Are you allowed to use newly installed solar to run your meter backwards?
If you have a very old electricity meter, a new rooftop solar installation can make that meter run backwards. But only if the solar power system is switched on before a new compatible meter is installed.
In Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia your installer is meant to switch off your solar power system after it has been commissioned. This means you get no solar benefits while you wait for the new meter to be installed. If your installer happens to leave the solar power system running and your electricity retailer discovers that your meter is running backwards, they may get upset1.
If your solar installation is left running, then the longer the delay between getting the panels installed and getting a new meter the more likely your retailer will get upset. There have been a lot of delays in getting electricity meters installed this year, and from the emails we are getting at SolarQuotes, there are plenty of installers leaving systems running.
In this article I’ll explain how problems arise with backwards-running meters, what you can do to prevent them, and why (in my opinion at least) you are not committing any sort of crime if, as the result of a solar installation, your electricity meter runs backwards.
The Two Requirements For Electricity Meters To Run Backwards
For your electricity meter to run backwards, two requirements have to be met:
- You need the right kind of old fashioned “spinning disk” electricity meter.
- Your solar power system needs to be turned on.
Spinning Disk Electricity Meters
Only old analog electricity meters are capable of running backwards. These are often called “spinning disk” meters because they have a metal disk that rotates as power is used. Here’s a dramatic close up of what one type looks like:
If your electricity meter has any kind of digital readout, then it is too advanced to run backwards. Also, it’s not enough for just the disk to spin backwards. The meter readout dials have to turn backwards as well. That’s these dials here:
With some spinning disk meters the disk will go backwards but the readout dials will stubbornly stay where they are. If this is the case, while the disk may be going backwards, the meter isn’t.
Your Solar Installation Must Be Turned On
An old electricity meter will only run backwards if the rooftop solar system is switched on before it is replaced with a new meter. In Queensland, NSW, Victoria, and South Australia, installers are now only supposed to test a newly installed system and they are to be left switched off until the new meter is installed. In Queensland it used to be common to leave solar systems turned on after installation so they’d start providing clean electricity and reducing household electricity bills from day one, but this is no longer the case. Due to their past practice, backwards running meters are probably most likely to occur in Queensland due to an installer not updating their procedures.
You Can Turn Your Solar Power System Off
If you’ve just had a solar panel system installed and you find your old electricity meter is running backwards, you can stop this by turning your system off. It’s a very easy solution.
Some people, quite understandably, may not want to turn their solar system off. If an electricity meter is running backwards it reduces electricity bills by a lot more than receiving a solar feed-in tariff. It’s like having a feed-in tariff equal to the cost of grid electricity.
More importantly, turning off the system will result in greater coal and natural gas use which will increase increase pollution and contribute to climate change.
But there are advantages to turning your solar system off to prevent your electricity meter going backwards and an important one is to prevent being charged a lot of money by your electricity retailer.
Extra Charges From Electricity Retailers
If your electricity retailer sees your latest electricity meter reading is lower than the previous reading they can ignore it and send you an estimated bill based on your previous consumption. A household in NSW received a bill for $1070 when they should have received one for around $400. They were able to get this reduced to the correct amount, but it wasn’t a pleasant experience.
Civil Penalties
In a document from 2013, SA Power Networks gives this dire warning about solar systems or SEGs (Small Embedded Generators):
But before anyone panics and rushes out to check that their meter is not running backwards, I will point out that civil penalties are not criminal penalties. Civil penalties normally apply to businesses and company officials. I’m confident that no home owner is going to be sent up for a couple of years or hit with a $10,000 fine because their electricity meter ran backwards while they were waiting for it to be replaced with a solar-compatible one.
You Are Not A Criminal If Your Meter Runs Backwards
I am not a lawyer, but with the in-depth knowledge that comes from reading a few paragraphs on a website, I can confidently state, with no expertise to back it up at all, that a homeowner whose meter runs backwards while they are waiting for it to be replaced is not committing a criminal offence. This is because they did not tamper with the electricity meter, they had no intent to steal electricity, and no electricity was actually stolen. For every kilowatt-hour their meter spun backwards, one kilowatt-hour was supplied to the grid.
If it takes a few weeks to get their meter changed then a homeowner with a 5-kilowatt solar system might end up paying $60 less on their next electricity bill2 thanks to their meter running backwards. Our legal system probably has better things to do than punish these horrible monsters.
But if your electricity meter has been running backwards for years and you’ve been fully aware of this fact and have been bragging about it on the internet, then your position may be more legally precarious. I’d recommend getting your meter replaced as soon as possible.
