Smarter meters can aid savings

By CHRIS DANIELS

Thousands of small businesses are being urged to switch to smarter electricity meters.

Stream Information, 70 per cent owned by Auckland power lines monopoly Vector and the rest by Wellington firm Total Metering, will soon promote "time of use" meters to 28,000 businesses nationwide.

Company general manager Sue Tindal said the timing of the launch during a power crisis was coincidental but fortunate.

Stream had identified a market of 35,000 business customers for the meters, with only about 7000 using them at present.

Customers with time-of-use meters pay a different rate for power every half hour. Peak-time use, such as in the morning and early evening, is more expensive.

The meters are web-enabled, allowing a customer to check readings on the internet.

Power usage is "profiled" and if certain "pricing bands" are exceeded by customers, they are penalised.

A business can then decide, depending on its contract with the retailer, when to turn on Machines or start production shifts.

Vector chief executive Patrick Strange said the joint venture was a way of providing an extra service to customers.

"It's clearly of value to them."

Stream charges start at about $50 a month for a meter. Users are charged between $5 and $10 each time they download meter information from the website.

Wayne Inger, energy manager for The Warehouse, said time-of-use meters were crucial for the chain.

Power use at each store, including some in Australia, was monitored and controlled from head office in Auckland.

Mr Inger said the meters made it possible to work out how much power each store used.

Ralph Matthes, executive director of the Major Energy Users Association, said eventually most businesses and homes that used a lot of power would be on the new meters.

Vector is wholly owned by the Auckland Energy Consumer Trust. Total Metering is 30 per cent owned by Hellaby Holdings.

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Stream Information

Feature: Electricity

Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority