SMART & SOLAR METERING SYDNEY

Metering for Every Property Type

Beyond standard smart meter installs, we complete specialist metering works through dedicated services: separate metering for secondary dwellings under granny flat metering, two-supply arrangements under duplex metering, meter rooms and tenancy splits under multi-tenancy metering, and high-load commercial installations under CT metering. Each page covers that project type in detail — this page covers the smart and solar metering works common to all of them.

Type 4 Smart Meter Upgrades

Estimated bills and quarterly read cycles are a thing of the past. A Type 4 smart meter sends interval data directly to your retailer, enabling time-of-use pricing and real-time usage monitoring. We coordinate the installation and registration with your energy retailer so the transition is clean and your billing is uninterrupted.

Bi-Directional Solar Meters

An analogue meter only measures consumption. A bi-directional meter measures both what you draw from the grid and what your solar panels export back to it — a hard requirement for any new grid-connected solar PV system in NSW. We handle the installation and coordinate formal registration with your retailer.

Net Metering, Gross Metering & Export Limiting

Most residential solar installations operate under net metering, where generation offsets consumption before any surplus is exported; we also handle gross metering setups for legacy systems. Where grid constraints in Ausgrid and Endeavour Energy zones limit unlimited export, we install and configure export limiting meters and relay equipment so your system stays within distributor limits and fully compliant.

Metering Under Power of Choice — Who Does What

Since the national Power of Choice reforms took effect in December 2017, responsibility for your electricity meter sits with your retailer, not your network distributor. This changed who you call and how a meter exchange is arranged, and it is the single biggest source of confusion for Sydney property owners upgrading their metering.

Under the current framework, your retailer appoints a Metering Coordinator, who engages a Metering Provider and an accredited installer — an authorised Level 2 ASP — to physically fit and commission the meter. Sydney Power Group carries out that on-site installation and commissioning work, then coordinates the registration back through your retailer so your billing is not interrupted. In practice that means you can arrange a meter upgrade through us and we manage the technical and network side, while your retailer handles the account and tariff.

The distributor — Ausgrid, Endeavour Energy or Essential Energy depending on where you are — still owns the network up to your connection point and still sets the technical rules the meter and panel must satisfy under the NSW Service and Installation Rules. So a compliant install has to satisfy both the retailer's metering arrangement and the distributor's connection and safety requirements at once. Getting an ASP who works across all three distributors involved early avoids the common trap of a meter being ordered before the panel or supply is actually ready.

Meter Panel & Switchboard Requirements

A smart meter can only be installed on a compliant meter panel. The NSW Service and Installation Rules and each distributor's requirements govern where and how the meter is mounted: adequate clear space around the meter, a suitable weatherproof enclosure, an accessible main switch, a mounting height within the permitted range, and correct circuit labelling. If the panel does not meet these rules, the installer cannot fit the meter and the distributor can issue a defect.

Many older Sydney homes still have fibro or asbestos-backed metering panels, undersized boards with no room for a modern meter, or ceramic-fuse switchboards that predate current standards. These almost always need to be replaced before a new meter can go on. We assess the panel during the site visit and, where an upgrade is needed, handle it under our metering panel replacement and switchboard upgrade services so the whole job is completed by one authorised team.

Where the meter box also feeds the property's consumer mains, we check the mains condition and rating at the same time — an undersized or deteriorated set of consumer mains is a common reason a metering upgrade turns into a slightly larger job. Identifying that up front means no surprises once work starts.

Solar, Three-Phase & CT Metering Explained

Different supplies need different metering. A standard single-phase home usually takes a single-phase bi-directional Type 4 meter. A three-phase premises — common with larger homes, ducted air-conditioning, EV charging or small commercial loads — needs a three-phase compatible meter, and a larger three-phase solar array may need per-phase export configuration to meet the distributor's approval conditions. If you are upgrading to three phase, our supply upgrade page covers the mains and connection side of that work.

For grid-connected solar, the meter must be bi-directional and the inverter and metering configured to the export limit granted in your connection approval. Where the local network is constrained, that limit may be zero-export or a capped kW figure per phase, enforced through export limiting equipment. Our solar connection service covers the full grid-connection and commissioning process that sits alongside the metering.

On larger installations — typically above roughly 100 amps per phase — the current is too high to pass directly through a meter. These use current transformer (CT) metering, where CTs measure the current indirectly and feed a scaled signal to the meter. If your maximum demand exceeds the rating for a direct-connected meter, your distributor will require CT metering; our CT metering page details those commercial and industrial projects.

The Process, Timeframes & Cost Factors

A straightforward like-for-like meter exchange is usually completed on site in one to two hours, with a short supply interruption — normally well under an hour — while the meter is swapped. We plan the isolation in advance so you can shut down sensitive equipment, and for businesses we can schedule the changeover for a low-impact time.

The longer part of a metering project is usually the coordination rather than the physical work. Your retailer's Metering Coordinator raises the work order, and remote commissioning and registration can add several business days. Where a new solar connection is involved, distributor connection approval must be in place first, and where the panel or consumer mains need upgrading, that work is scheduled around the meter exchange. Getting a Level 2 ASP involved early keeps these steps in the right order.

Cost depends on the meter type, whether it is a simple swap or part of a solar or three-phase connection, whether the meter panel or mains need upgrading, and how the work is coordinated with your retailer. Because every board and site differs, we do not quote metering work over the phone — we assess the panel and supply on site and give you a free written quote before any work starts. Sydney Power Group carries $20 million public liability insurance and full workers compensation cover, and we guarantee an on-site response within 60 minutes across Sydney for urgent metering faults.

Metering Across Sydney

We install and upgrade smart, solar and CT metering right across Greater Sydney — from the Eastern Suburbs and Inner West through the North Shore and out across Western Sydney. You can find your suburb and the distributor that covers it on our locations page. Wherever you are, the same authorised team handles the install, the panel and the retailer coordination.

Smart & Solar Metering FAQs