Connection Agreements
If you read your connection agreement with your Distributed Network Service Provider, then you are a better man than I am. You may also be a better woman than I am, but that wouldn’t be difficult.
You may have seen some scary looking wording in there about the importance of not turning on solar systems before the old meter has been replaced. But don’t be too concerned. They have zero interest in kicking people off the grid because an installer left a solar power system turned on when they shouldn’t have. That’s not how they make money. They make money from having people connected to the grid and using grid electricity. Disconnecting them doesn’t make them money and disconnection is generally all they can do. Of course, if you do something that actually damages the network or puts people’s safety at risk you can expect them to come down on you like a tonne of electric bricks.
Digital Meter Penalties
Even if your old meter is digital and can’t run backwards it can still be a good idea to leave your PV system switched off until your new meter is installed. This is because every kilowatt-hour of electricity your solar power system exports to the grid can be counted as a kilowatt-hour consumed by your home, and that could increase your bills rapidly. As this section from an SA Power Networks document explains:
To Cover Yourself, Switch Your Solar Off
If you have solar panels installed and you find the system has been switched on before your old electricity meter has been replaced, then the safest course of action to take is to turn it off. This is the case whether you have an old spinning disk meter or a digital one.
Unfortunately, there may be a long delay in getting a new solar-compatible meter installed. I just hope electricity retailers can get their acts together and start getting meters installed on time.
Footnotes
- On the 1st of December last year in Queensland, NSW, Victoria, and South Australia the responsibility for electricity meters shifted from Distributed Network Service Providers to Electricity Retailers. Here’s a media release that says consumers will benefit without explaining why. While this may reduce confusion by allowing retailers to know exactly who has had a solar power system installed and needs a meter replaced, I’m not sure they are this organized. I keep receiving reports of long delays for people getting meters installed as a result of the change, so I suspect problems resulting from meters running backwards may increase. ↩
- And if the harm caused by CO2 emissions is $100 per tonne, they have saved us about $40 worth of damage. ↩
About Ronald Brakels
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When my solar system was installed (in Qld) a few years ago, the installer advised that he was required to leave the system turned off. I had a disk meter at that stage. I had no pangs of conscience after the installer left, of turning it on and watching (with delight)the meter spin backwards for 7 days (daylight hours only) before the digital meter was installed. It’s not theft – just common sense. I was almost at the end of a billing cycle anyway, so there was no way it could wind back past the previous meter reading. Installation of the digital meter was by appointment, so I turned off the solar on that morning.
While on the subject of disk meters, a work colleague back in the 70’s got hold of a large magnet from a discarded radar magnetron. He’d heard that you could stop your (disk) meter from spinning, by exposing it to a strong magnetic field. Sure enough, when he put the magnet next to the meter it DID stop spinning. The gotcha was that when he took the magnet away, the meter spun like Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Not a good look when the meter man comes and finds a huge magnet next to the meter. After the magnet was safely concealed, my colleague reported the “out of control” meter to the authorities, who replaced it, stating that they had never seen that happen before. Crime generally doesn’t pay.
As a retired meter engineer, all rotating disc meterd manufactured post 1975 will have an anti reverse pawl, if you stall your meter with a powerful magnet you will demagnetise the meters speed regulator magnet, and when you remove the stalling magnet your meter will run faster.
Interesting and one more reason not to tamper with an electricity meter.
Hi can you tell me what the current rate is if I get a solar system installed in Tasmania? I.e. what rebate towards solar panels and then what the supplier will pay for my generated electricity, and then what is a good size system these days to get that has a reasonable amount of time to pay for itself? I’ve spoken to a few solar panel suppliers and they have told me that systems these days in Tasmania cost around $1000 per kilowatt. Thankyou
Hello Matthew
This year Tasmanians will receive 24.05 STCs per kilowatt of solar system capacity. So a 5 kilowatt system would get 120.25 STCs. As they are worth about $36 each at the moment they will reduce the cost of your solar system by $4,329. The value of these STCs will be included in any quotes you get. The solar feed-in tariff in Tasmania at the moment is 8.9 cents for each kilowatt-hour of solar electricity sent into the grid. The estimate of around $1,000 per kilowatt after STCs lower the price is roughly correct for lower cost systems.
Generally I say a good size for a typical home is a 5 kilowatt inverter with around 6.5 kilowatts of panels. But a smaller system can pay itself off more rapidly as you will be using a larger portion of the solar electricity it generates yourself.
This article has some information on STCs and how they are calculated if you are interested:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/gst-solar-calculated/
And this article is on system size:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/fill-your-roof-with-solar/
Matthew, I’ve just worked out the simple payback period for a 5 kilowatt system in all capitals, including Hobart.
