About 25,000 Far North properties will have new 'smart meters' installed that will change the way power usage is measured for Top Energy customers.
WEL Networks will soon put 25,000 smart meters in properties across the Top Energy network, which stretches north from Waipoua settlement and across to the Russell Peninsula.
WEL Networks Chief Executive Dr Julian Elder said the meters will change the way power usage is measured but the company won't say how many meter readers will lose their jobs because the smart meters can be read via computer and don't need to be physically read. WEL Networks is also unable to provide details of the employment this will create for local electricians.
However Dr Elder said there will be "no increase in energy or lines charges related to the change of meters."
The smart meters will bill consumers based on their actual electricity usage and will make estimated bills a relic of the past, which will encourage savings as people will be more aware of their exact power usage, he said.
