Available 24/7Available 24/7Published: November 05, 2026
A quick overview before you dive in:
How do I get a smart meter installed in NSW? The short answer is through your electricity retailer. Under the national rollout, every home in NSW is due a smart meter by 2030, and retailers started replacing old meters on 1 December 2025. Your retailer arranges the meter and its metering provider installs it. What can hold it up is your meter board or switchboard, and that part is up to the property owner to fix.
This guide comes from Impulse Electrical Enterprise, a Sydney electrician based in Strathfield. We don't install smart meters, but we fix and upgrade switchboards and sort out the meter board problems that can stop one going in. We're licensed and insured, and our director, Matthew Neil, supervises every job.
A smart meter records how much electricity you use and when, and sends the readings to your retailer remotely, so nobody needs to come and read it. That timing information is what makes time-of-use plans possible, including the Solar Sharer Offer, an opt-in plan that gives eligible NSW households three hours of free power in the middle of the day, up to a daily limit, and needs a smart meter.
The Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) has set a target of smart meters in every home by 2030, with the accelerated rollout starting in December 2025. The Energy and Water Ombudsman NSW (EWON) explains how it works for NSW households:
When your meter is replaced under the rollout, the AEMC's rules stop your retailer charging you upfront for it. For two years after a smart meter is installed, your retailer also can't move you to a new tariff without your explicit informed consent.
An old meter with a spinning disc or rows of number wheels is not a smart meter. Some digital meters with a screen aren't smart meters either, because they still need someone to read them. The simplest way to be sure is to ask your retailer, whose contact details are on your bill. If you don't have one and want one sooner, you can ask your retailer to install one. Ask whether you'll be charged for it, because the ban on upfront costs only covers rollout replacements.
The metering provider's electrician checks your meter board and switchboard when they arrive. If something isn't safe or doesn't leave room for the new meter, they can't go ahead. Retailers' meter exchange guides, such as GloBird Energy's meter exchange information, list the kind of work that may be needed first:
GloBird says you may need to engage a qualified person at your own cost to fix these issues first, and the meter job can't go ahead until they are. If this happens, your retailer may send you a site defect notice that says what needs fixing. Retailers also ask for clear access on the day: gates unlocked, nothing blocking the meter and switchboard, and dogs kept away.
If the installer has told you your board needs work, send us a photo of your switchboard and meter board and what the installer said. We'll tell you what's needed and give you a fixed price in a free quote before we start. If your switchboard needs replacing, a switchboard upgrade starts from $1,200 + GST. We arrange the network paperwork and any Level 2 work the upgrade needs, with that cost shown in your quote, and you receive a Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work (CCEW) when we finish.
Some older boards are mounted on a backing panel that contains asbestos. Don't drill, cut or otherwise disturb it. If we find one, you can engage your own appropriately licensed asbestos removalist, or we can help coordinate a suitable specialist, and we'll explain your options before any work starts.
Not upfront, if your old meter is replaced under the rollout. The AEMC's rules stop retailers charging upfront costs for those replacements. That protection doesn't cover a new connection, a smart meter you ask for yourself or one needed because you're adding solar or a battery, so check with your retailer first. If your meter board or switchboard needs work before the meter can go in, that work is the property owner's cost.
No. EWON says customers can't opt out of having their meter replaced under the rollout.
Not a private electrician you book yourself. Smart meters are arranged through your retailer and installed by its metering provider's licensed electricians. A private electrician fixes any problems with your board so the meter can go in.
Not the type of tariff, for the first two years. Under the AEMC's rules, if you get a smart meter on or after 1 December 2025, your retailer can't switch you to a different kind of tariff because of it, for example from a flat rate to a time-of-use tariff, without your explicit informed consent for two years. Your retailer can still change its prices in the usual way, and the protection doesn't apply if you switch retailers after the meter goes in or move into a home that already has one.
If the installer couldn't fit your smart meter because of your switchboard or meter board, we can help get it fixed. Call us on 0481 228 836 or request a free quote with a photo of your board.
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