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/solar-payback-times/
I had a 3.5 kw solar system installed (I only use around 15-20 kWh per day). It was never turned on. When the meter was changed, the guy told me that he tried to turn the system on but it wasn’t working and I should contact my installer, which I did. He said he thought that maybe they had forgotten to turn it on at the roof. Installer arranged for it to be turned on 4 days after new meter installed. However, Endeavour Energy claims I had it switched on during the period I was waiting for the new meter and it was running backwards (wasn’t a spinning one because the house was a brand new build) and claimed I had used 6000kW in three months and I got charged $2,000. We have gas hot water and cooking, no pool etc, two people and it was a Spring bill so no aircon. Have complained to EWO and they have asked AGL to investigate, but AGL has told me there is nothing I can do about it. No one will tell me who the meter guy worked for, so I can’t get proof. I have a meter reading of the day before the new meter was installed and it was 2643 kW. Any ideas other than taking Endeavour Energy to court and getting the meter guy subpoenaed?
Hello Christina
That is clearly not a good situation to be put in and it seems grossly unfair to me. Even if the solar system was left turned on and it somehow damaged the electricity meter so it didn’t record your electricity use correctly, in my opinion, you should only be charged for a reasonably estimated amount of electricity use. Because it’s a new home your original meter may have been a smart meter. Is so your retailer should have a detailed record of your electricity use before the solar system was installed and you can request a record of this information.
I should let you know I am not a lawyer and so I can’t give you any professional legal advice. But if you contact NSW Fair Trading (Phone: 13 32 20) hopefully they will be able to help. I can tell you in my experience that the Distributed Network Service Providers like Endeavour will generally tell you there is nothing that can be done and you will have to pay the full amount, but if it does go before a magistrate or tribunal they generally settle disputes in a fair way.
Can I have a solar installation where it supplies my needs first then uses grid to cover the short fall, and not worry about feeding back into the grid.
HI Rick,
Absolutely – because that is exactly how a regular solar system behaves by default – as described here (scroll down to the sub heading “Surplus Solar”):
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/good-solar-guide/system-types/
Hope That Helps,
Finn
Unless I am wrong, the thrust of this article is that the impediments to running your new PV system before the Meter change is done, are legislative. That is basically, if the system cant use your generated power, you cant either.
There isn’t anything in this article that appears to have an engineering basis for not doing so.
Is this the case, or have I missed something?
Cheers
Denis
As far as I am aware there is no physical danger from running the solar system. There is a danger you will end up being charged for the electricity your solar system sends into the grid, depending on what kind of meter you currently have installed.
Thanks Ron
Built 2012/13, Powered up 2012 digital meter, no obvious rotating parts.
Some digital meters will apparently record solar electricity exported by a home as grid electricity consumed, but I don’t know which ones do this.
Been Installing grid-tied solar since 2001. First systems in California, USA.
Back then the utility companies’ bureaucracy took months to officially energize the system.
This wait was even AFTER the systems were all built to required standards, inspected and approved by the local building department AND the utility.
I have many customers who refused to wait and switched on their systems on their own. Many told me they were doing so and I would give them the official line they they shouldn’t. They did anyway, and in my heart I thought they were right to do so.
While some meters will not record exported power, I have never, in all my years, seen a meter record exported power as consumed power. Digital, analogue, single phase, three phase, CT, etc… Not one.
I believe that the idea that the meter would charge you for exported power was started by utility companies to dissuade their customers from back-feeding prior to official Permission To Operate.
I would love to hear if ANYONE has first hand observed knowledge of a meter recording exported power as consumed power.
I’m all but certain my meter is recording exported power as usage.
I had solar installed two days ago and have checked the meter and it reads that I have used 60kw in that time. My usual consumption is around 15kw a day.
It is one of those meters that has numbers similar to pre digital vehicle odometers. Needless to say my solar system is remaining switched off until the new meter is installed.
Hi all I have been charged $1450 by origin
My meter ran slightly backwards in the 54 days it took to install a smart meter after my solar was turned on. I have asked Origin to review this assessment
After the smart meter was installed for the remaining 36 days of the bill cycle it was only $100 after exports in the peak of winter
Hi I have just installed solar. Living in QLD. I am shopping around for the most suitable solar power plan deal but have just been told by click energy I need a smart meter installed. Would this be correct?
H Danny
After getting solar installed you will need your old meter replaced and all replacement meters these days are smart meters. Meter replacement is now done by electricity retailers. If you want to change to a retailer different form the one you currently have you may want to arrange a meter change with the retailer you’re changing to. If they say they will give you a free meter I suggest you get that in writing as some people were promised free meters but were charged for them anyway.
