Choosing and switching energy plans
Gas and electricity, read as two meters
A home that uses both has two meters, each with its own number and its own reading, and the plans that sit behind them are chosen, compared and switched by rules this guide sets out one at a time.
Published by Dotto as a plain-language guide, it is written from the Australian Energy Regulator (AER), its Energy Made Easy service, Victoria’s Essential Services Commission (ESC), the energy ombudsmen and the government energy guides.
General information, not financial or legal advice. The AER’s consumer rights pages apply in Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, South Australia and Tasmania; for Victoria the AER sends readers to the Essential Services Commission.
Drawn for this guide. The counter windows are left blank on purpose: no reading on this page is real.
Two meters, two identities
Each fuel is identified, owned and read differently. Knowing which number belongs to which meter is the first step in comparing either plan.
Electricity
- Its number
- The National Metering Identifier, or NMI: a unique 10 or 11 digit number for the electricity connection at your address, printed on your electricity bill. It is not the same as the meter number.
- Who owns and reads it
- Electricity meters are usually owned and read by electricity retailers, according to Energy Made Easy.
- How it is read
- A smart meter measures your use every 5 minutes and sends it on, usually once a day. An older basic meter needs a person to read it, usually every 3 months.
- The unit on the bill
- Kilowatt hours, with usage charged in cents per kWh.
Gas
- Its number
- The Meter Installation Registration Number, or MIRN: a unique number your distributor assigns to your gas service, printed on your gas bill.
- Who owns and reads it
- Natural gas meters are owned and read by gas distributors.
- How it is read
- There is only one type of gas meter. It is read by hand, usually every 3 months.
- The unit on the bill
- Megajoules, with usage charged in cents per MJ.
What both meters share
- A retailer sells you the energy and bills you for it. Some households have the same retailer for both fuels.
- The distributor owns the poles, wires and pipes. If you switch retailers, the distributor does not change, and neither does the supply to your property.
- A new energy contract comes with a cooling-off period of 10 business days, under the national rules Energy Made Easy describes. Switching retailers sets out Victoria’s version beside it.
Six guides
Each answers one question from the official sources named on its page.
Comparing plans
What do the two government comparison tools do, and what words on a plan change its meaning?
Switching retailers
What happens, in order, when you move to a new retailer, and what consent does the law ask for?
Door-to-door and phone sales
When may an energy salesperson knock or call, and what must they tell you?
Embedded networks
What changes when an apartment block, village or park sells you its power?
Gas or electric appliances
What do the government energy guides say about gas and electric heating, hot water and cooking?
Victoria and new gas connections
Which Victorian homes can no longer connect to gas, and from when?
Where plans are compared
Energy Made Easy is a free Australian Government service for comparing electricity and gas plans, open to households and small businesses in the ACT, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania. Victorians use Victorian Energy Compare.
How the two tools differ, and where Victoria’s contract rules part from the national ones, is in Comparing plans.
When something goes wrong
The AER divides it plainly: contact your retailer about a sale, a contract, a bill or your electricity meter, and your distributor about gas meters, poles, wires, pipes and outages. If a problem is not resolved, each state and territory has a dispute body, listed on the AER’s useful contacts page, and the AER says the energy ombudsman schemes are free to consumers.
- New South Wales: the Energy & Water Ombudsman NSW, on 1800 246 545.
- Victoria: the Energy and Water Ombudsman Victoria, on 1800 500 509.
- Every other state and territory: the AER’s useful contacts page.