignored.
Digital Display Meter (types may vary)
The digital display meter has a six digit display similar to the odometer of your motor vehicle.
To read this meter you simply write down the figures that are displayed.
Electronic Meter (types may vary)
Electronic Meters have a six digit liquid-crystal display register which scrolls through different tariff rates. Some electronic meters continuously scroll through the different channels, pausing on each channel for a period of six seconds. Other electronic meters have a fixed display that requires you to repeatedly press the reset scroll button to display all rates depending on the tariff.
| Channel Name | Description |
|---|---|
| 04 | Time |
| 05 | Date |
| 07 | Total Kilowatt Hours |
| 10 (A) | "On" Peak Kilowatt Hours |
| 20 (C) | "Off" Peak Kilowatt Hours |
| 30 (B) | Weekday "High" Shoulder Kilowatt Hours |
| 40 (D) | Weekend "Low" Shoulder Kilowatt Hours |
| 099 | Error Code |
| 088 | Display test |
- For the R1 or R3 tariff write down the figures from channels 10 and 20
- For the SM1 (SmartPower) tariff write down the figures from channels 10, 20, 30 and 40 or A,B,C and D.
- For the A1 Tariff write down channel 07.
- When the error code (099) displays E0000000 this indicates the meter has no error, or is functioning correctly. If there is a different code please note down the code and contact us on 131353 so that we can investigate.
- If none of the above channels/rates can be seen keep pressing the button you have pressed until you return to channel 7.
SmartPower and time of use Meters
Synergy offers time-of-use tariffs to domestic and commercial customers, referred to as Smartpower and R1 respectively. In the past this has involved an electrician fitting a different meter on the site, however for new domestic connections that should no longer be the case.
All new domestic meters on the market are SmartPower compatible. The meter types available are 0200 for single phase and 0350 for three phase.
Domestic customers who have either of these two meter types fitted will be able to change to the SmartPower tariff simply by sending an application form to us. The application form is available online or by calling 13 13 53.
Commercial customers wanting an R1 time of use meter need to install the meter type 0148 or 0136.
REBS.
If a residential customer is generating their own power using solar panels they can sell power back to the grid using a bi-directional meter.
While all the new electronic meters (0200 and 0350) have this capability, to qualify for the Renewable Energy Buyback Scheme, the person who carries out the installation must be accredited for design and installation of photvoltaic systems.
Download the SmartPower brochure