You can use our price comparison tool to help find a good plan:
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/energy/
Note that sometimes retailers attach conditions to their plans so it will be necessary to check that a plan that seems good will be available to you.
So how am I stealing power if I’m putting power into the grid and not taking it out?
As far as I’m concerned they are just storing it for me that’s why I pay the daily supply charge fee.
HI here. I have just been informed by the Manager of our over 50’s Village, a Manufactured Home Park, that they are replacing our old spinning meter with a bi-directional meter. There are others in here that come under this category as our homes were built with solar fitted before the new meter regulation came in.
We are in an embedded network and do not have a direct account with a power provider. The Park owners hold the account and they read our meters monthly.
We have had solar for 12 years – 1.5 kw and upgraded last year to 3kw. Since then we have not paid for any power at all and very little even when we had the 1.5kw system. The 3kw seems to be sufficient for all usage even if i use dishwasher and washing machine at night.
After reading on your site about why the old meters are being replaced it appears to me that this should not be applicable to us, in my opinion, as we are not feeding into the grid. Please advise your thoughts.
It also appears to us that houses that are not feeding into the grid are not stealing power from the power provider, but can we fight this?
Help please we do not want this new meter as I know our power bill will go up.
I was wondering , if someone disconnects the ground cable that comes into a persons breaker box and you cross the 2 , 110 volt connections together, will it short out the digital meter.
That doesn’t sound like an Australian meter.
Some good advice here for SA persons in the sections:
Digital Meter Penalties
To Cover Yourself, Switch Your Solar Off
As you say .. “long delay in getting a new solar-compatible meter installed” ..
Neighbour waited ~2 months .. (different Energy company to us)
We had an appointment about day 20 after install but this did not succeed with install due to “residual current” and thus requirement for an outage for all 3 units .. now next appointment is on day 47 after install ..
sigh ..
Also worried about text as per in section Digital Meter Penalties cos we ran our new solar system for 22 days after install, and we have a digital meter here in SA, before I read/learnt this .. Installer did not warn us !
Have written a letter to Energy Company .. This might be a common issue.
This might cost us $200 ..
sigh ..
we have been trying to work out why our bills have been so high latley
it seems we are being charged for all electricity being exported
day time power usage has changed
before the solar being generated was less than the power being used
as we were using ~25kw during the day / generating 18~20kw a day
nothing / not much being exported
now over 8kw a day is being exported and we are being charged for it
energex EM1000 meter
I have installed my solar system and i got an email from Energy company saying that i should turn off the inverter. Is this the case? and will my bill increase if i don’t turn it off?
ideally i want to use the power that is already being pulled into the inverter. The installer left the system on. If i leave it on, does that mean im not using the electricity provided by the solar?
What should i do? turn it off
I’ve got a relatively new meter as my house was built 4-5 years ago and is 3 phase
Hi Kevin
Even though your inverter is only 4-5 years old it will still need to be replaced with a new one. Solar systems are supposed to remain switched off until the new meter is installed. If you feel comfortable doing the shutdown yourself you can follow the instructions on the inverter. I recommend doing it at night just an an extra precaution.
Great blog post, it helped me in my recent AGL experience, but I think the part about digital meters isn’t quite the full story.
We got solar installed a couple of months back. The installer left it on – I quizzed him about this (having read this excellent article!) and he explained to me I had a digital meter, so it definitely wouldn’t go backwards – but also it was of a type that did not count export as consumption either. So we left it on. And I checked it daily for a few days to prove that it indeed wasn’t counting our export. It wasn’t, and so I left the solar on.
3 weeks later the net/smart meter from AGL was installed. Then a month after that we get our first bill with solar. In the Bill they showed our electricity use as estimated right up to the day of the new meter install. Which is obviously much higher than it actually was, because solar had roughly halved our import during the 3 weeks. Luckily I had taken a meter reading right before the new meter was installed. So I am in the middle of fighting my case with AGL.
AGLs very first comment to me was that it was illegal to turn the solar system on prior to the smart/net meter install because analog meters would run backwards. So thanks to the knowledge in the this blog I was confidently able to tell them that didn’t apply to my situation, because digital meter.
As to why they didn’t take a proper final reading of the digital meter – I don’t know, and they are “investigating”. In any event, I have a photo of the meter to prove the usage.
