“Smart” electricity meters deployed in Christchurch suit the current New Zealand environment and can be upgraded to support new network interfaces, supplier Arc Innovations says. The metering project came under fire from the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Jan Wright, last month when she issued a report saying the meters weren’t smart enough.

The report, “Smart Electricity Meters — how households and the environment can benefit” generated a flurry of comment on the technology, but the meter technology provider questions the Commissioner’s contention that meters recently deployed could have been smarter.

A truly smart meter, Wright claims, can schedule domestic appliances to switch on when electricity is cheap — providing the supplier is willing to price it that way. The meter needs to possess three capabilities to fully benefit the consumer, she says; a network-capable chip in the meter, “smart appliances” with their own network chips and “smart pricing”, whereby the power companies offer discounts at periods of low demand.

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