MBIE (Smart Meter Safety Guidelines and Oversight)
SPENCER JONES made this Official Information request to Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
Currently waiting for a response from Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment, they must respond promptly and normally no later than (details and exceptions).
From: SPENCER JONES
Tēnā koe,
Pursuant to the Official Information Act 1982 and/or the Privacy Act 2020, I request the following information:
All safety evaluations, health risk assessments, and regulatory reviews of smart meters used in New Zealand from 2020–2025, including models manufactured or installed by Intellihub, Mercury NZ Ltd, or Enlinea Ltd. Include correspondence with the Electricity Authority or Te Whatu Ora on electromagnetic field (EMF) safety or RF compliance.
Context:
Despite evidence of EMF-related complaints, government messaging continues to assert that smart meters pose no health risk. However, consumer care guidelines indicate allowances for health accommodations, and the legal responsibility to manage health risks remains unclear across agencies.
This request relates to and references my Utilities Disputes complaint:
UDL Ref: 173878 – Complaint against Mercury NZ Ltd
Please provide this information in electronic format via return email. I confirm I am a New Zealand citizen and eligible to request this information under section 12 of the OIA.
Kind regards,
Spencer Jones
From: Ministerials
Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment
Kia ora Spencer Jones,
On behalf of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment I
acknowledge your email of 16/12/2025 requesting, under the Official
Information Act 1982, the following:
Pursuant to the Official Information Act 1982 and/or the Privacy Act 2020,
I request the following information:
All safety evaluations, health risk assessments, and regulatory reviews of
smart meters used in New Zealand from 2020–2025, including models
manufactured or installed by Intellihub, Mercury NZ Ltd, or Enlinea Ltd.
Include correspondence with the Electricity Authority or Te Whatu Ora on
electromagnetic field (EMF) safety or RF compliance.
Context:
Despite evidence of EMF-related complaints, government messaging continues
to assert that smart meters pose no health risk. However, consumer care
guidelines indicate allowances for health accommodations, and the legal
responsibility to manage health risks remains unclear across agencies.
This request relates to and references my Utilities Disputes complaint:
UDL Ref: 173878 – Complaint against Mercury NZ Ltd
Please provide this information in electronic format via return email. I
confirm I am a New Zealand citizen and eligible to request this
information under section 12 of the OIA.
We will endeavour to respond to your request as soon as possible, and no
later than 4/02/2026, 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. Please note that the days
from 25 December 2025 to 15 January 2026 (inclusive) are defined as
non-working days in the Act and are not counted in the calculation for the
response due date. This will affect the time period for responding to your
request. 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]
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SPENCER JONES left an annotation ()
Public Annotation – Smart meter safety guidelines and regulatory oversight (MBIE)
This Official Information Act request sought information from Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) about smart meter safety guidance, regulatory oversight, and internal assessments, including MBIE’s role in monitoring health or safety risks associated with smart meter deployment.
In its response, MBIE advised that it does not hold dedicated smart-meter safety guidelines or internal health-risk assessments. The Ministry explained that its role is largely limited to policy and market regulation, and that technical safety matters relating to smart meters are generally addressed through:
• Electrical safety standards and compliance frameworks;
• Responsibilities of electricity distributors, meter owners, and retailers; and
• Other agencies with technical or health mandates, rather than MBIE itself.
The response indicates that:
• MBIE does not produce or maintain specific internal briefings on smart-meter electromagnetic field (EMF) health risks;
• MBIE does not conduct independent safety testing or health impact assessments of smart meters;
• Oversight of meter safety relies primarily on standards-based compliance and industry assurance, rather than active, ministry-led evaluation.
MBIE also signalled that questions relating to health effects or exposure guidance sit outside its core functions and are more appropriately directed to health or technical standards bodies.
For the public record, this response clarifies that there is no centralised, cross-agency safety or health governance framework for smart meters held within MBIE. Instead, smart-meter safety is treated as a distributed responsibility across industry standards, regulators, and other agencies, rather than as an issue subject to ongoing policy review or internal risk assessment by MBIE.
This outcome may be relevant for readers seeking to understand how smart-meter safety is governed in practice, and whether responsibility for potential health or safety concerns is clearly allocated within New Zealand’s regulatory system.
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