Cheers
Andrew
I installed solar 6years ago, The installer connected it to the analog meter, saying it will go backwrds when it goes to the grid & forward as I use the power mainly at night, it always hovers a bit over a bit below, has not changed much in 6 years, At 1st AGL “Criminals” used to pay me BTW I will “NEVER” get a Dumb meter ! Now they refuse to recognise my solar, But THERE IT IS ON MY ROOF ! hahaha, They estimate it right, my last bill was $9600 LOL
So they are using power I produce from the sun, “STEALING” then they want to charge me for their “THEFT” Double dipping I,d say. So called smart meters are Dumb, they steal your power & change the value of export & import, with your digital meter, to their benefit, thankyou stupid, AGL just made 7 billion last year, oh theres a power shortage, Lmao WAKE UP, Stick with your honest Analog.
5kW system commissioned Nov 15 2021. Delighted to see the disc spinning backward over the 4 months whenever inspected, waiting for the notified smart meter installation. We made 2.3MWh onsite in that time. So Q1 bill just arrived at $673 based upon “Estimate Reason 20- Damaged Equipment” The meter was NOT damaged at all prior to physical meter reading, it would spin discs and dials forward and backward depending on load and sunshine. But it now has a brand new security seal on it placed there by Endeavour Energy, and curiously now the spinning disc and odometer style digits are not operating at all. Fraudulent behaviour to justify a fictitious overstated estimate matching pre-installation????
What about the laws or rules in WA? Just got installed yesterday? The installers mentioned NOTHING about turning it off until the new meter is installed. This is the first I heard of it. Do I just play dum and say I’d no idea? Is that a sound legal argument??
I have never heard of a homeowner getting into legal trouble over this. But it is possible to get into billing trouble if your electricity meter has gone backwards between readings. They can try to charge you a ridiculous amount in this case. I recommend turning it off until the meter is changed, but if you neglect to do this I really strongly recommend you don’t let it go below the amount it was at the last time it was read.
What are rules in ACT?
Hi Craig
I don’t think there would be many spinning disk electricity meters left in the ACT. But if you have one, your solar installer should demonstrate to you that your new solar system works and then shut it down. It shouldn’t be turned back on until after your old spinning disk meter has been replaced. This is important because if your electricity meter shows an amount that’s less than what it was at your previous meter reading it can cause problems with your electricity retailer.
At the beginning of the article you say “In Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia your installer is meant to switch off your solar power system after it has been commissioned”. Is it same rules everywhere now? Still older houses (like mine) with spinning disc meters.
My understanding is the Northern Territory is the only place with a potential exception.
In South Australia, SA Power Networks advise that energy generated and exported to the grid may be recorded as consumption as if it were imported and consumed. i.e. this could increase your bill rapidly ! Advice is to leave your new Solar system switched off until new digital import/export meter is installed.
I know it can be frustrating waiting for Energy company to install the new meter. It will be more frustrating if your power generation adds to your bill before meter install !
Hi. Just had solar installed 13th June have old disk meter they left inverter on. Had meter read a few days before ir was installed. What will.happen when they replace meter re charges or will it be estimated. Could be quite a while before it’s changed. ORIGIN. THANKS KEN SA
If the meter does not show less than its last reading you may not have a problem. But if does shows less then you are likely to receive an estimated bill. Shutting down the solar system will prevent this happening. If you’re not comfortable shutting it down yourself, contact your solar installer. Note you can shut it down at night when it’s not producing power as an extra precaution.
Bruce Ironmonger QLD Australia.
I have a 5kw 22 panel system which was installed in 2012 with a 44c feed in price. It was a 3 phase system with three inverters. Recently due to storm damage two of the inverters burnt out and it was cheaper for the inverters to be replaced with one three phase inverter. Meter box has an EM1000 digital read out as well as three spinning meters. Since the install of the new inverter the three wheels spin backwards and nothing registers on the EM1000. I have generated about 1100KWH since the inverter install. will I get into trouble.
Hi Bruce,
I’m only guessing but it sounds like you had a system that was connected to the digital meter and whoever has installed your single 3ph inverter has made an error.
Technically turning a mechanical meter backwards is deemed electricity theft and the authorities view it quite dimly.
I’d suggest you get someone who knows what they’re doing to audit the install and repair it. 44c is a great tariff and I wouldn’t want to endanger that if it’s still available to you.
https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/3-phase-battery-backup/
https://support.solarquotes.com.au/hc/en-us/articles/6192150320783-1-2-or-3-Phase-What-does-it-actually-mean-when-you-talk-about-electricity-supply-
https://support.solarquotes.com.au/hc/en-us/articles/6030114486799-How-do-3-phase-meters-work-with-single-phase-solar-
https://support.solarquotes.com.au/hc/en-us/articles/115001596554-How-does-a-single-phase-inverter-on-a-3-phase-supply-affect-my-self-consumption-