Kia ora Spencer Jones,
 
On behalf of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment I
acknowledge your email of 6/08/2025 requesting, under the Official
Information Act 1982, the following:
 
Please find below my Official Information Act request relating to approved
smart meter models, technical test standards, and recorded incident
statistics. This request is made in the public interest as part of an
active Utilities Disputes complaint (Ref 173878) concerning appliance
damage and smart meter performance.

Official Information Act Request – Approved Smart Meter Type List, Test
Standards, and Fault Statistics

Pursuant to the Official Information Act 1982, I request the following
information relating to all smart electricity meters currently or formerly
approved for installation in New Zealand:

1. The complete list of all smart meter models approved for use in NZ from
1 January 2015 to the present, including:
  - Manufacturer name
  - Model designation
  - Firmware version(s) approved
  - Date of approval and, if applicable, withdrawal

2. Copies of all technical specifications, compliance certificates, and
test reports held by the Authority or MBIE for each approved model,
showing:
  - Surge immunity testing (fast transient/burst and surge per IEC
61000‑4‑4, 61000‑4‑5, or equivalent)
  - Electromagnetic interference (EMI) emission levels, including
conducted and radiated emissions
  - Any high‑frequency transient event immunity testing
  - Testing for compliance with NZS 2772.1:1999 and any supplementary
EMF/EMI standards

3. All internal or external correspondence, reports, or minutes discussing
whether the above tests are mandatory for approval, and whether immunity
to “dirty electricity” or conducted transients is assessed.

4. Incident/fault statistics held from 1 January 2015 to the present,
broken down by meter make/model, for:
  - Reported appliance damage
  - EMI interference with customer equipment
  - Meter replacement due to fault or failure

If any part of this information is withheld, please state the exact
grounds under the OIA, specify the subsection, and explain the public
interest test applied under section 9(1).
 
We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible, and no
later than 3/09/2025, 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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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

 

 

 

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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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Kia ora Spencer

 

Thank you for your emails dated 30 August 2025 about your Official
Information Act request partially transferred to WorkSafe New Zealand byt
her Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, for:

 

4. Incident/fault statistics held from 1 January 2015 to the present,
broken down by meter make/model, for: - Reported appliance damage - EMI
interference with customer equipment - Meter replacement due to fault or
failure

 

Please be advised that under section 15(1) of the Official Information Act
1982 (OIA), where a request is transferred to an entity in accordance with
section 14 of the OIA, that entity shall, as soon as reasonably
practicable, and in any case not later than 20 working days after the day
on which the request is received by that entity, decide whether the
request is to be granted and, if it is to be granted, in what manner and
for what charge (if any). Section 15A of the OIA provides for the
extension to the timeframe for response in accordance with subsections
15A(1)(a) and (b) should it be required. As you are aware, WorkSafe
received the transferred request on 29 August 2025, making the due date
for response 26 September 2025.

 

On 29 August 2025, WorkSafe sought to clarify your request and received
three emails from you on 30 August 2025 addressing clarification of your
request. Please confirm for our records which email we should consider the
final clarification and refer to in our correspondence, email 1, 2 or 3:

 

Email 1 – 9.44am 30 August 2025 (attached)

 

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. 

 

Email 2 – 9.53am 30 August 2025 (attached)

 

To confirm: 

 

- I seek **all incident/fault statistics held from 1 January 2015 to the
present**, broken down by meter make/model, for: 

  - reported appliance damage,

  - electromagnetic interference (EMI) with customer equipment, and

  - meter replacement due to fault or failure. 

 

- The request is not limited to EMI incidents only. Please include **all
causes of incident/fault**. 

- Where EMI incidents are recorded, please include **both cases where the
source is identified as the meter itself and where the source is recorded
as another factor but the meter is implicated in the incident or data
entry**. 

 

Email 3 – 10.06am 30 August 2025 (below)

 

In relation to the transferred portion of my request (incident/fault
statistics from 1 January 2015 to the present, broken down by meter
make/model), I clarify as follows: 

 

- **Scope of incidents:** Please include *all causes* of incident/fault,
not limited to electromagnetic interference (EMI). 

- **EMI source attribution:** For EMI cases, include both incidents where
the smart meter is identified as the source and those where the meter is
otherwise implicated, even if another factor is recorded as the source. 

