Dear Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment,

Kia ora,

Under the Official Information Act 1982, I request information held by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE), including material held by or inherited from the former Energy Safety function, relating to advanced electricity meters (commonly referred to as “smart meters” or “AMI meters”).

This request relates to the period 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2016, corresponding to the national AMI rollout phase.

No personally identifiable information is sought.

1. Technical guidance and compliance documentation

Please provide copies of any:
• technical guidance notes,
• advisory circulars,
• Electrical Codes of Practice (ECP) references,
• test specifications,
• internal technical papers,
• compliance notes,
• or installation advisories

that refer specifically to:
• advanced electricity meters,
• smart meters,
• AMI systems,
• meter exchange programmes,
• surge withstand capability,
• overvoltage protection,
• EMC (electromagnetic compatibility),
• EMI (electromagnetic interference),
• harmonics,
• power quality impacts,
• or RF emissions from electricity meters.

If no such technical guidance exists, please confirm that position.

2. Meter approval and testing expectations

Please confirm whether, during 2010–2016:

2.1 MBIE (or Energy Safety) maintained any centralised approval, model registration, or compliance verification framework specific to advanced electricity meters.

2.2 MBIE issued or held any documentation outlining minimum surge immunity, EMC/EMI standards, or electrical safety test requirements specific to AMI/smart meters.

If no meter-specific requirements existed beyond general electrical installation standards, please confirm.

3. Incident monitoring during rollout

Please provide any:
• internal briefings,
• reports,
• summaries,
• or correspondence

relating to safety incidents, complaints, or technical risks associated with smart meter installations or replacements during 2010–2016.

If no such material exists, please confirm.

4. Format

Please provide documents electronically in PDF format where possible.

If any part of this request would likely engage section 18(f), please provide reasonable assistance under section 13 by advising how the scope may be refined.

Kind regards,
Spencer Jones