Technology influences our lives. The introduction of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), or smart meters, is one such technology that helps you avoid bill shock and take control of your power use.
But what exactly is AMI and how does it benefit you and other customers?
What is AMI?
AMI is a device that digitally measures your energy use, typically in 30-minute blocks. It sends this information to your energy retailer remotely, so they do not need to send a meter reader out to your home. As your energy retailer receives this information in virtual real-time, we can see how much power you’re using and when your peak periods are.
AMI benefits for you
You benefit from AMI as it puts you in control of your power use. The technology connects with smart appliances, turning equipment into low power mode during peak periods when not used. It also means you won’t be disturbed when your meter is read .
Apps can connect smart appliances with your smartphone. The benefit is you remotely turn appliances on and off. Your retailer can also upload your energy use to your account that you access online or through our app. With this virtual real-time data at your fingertips, you can adjust your usage to avoid high power bills.
Your retailer can use the information AMI gives to create products that better suit your needs and adjust tariffs that ultimately make your bills cheaper. Crucially, we can quickly identify power outages to get them repaired quickly to cut down on disruption time.
AMI benefits for electricity infrastructure
We can use AMI to better plan the distribution of electricity across the grid. We can use AMI to quickly identify problems across the network and quickly repair them. It also helps the energy industry understand the big picture on electricity use and trends when identifying gaps in future infrastructure needs.
We can use AMI to smooth out the peaks and troughs in power usage. This puts less pressure on grid infrastructure that keeps downward pressure on the network portion of your electricity bill. Typically, these savings can be passed on to consumers.
Your energy retailer can also use the information provided by AMI to customise our product offering and tariff rates to better meet your needs. The smart meters give greater insight into your power use into smaller blocks than a quarterly billing cycle, so we can see usage peaks and troughs and encourage you to take advantage of off-peak periods to save you money.
There are many benefits of AMI for consumers and business. You can find out more information on the Australian Energy Regulator’s Energy Made Easy website to find a retailer and product offering that best suits you.