Official Information Request – Smart Meter Health and Safety Policy, Risk Assessments, and Regulatory Guidance
SPENCER JONES made this Official Information request to Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
Response to this request is long overdue. By law Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment should have responded by now (details and exceptions). The requester can complain to the Ombudsman.
      From: SPENCER JONES
      
    
    MBIE OIA Team,
Pursuant to the Official Information Act 1982, I request the following information relating to the health and safety aspects of smart (advanced) electricity meters installed in New Zealand:
Copies of any internal or external risk assessments, health impact evaluations, or public safety reviews conducted or commissioned by MBIE since 2010 regarding electromagnetic field (EMF) or radiofrequency (RF) exposure from electricity smart meters.
Any MBIE policy advice, cabinet papers, or regulatory guidance prepared since 2010 relating to:
The rollout or regulatory approval of smart meters,
Consumer health or safety risks associated with smart meters,
EMF compliance standards or public consultation on health impacts.
Any correspondence between MBIE and the Ministry of Health, Electricity Authority, or WorkSafe relating to public health, EMF, or electrical safety concerns connected to smart meters or household exposure.
If any part of this request is likely to be refused under section 18(f), please contact me to discuss narrowing the scope.
Kind regards,
Spencer Jones
        From: NoReplyMinisterialServices
        Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
      
    
    Kia ora Spencer Jones,
  
 On behalf of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment I
 acknowledge your email of 2/08/2025 requesting, under the Official
 Information Act 1982, the following:
 Pursuant to the Official Information Act 1982, I request the following
 information relating to the health and safety aspects of smart (advanced)
 electricity meters installed in New Zealand:
Copies of any internal or external risk assessments, health impact
 evaluations, or public safety reviews conducted or commissioned by MBIE
 since 2010 regarding electromagnetic field (EMF) or radiofrequency (RF)
 exposure from electricity smart meters.
Any MBIE policy advice, cabinet papers, or regulatory guidance prepared
 since 2010 relating to:
The rollout or regulatory approval of smart meters,
Consumer health or safety risks associated with smart meters,
EMF compliance standards or public consultation on health impacts.
Any correspondence between MBIE and the Ministry of Health, Electricity
 Authority, or WorkSafe relating to public health, EMF, or electrical
 safety concerns connected to smart meters or household exposure.
If any part of this request is likely to be refused under section 18(f),
 please contact me to discuss narrowing the scope.
  
 We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible, and no
 later than 29/08/2025, being 20 working days after the day your request
 was received. If we are unable to respond to your request by then, we will
 notify you of an extension of that timeframe. If you have any enquiries
 regarding your request feel free to contact us via email to
 [1][MBIE request email].
  
 Nāku noa, nā
 Ministerial Services
 Strategy and Assurance
 Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
 15 Stout Street, Wellington 6011 |  P O Box 1473 Wellington 6140
References
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 1. mailto:[MBIE request email]
        From: *OIA
        Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
      
    
    Kia ora Spencer
Please find attached a letter regarding  your requests of 2 and 6 August
 2025 relating to Smart Meters.
 
Ngā mihi
 
Matthew
 
 
Principal Ministerial Advisor
Building Resources and Markets
[1]Description: cid:image001.jpg@01CE732A.1A2F9630
 
 
 
References
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        From: Ministerial Services – WorkSafe
      
    
    Dear Spencer,
 
I refer to your request made under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA)
 to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, transferred in
 part to WorkSafe New Zealand for direct response. The part of your request
 that was transferred is as follows:
 
4. Incident/fault statistics held from 1 January 2015 to the present,
 broken down by meter
make/model, for:
o Reported appliance damage
 o EMI interference with customer equipment
 o Meter replacement due to fault or failure
 o  
I am writing to seek clarification of your request. Please advise whether
 the information sought relates to instances where a meter is involved in
 which:
 
o incident/fault is attributed to electromagnetic interference (EMI) or
 include all causes; and
 o the source of electromagnetic interference (EMI) is attributed to the
 meter or include other sources. 
 
Thank you and kind regards,
 
Ministerial Services
8 Willis Street
Wellington
W    [1]worksafe.govt.nz
 
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[6]WSNZ_2769-Maori-email-sign-off-with-twitter-v1-2
 
[7]www.govt.nz - your guide to finding and using New Zealand government
 services
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References
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 1. http://www.worksafe.govt.nz/
 2. https://www.facebook.com/nzworksafe
 3. https://twitter.com/WorkSafeNZ
 4. https://www.linkedin.com/company/worksaf...
 5. https://www.instagram.com/worksafe_nz/
 7. http://www.govt.nz/
      From: SPENCER JONES
      
    
    Subject: Clarification Response – OIA Request on Smart Meter Incident/Fault Statistics
Kia ora,
Thank you for your message of 29 August 2025 seeking clarification of my Official Information Act request, partially transferred from MBIE.
To confirm:
- I seek **all incident/fault statistics held from 1 January 2015 to the present** relating to smart meters, broken down by meter make/model, for:  
  - reported appliance damage,  
  - electromagnetic interference (EMI) with customer equipment, and  
  - meter replacement due to fault or failure.  
- Please include **all causes of incident/fault**, not just those attributed to EMI.  
- Where EMI is recorded, please include both instances where the source is identified as the meter itself and where the source may be another factor, provided the meter is implicated in the incident or recorded in the data.  
This clarification is intended to ensure the scope is comprehensive while avoiding the need for multiple follow-ups. If any part of this remains unclear, please advise so I can refine further.
Kind regards,  
Spencer Jones
Things to do with this request
- Add an annotation (to help the requester or others)
 - Download a zip file of all correspondence (note: this contains the same information already available above).
 


SPENCER JONES left an annotation ()
**Annotation for Future Readers**
On 29 August 2025, WorkSafe sought clarification of my request (partially transferred from MBIE) regarding smart meter incident/fault statistics. They asked whether the data should cover:
- only incidents attributed to electromagnetic interference (EMI) or all causes, and
- EMI attributed specifically to the meter or also to other sources.
I have since clarified that I am seeking **all incident/fault statistics from 1 January 2015 to the present, broken down by meter make/model, covering appliance damage, EMI interference, and meter replacement due to fault or failure – across all causes, including where EMI is attributed to the meter or to another source but implicates the meter in the incident record.**
This ensures the scope remains comprehensive and avoids unnecessary narrowing that could exclude relevant consumer safety information.
Kind regards,
Spencer Jones
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