Meter data guides

Your smart meter writes down your home's power use every 30 minutes. That record is yours, and you can ask for a copy. It is what lets us price a time-of-use plan or a virtual power plant (VPP) properly for a battery home, which a bill alone can't do.

What the file is

Think of it as a very long list of meter readings. Every half hour your meter notes down two numbers: how much power your home took from the grid, and how much your solar sent back.

meter-data.csv
An example day, one bar for each half hour. That is 48 readings a day, or about 17,500 for a year. Grid use sits above the line and solar sent back sits below it.
What it is called
Your meter data file. Retailers and networks may call it interval data or metering data (NEM12).
What it looks like
A file whose name ends in .csv. That is a common type of file for long lists of numbers, the kind a spreadsheet can open. You never need to open it or read it.
What you do with it
Save it, then upload it to your report just as it came. Opening it in Excel and saving it can break it. Here is why.

Two ways to get it

It can come from your retailer, the company that bills you, or your network, the company that owns the poles, wires and the meter itself. Both have to give it to you. They differ a lot in how quickly.

Where do you live?

Pick your state to see the quicker way for you.

Download it yourself

From your network, in Victoria and South Australia

Minutes
  1. Find your network. It is set by where you live. Check your postcode.
  2. Register once on their website. You need your meter number (NMI). It is on your bill, usually near your address.
  3. Download 12 months. Choose the detailed or interval download, not the summary.

Ask with a form

From any retailer, or the network in New South Wales and Queensland

Up to 10 business days
  1. Pick who to ask. Your retailer (the company that bills you) or your network. Guides for the big retailers.
  2. Ask for this, word for word.
    Twelve months of detailed interval meter data (NEM12), sent by email.
  3. Wait for the email. It is free for up to four requests a year.

Then upload it to your report. Just as it came, no need to open it. We read it, keep the half-hourly numbers and delete the file. How it works.

Find your network

Your network is decided by where you live. Your retailer is the company that bills you, and that one is on your bill rather than in your postcode.


All the network portals and forms, state by state

Guides by retailer

  • AGL

    The two boxes to tick on AGL's form, and how long AGL aims to take.

    Verified 26 September 2026

  • Origin Energy

    Origin asks you to phone. What to ask for, and a usage file to try first.

    Verified 26 September 2026

  • EnergyAustralia

    What to ask EnergyAustralia for, and what you need from your bill.

    Verified 26 July 2026

  • Red Energy and Lumo Energy

    There's no download button. What to ask on the phone, and the faster network route.

    Verified 26 July 2026

We started with these because between them they bill most Australian households, and because the four paths are genuinely different from each other. If your retailer is not here, the network route works no matter who bills you, and the general guide covers what to ask any retailer for.

Guides by network

  • SA Power Networks

    South Australia: register on the meter data website, pick Detailed, and download.

    Verified 16 October 2026

  • Every network portal and form

    Each network's portal or request form, state by state, and how long each one takes.

    Verified 26 July 2026

About the file

  • About your meter data file

    What the file is, what to ask any retailer for, and why opening it in Excel breaks it.

    Verified 26 July 2026

Before you ask for your meter data

  • Have a bill in front of you. Every portal and every form asks for your meter number (NMI). It is on your bill, usually near the address.

  • Ask for 12 months. A full year covers every season. Less than that and summer or winter is missing, which is exactly when a battery earns or loses money.

  • Ask for the detailed or interval file, not the summary. The summary is a PDF of totals. It cannot be used for anything.

  • Do not open it in Excel and save it. Excel rewrites the file and breaks it. Here is why, and what to do instead.

What we do with your meter data

You upload the file to your report. We price the plans a bill alone can't, and check your answer against your real half-hours. We keep the half-hourly numbers with your report and delete the file the moment we've read it. See how it works and our privacy policy.

Every guide here carries the date we last checked it. Portals get redesigned and forms move. If a step is wrong, tell us at support@powerlens.com.au and we will fix the page.

Got a battery? The battery and plan guides cover your bills and your plan.