- **Data format:** Where full disaggregation is not possible, please
provide the information in the form in which it is held, in accordance
with section 16 OIA. A high-level summary (e.g., total numbers of
appliance damage, EMI interference, and meter failures, with breakdowns by
make/model where available) will suffice. 

 

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

 

Nga mihi

 

Ministerial Services

8 Willis Street

Wellington

W    [1]worksafe.govt.nz

 

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Dear Spencer

 

I am writing to follow up on the request for clarification sent to you on
1 September 2025 (below). We are unable to progress your request until we
receive this clarification, if you could let us know as soon as possible
that will ensure further delay is minimised.

 

Thank you and kind regards

 

Ministerial Services

8 Willis Street

Wellington

W    [1]worksafe.govt.nz

 

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From: Ministerial Services – WorkSafe
<[email address]>
Sent: Monday, 1 September 2025 12:48 pm
To: [FOI #31923 email]
Cc: Ministerial Services – WorkSafe
<[email address]>
Subject: RE: OIA 250867 - Clarification

 

Kia ora Spencer

 

Thank you for your emails dated 30 August 2025 about your Official
Information Act request partially transferred to WorkSafe New Zealand byt
her Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, for:

 

4. Incident/fault statistics held from 1 January 2015 to the present,
broken down by meter make/model, for: - Reported appliance damage - EMI
interference with customer equipment - Meter replacement due to fault or
failure

 

Please be advised that under section 15(1) of the Official Information Act
1982 (OIA), where a request is transferred to an entity in accordance with
section 14 of the OIA, that entity shall, as soon as reasonably
practicable, and in any case not later than 20 working days after the day
on which the request is received by that entity, decide whether the
request is to be granted and, if it is to be granted, in what manner and
for what charge (if any). Section 15A of the OIA provides for the
extension to the timeframe for response in accordance with subsections
15A(1)(a) and (b) should it be required. As you are aware, WorkSafe
received the transferred request on 29 August 2025, making the due date
for response 26 September 2025.

 

On 29 August 2025, WorkSafe sought to clarify your request and received
three emails from you on 30 August 2025 addressing clarification of your
request. Please confirm for our records which email we should consider the
final clarification and refer to in our correspondence, email 1, 2 or 3:

 

Email 1 – 9.44am 30 August 2025 (attached)

 

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. 

 

Email 2 – 9.53am 30 August 2025 (attached)

 

To confirm: 

 

- I seek **all incident/fault statistics held from 1 January 2015 to the
present**, broken down by meter make/model, for: 

  - reported appliance damage,

  - electromagnetic interference (EMI) with customer equipment, and

  - meter replacement due to fault or failure. 

 

- The request is not limited to EMI incidents only. Please include **all
causes of incident/fault**. 

- Where EMI incidents are recorded, please include **both cases where the
source is identified as the meter itself and where the source is recorded
as another factor but the meter is implicated in the incident or data
entry**. 

 

Email 3 – 10.06am 30 August 2025 (below)

 

In relation to the transferred portion of my request (incident/fault
statistics from 1 January 2015 to the present, broken down by meter
make/model), I clarify as follows: 

 

- **Scope of incidents:** Please include *all causes* of incident/fault,
not limited to electromagnetic interference (EMI). 

- **EMI source attribution:** For EMI cases, include both incidents where
the smart meter is identified as the source and those where the meter is
otherwise implicated, even if another factor is recorded as the source. 

- **Data format:** Where full disaggregation is not possible, please
provide the information in the form in which it is held, in accordance
with section 16 OIA. A high-level summary (e.g., total numbers of
appliance damage, EMI interference, and meter failures, with breakdowns by
make/model where available) will suffice. 

 

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.

 

Nga mihi

 

Ministerial Services

8 Willis Street

Wellington

W    [7]worksafe.govt.nz

 

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Dear Spencer

 

Please see attached response from WorkSafe New Zealand to your request
received under the Official Information Act1982.

 

Kind regards

 

Ministerial Services

8 Willis Street, PO Box 165, Wellington 6140
W     [1]worksafe.govt.nz 

 

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confidential and solely for the use of the intended recipient. If you are
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