The smart meter market is heating up in Australia as the electricity sector embarks on an era of digital transformation.
Analogue monitoring means are being rapidly replaced with smart meters following the Australian Energy Market Commission’s (AEMC) ruling in November 2024 that requires total smart meter deployment across the National Electricity Market by 2030 – an amendment initially announced in August 2023.
The AEMC said while the reform would be progressively implemented until July 2026, the accelerated rollout would commence in December 2025, the same month the sale of Ausgrid’s smart meter division Plus Es was sanctioned, as reported by The Australian Financial Review (AFR).
It follows Intellihub’s move to upsize approximately $3 billion in finance via shareholders Brookfield and Pacific Equity Partners in order to “surge ahead” with the deployment of smart meters.
Plus Es and Intellihub are rivals, alongside Bluecurrent and Yurika, in a distinctly clear market where the clock is ticking towards the 2030 deadline.
Smart meters are a critical puzzle piece in the integration of renewable energy, tracking surplus solar exported back to the grid to support grid planning and demand management processes.
The rollout of these devices form a key part of the AEMC’s consumer energy resources (CER) reform agenda.
“A number of Australians are already using smart meters to cut power bills, from those who have resources such as rooftop solar, to customers without solar who may be using smart meters to access cheaper tariffs such as the ‘solar soaker’,” AEMC chair Anna Collyer said when the final smart meter recommendations were announced.
“Smart meters present clear benefits for consumers and form a crucial link for the wider energy system, paving the way for significant advances necessary to reach net zero.”
Collyer said an accelerated smart meter rollout would enable consumers to experience the benefits of a “more efficient, lower-cost and decarbonised energy system sooner”.
The AFR believes Plus Es can attract between $2–3 billion, with further details on the deal timeline to be announced.
By November 2024, over 56 per cent of meters were already being read remotely across the NEM, equating to 7.32 million smart meters in total. Victoria had the highest saturation at 99.12 per cent, with New South Wales the lowest at 39.17 per cent.
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