How do meters work?

Meters measure how much gas or electricity is being used at your service address. Your meter is read by your meter service provider/Distributor who provides your ‘read’ to us so we can calculate your energy bills. 

Different types of meters can be used to record and display your usage. Each meter records and displays the information differently. If you live in an apartment or high-density housing, you may not be able to access your meter.

A guide to reading your own meter 

Find your meter

If you aren’t sure where your meter is located at your service address, have a look at our guide to finding the correct location.  

Check there’s safe access

It’s important to be aware of the potential hazards if you’re accessing your meter – whether you’re checking the meter number or taking your own meter reading.

All safe? You’re now ready to read your meter. 

Select your meter type below (electricity, gas, or electricity smart meter) and follow the steps.

All electricity meters have a unique meter number and a National Meter Identifier (or NMI, which is used by the meter service provider to identify the meter). You can also find your NMI on of your bill. 

Clock face meter

The read for this meter is: 07618​​​​​​

  • Read each dial starting left to right.
  • If the dial is between two numbers use the lower number. If the dial is between a 9 and 0, read this as a 9.
  • If the dial is directly on a number, look at the next dial. If this number has not yet passed 0, then the original dial hasn’t passed yet and you should use the lower number.
 

Digital style meter display

The read for this meter is: 09377

  • Press the ‘display’ button to show the reads on the meter.
  •  Include all numbers displayed (including zeros before the numbers if applicable).

REMINDER: If you have more than one register, the screen will scroll through each read automatically, check your latest bill to identify how many registers you may have. If you’re still unsure where to find this, check our bill guides here.

Submitting your own meter reading

If you don’t have a smart meter and have received an SMS from us to provide a reading or have received an estimated bill, you can submit your own electricity or gas meter reading. 

If you’ve received multiple estimated bills, please contact us so that we can organise a suitable time for your meter to be read. Your meter should be read at least once every 12 months to ensure that you only pay for the energy you use. 

If you’ve had a meter read within the last 12 months, go here to submit your read. 

To see your usage history, view user-friendly usage charts in My Account or you can request your usage data in a regulated table format.