Requiring the use of half-hourly data for reconciliation

Upcoming Open Closed Decision

View submissions Submissions closed 21 November 2025

Draft amendment to clause 5 of Schedule 15.2 of the Code

One of the proposed consequential amendments discussed in the consultation paper was to add a Code provision that would allow meter readings to be provided by customers, where those readings are appropriately validated (eg, through a time-stamped photograph of the meter reading).

One submitter commented on this proposal. They supported photo-verified customer readings being treated as actual readings, but queried what would qualify as a time-stamp (eg, whether the time-stamp must appear on the image itself or be contained within the file’s metadata). We will address this point in our decision paper.

The draft Code amendment included in Appendix A of the consultation paper inadvertently omitted the wording in relation to this proposal.

As part of good regulatory practice, and to meet our obligations under the Electricity Industry Act 2010, we are now publishing the wording of the draft Code amendment that would give effect to this proposal. We propose an amendment to clause 5 of Schedule 15.2 of the Code to oblige a participant that uses a photograph of a meter register supplied by its customer to:

take reasonable steps to verify the meter reading is accurate
examine the photograph for certain potential issues
keep a record of the steps taken.

Proposed Code amendment - Clause 5 of Schedule 15.2

Decision

The Authority has decided that from 1 October 2026 traders must submit aggregated half-hourly consumption data to the reconciliation manager for all ICPs with a half-hour capable meter.

This decision is expected to deliver:

more accurate wholesale cost allocation
stronger price signals for consumers
improved demand-side flexibility
improved invoicing accuracy and reduced retailer operating costs
more efficient investment in, and operation of, electricity generation and network infrastructure.

This decision is consistent with:

our Energy Competition Task Force work programme and other consumer mobility initiatives
recommendations from the Innovation and Participation Advisory Group (p.31) and the Market Development Advisory Group (p.100).

Decision paper