TML's online metering service makes switching easy for commercial power customers

Hot on the heels of their newly launched online electricity prepayment service, Total Metering Limited (TML) has released its second e-commerce initiative, Elect TOU. Elect TOU employs the latest in smart metering, web-based, and database technologies. It is New Zealand's first independent Internet enabled electricity metering and usage information service.

As well as recording and forwarding electricity consumption data to electricity retailers for billing purposes, Elect TOU also allows commercial electricity customers to cost-effectively monitor, manage, and understand their electricity usage. This means they can identify cost saving opportunities and switch between electricity retailers with minimal effort and expense.

TML's Business Development Director Dean Gowans says, "The new service helps solve some of the issues raised in the recently released electricity industry inquiry because Elect TOU separates meter ownership from the electricity retailer."

"This allows for a more seamless switching process when the commercial customers wish to switch between electricity suppliers when their current supply contract expires. Elect TOU is currently being marketed in New Zealand. However, we are looking to work with strategic partners to offer the service throughout Australasia and in the USA."

The Elect TOU web-based electricity metering and usage information service provides:

• Internet web browser access to the customer's profile and usage data
  
• Comprehensive, easy to understand electricity usage graphs to monitor and manage energy consumption
  
• Information to develop cost effect energy management strategies
  
• A turnkey metering solution that supplies, installs, remotely reads and forwards electricity consumption data to the nominated electricity retailer for billing

"A number of corporates have already made cost savings from using the Elect TOU service. Furthermore, a large number of companies have shown strong interest in using the service when their current supply contracts expire. Providing a seamless switching mechanism to switch between electricity retailers and online access to consumption information is certainly attractive to commercial electricity customers. It also removes an administration headache for the retailers. Retailers can now better focus on their core activities to provide value-added electricity services to their customers. They also avoid having stranded meter assets when customers switch retailers because TML owns and manages the metering services and systems."

Dean Gowans says "TML is steadily evolving from a metering technology company to an online metering service provider as we are using the latest web browser, encryption, database, and internet transaction technologies to provide cost effective and value-added B2B and B2C metering services."