THE State Government has welcomed the Australian Energy Market Commission’s (AEMC) adoption of strong new rules for electricity retailers regarding the installation of smart meters.
“I’m pleased AEMC has adopted strict timelines and will impose hefty financial penalties if electricity retailers fail to deliver within those timelines,” Energy Minister Dan van Holst Pellekaan said.
“The Marshall Government moved months ago to deal with totally unacceptable delays in the installation of smart meters via compensation agreements with South Australia’s biggest electricity retailers.
“The previous Labor Government dropped the ball when it came to looking after consumers who were locked out of their homes and businesses or unable to benefit from their solar panels whilst waiting for a meters.
“The Marshall Government signaled that it would impose its own regulations on electricity retailers if the code of conduct agreement failed to deliver acceptable outcomes for households and businesses.
“The new AEMC penalties will supersede the Liberal Government’s compensation agreements struck with the retailers when they come into operation on February 1 next year.”
Under the new AEMC rules:
• Retailers will have to provide new smart meters by a date agreed with customers or within six working days after a property has been connected to the network.
• If customers want to swap their old meter for a smart meter, retailers will have to agree on an installation time or it must be done within 15 business days.
• Replacing a faulty meter must also be done within 15 business days.
Failure to meet these deadlines could result in fines of up to $100,000 for each incident and $10,000 for each day of delay.
