There is one more step needed before you can fully kick back and enjoy the benefits of solar. Admittedly, this may be the most frustrating step for us AND you. If you are up to this step in your solar journey and reading this post wondering whether it’s even needed, the answer is YES. You must reconfigure your meter.
Regardless of whether you have received export permission or not, under energy regulatory rules, you must have a bi-directional energy meter capable of measuring and recording how much grid energy you consume and how much generated energy you export back into the grid from your solar system.
Before we get into why this is the case, let’s talk about your meter in its current state.
Most meters need to be reconfigured for solar as they are only capable of recording power going in one direction (into your house).
If you have an old dial meter, exporting solar energy into the grid will cause your meter to turn backwards. As your energy retailer can no longer calculate how much grid electricity you have used, your electricity retailer will then ‘estimate’ your next energy bill, which would eliminate any savings gained from your feed-in tariff.
If you have a smart meter or electronic meter, you won’t face the above problem. However, your meter (as it currently is) is programmed to not recognise any export of power. What this means for you is a loss in any potential tariff savings. You will not receive your feed-in tariff, as your retailer can not calculate how much you have exported.
Only once your meter is reconfigured to be ‘bi-directional’ (meaning that it will be capable of recording electricity passing through in both directions), is when you can fully enjoy the benefits of your solar, without any consequences.
The first step is to arrange for your electricity retailer to reconfigure your meter. We begin this step by sending all required paperwork to your retailer.
Once we send the required paperwork to your energy retailer, all matters regarding your meter reconfiguration are officially handed over to your energy retailer. Due to changes in regulation, we will no longer be your primary point of contact regarding the status of your meter reconfiguration.
Your energy retailer will contact you to finalise any extra costs that come with the reconfiguration of your meter once they have received and acknowledged our paperwork.
Please note, unless the electrician has issues accessing your meter, your energy retailer may not contact you to confirm when your meter is being reconfigured. As we can no longer ask your retailer on your behalf, we highly emphasise that you make the final checks by calling your energy retailer yourself. If you don’t do this, you might wake up to unexpected fees on your next electricity bill or realise you have not received any credits on exported power, despite having full export permission.
