HAVE YOU NOTICED THAT YOU HAVE AN ESTIMATED READ ON YOUR MOST RECENT ENERGY BILL?
If that’s the case, you are likely to have a basic/flat meter or manually read interval meter at your property. (Please note, Smart meters are read remotely and provide actual electricity usage for each bill).
As you may already know, if you have an accumulation (basic) meter, your meter is read about every 3 months by your network distributor. Between those meter reads, your monthly bills with us will be based on estimates. Your estimates are just that, estimates. and a good way to help you spread your costs more evenly throughout the year. Please note that approximately every 3 months, after your meter is read, we reconcile your actual usage with your billed usage – this is called a “wash-up” bill.
We encourage you to submit a self-meter reads. We will use the meter read/s you provide to calculate your bill.
WHY YOU NEED TO MANUALLY READ YOUR METER
Your bills are based on the data collected from your meter, supplied to us from the Energy Network Distributor in your area. It is important, when looking to submit a self meter read that you know the meter you have, as different meters display information in different ways.
Basic meter: You can conduct a self meter read
Manually read interval meter: You cannot submit a self meter read as the Network Distributor will need to perform the read
Smart meter: Customers do not need to submit a self meter read if they have a smart meter
Before you conduct a self-meter read, ensure that your meter does not pose any threat, such as exposed wires or damage to the meter box itself. Be aware of any potential hazards and don’t proceed if there is any visible damage.
THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF METERS THAT YOU MAY NEED TO READ
Clock Face Display
There could be four to six dials alternating in directions on this type of meter. To read this meter you must look at the numbers shown on each dial reading from left to right. If the hand on the dial is between two numbers, read the lower number and if the pointer is directly over a number, take this number. Do not take the reading of the last dial on the right for this meter.
Digital Display Meter
This looks similar to the odometer of your car. In order to read this type of meter, check the number indicated on the digital display that show kilowatts per hour (kW/h.) This is the total number of kilowatt hours consumed at that point in time.
HOW TO SUBMIT A SELF-METER READ
1. TAKE A PHOTO OF YOUR METER
Using a camera or your mobile phone, take a photo of your meter making sure it clearly shows your usage.
2. SEND AN EMAIL TO METERDATA@ZENENERGY.COM.AU
Email Subject:
My Meter Read – *Your ZEN Energy Account Number*
Email Body:
Please include the following items in your email to ensure our team can swiftly process your meter read submission.
- The account holder’s name
- The address we are supplying electricity to
- Your NMI (this can be found on your electricity bill)
- Your ZEN Energy account number (this can be found on your electricity bill)
- Date the photo of your meter was taken
- Attach the photo you took of your meter to the email
3. OUR TEAM WILL PROCESS YOUR INFORMATION
From here, our team will process the information and amend your account. We will then issue you a new bill. We are a pretty popular bunch of people, so please give us a bit of time get your new bill out to you. Don’t worry when we do issue your new bill it will have a new payment due date on it to give you plenty of time to pay. If you do need your new bill urgently please let us know in the subject of your email. You will see the adjustment on your next bill from ZEN.
WE WILL ACCEPT YOUR SELF METER READ IF THE FOLLOWING ITEMS ARE MET
- The self read was submitted before the due date on your bill
- We have obtained an actual read of your meter in the past 12 months. If it’s been more than 12 months.
- Based on the information provided, we believe your self meter read is likely to be correct
- The photograph of your meter provided is time stamped either on the image or via the exif data stored with the image and shows the meter number along with the reading.
YOUR OPTIONS IF YOUR SELF METER READ IS REJECTED
If you submit a self meter read and a part of your submission is not in line with our requirements, we will notify you in writing, and provide specific reasons for our decision.
If you are not satisfied with these reasons or wish to dispute the decision you are welcome to lodge a complaint by sending an email to enquiries@zenenergy.com.au or by calling us on 1300 936 466 which will be respectfully managed by our team in line with our Retail Complaint Handling Policy & Procedure document.