Meter Faults & Replacements

It is important that you only pay for the energy you consume. Faulty meters can mean your retailer must rely more heavily on estimate reads. Being billed solely on estimates could mean you are billed for more energy than you actually use. In some circumstances a faulty meter can be dangerous. For peace of mind, it is always better to rely on safe & compliant electrical equipment at your premises. If you receive a fault notice you should take all reasonable steps to resolve it.

A new metering device will be normally provided to you free of charge, including the cost of one site visit and a basic standard installation. However, there may be a cost to you if your site requires any technical work or any additional site visits other than the most basic and standard installation. To help minimise any potential cost, make sure you facilitate the metering company and provide clear access. Talk to the technician on site to understand any potential issues. IMPORTANT NOTE: GloBird is a budget retailer, if the metering company charge for additional technical work or any additional site visits, we will always pass on the cost to the customer. However, we will never charge our customer unless the independent metering company instigate a charge.

Faulty meters need to be replaced. Depending on the issue, you could have a safety concern at the premises.

When your retailer passes on the fault notice you can coordinate with the metering company for a date that suits you, or they may visit the site and interrupt your power supply at a time that suits them. For safety reasons the power supply will need to be interrupted temporarily while the new meter is installed, in our experience this usually takes between 1 - 4 hours.

However, you will receive a power interruption notice prior either via email or post. We advise you to work with the metering company to avoid unnecessary inconvenience and the cost of extra site visits.

Usually you can reschedule an appointment, but you need to provide enough notice (typically we need at least two business days' notice). Contact us as soon as you can on 133 456 and we will pass on your request to the independent metering company.

A new metering device will be normally provided to you free of charge, including the cost of one site visit and a basic standard installation. However, depending on your unique circumstances of your site, there may be a cost to you. Typically you will incur charges if:

• You require a non-standard meter
• There is an access issue on the day and additional site visits are required
• The electrical mains board needs to be made safe or needs repairs
• The site requires a meter isolation. Usually this occurs when there are more than one premises connected to a single grid connection (for example two units on one block)

IMPORTANT NOTE: GloBird is a budget retailer, if the metering company charge for additional technical work required to complete the job of replacing your faulty meter, we will always pass on the cost to our customer. However, we will never charge our customer unless the metering company instigate a charge. To help minimise any potential cost, make sure you facilitate the metering company and provide clear access.

If you are the tenant, you may wish to discuss any of the potential costs with your real-estate agent or landlord. Home owners are usually very motivated to keep safe electrical infrastructure functioning properly at their premises.

Smart meters have many benefits. They provide more detail around your energy consumption so you can understand ways to save on power. They enable you to connect smart devices to send you real time usage alerts. They help you switch retailer quickly and efficiently so you can always access the best offer on the market as fast as possible. They reduce the likelihood of estimated bills, and give you access to a wider range of flexible tariffs such as time of use, peak / off-peak, three rate, demand tariff, and others. Smart meters can be read remotely, reducing the need for a meter reader to visit your home.

The technicians will assess whether your property is safe for the technical work to be done. If everything is safe, they will turn off your power for a few hours while the job gets done.

If the technicians can't access your property, they won't be able to proceed. If they find anything that stops the works from proceeding safely they won't complete the job. They will contact you and advise you of the situation. Some situations that stop the independent metering company from being able to complete the work are the site requiring a non-standard meter, the electrical infrastructure at the site requiring additional technical or remedial work, the site requiring a meter isolation when multiple meters on the premises are connected to a single grid connection (for example two units on one block)

If the technician can easily and safely access your meter without you being at home, you may not need to be there, but GloBird advise you to be onsite. That way you can discuss directly with the technician any potential issue or remediation work.