Smart Meter Import and Export Readings: A Guide for Solar Owners

Learn how to find your smart meter export reading and import reading, decode the registers, and check them against your bill. A plain-language guide for Aussie homes. 

You added solar to save money, so when the bill arrives, you naturally want to know one thing: are you actually being credited for everything you sent to the grid? The trouble is that your electric smart meter reading rarely lines up neatly with the figures printed on your statement, and it’s hard to tell whether that gap is normal or a genuine problem.  
 
Here’s the reassuring part. Your smart meter records the electricity you pull in and the electricity you push out separately, and once you know which number is which, you can verify the important figures yourself. This guide from VoltX Energy walks you through smart meter export reading and smart meter import reading, so you can check your own numbers with confidence.  

What Import and Export Actually Mean

Every solar home has energy flowing two ways. Bi-directional meter reading is simply the meter’s ability to track both directions at once.  
 
Import is the electricity you draw from the grid, usually in the evening and overnight when your panels aren’t producing. You pay your usage rate for every imported kilowatt-hour (kWh).  
 
Export is your surplus solar sent back to the grid during the day, when you’re generating more than the home is using. Your retailer pays you a solar feed-in credit for this energy, though the export rate is almost always lower than the rate you pay to import—and in some networks, exporting at the wrong time of day now carries a “sun tax” charge. 
 
That rate mismatch is why self-verification matters. If you’re exporting cheap and buying back expensive, every kilowatt-hour counts, which is exactly why understanding your smart meter solar reading is worth ten minutes of your time.

First, Confirm You Have a Smart Meter 

Older analogue meters (spinning dials) and basic digital meters only count total consumption in one direction, so they can’t measure exports at all. If you have solar, you almost certainly have a smart meter, which is a digital unit with an LCD screen that cycles through several displays.  
 
The giveaway is the cycling display and a button labelled “select,” “scroll,” or “display.” Under Australia’s accelerated rollout, all remaining legacy meters are being replaced across the National Electricity Market by 2030, with solar and battery homes generally prioritised. If you’re weighing up whether yours is the older or newer type, our guide on smart meter vs digital meter breaks down the difference.  

How to Read an Electricity Smart Meter: Import and Export

Knowing how to read an electricity smart meter comes down to finding the right register. A register is just a labelled running total stored inside the meter. Your meter holds several, and it cycles through them on the screen, each tagged with a short code. 

Press the scroll button slowly and note each screen. On most Australian smart meters: 

1. Import (consumption) often appears as a code like 01 or 03 — the total kWh you've bought from the grid. 
2. Export (generation sent back) often appears as 04, 40, or an icon showing an arrow pointing away from a house — your total exported kWh. 
3. Time-of-use registers may show separate peak, shoulder, and off-peak import totals if you're on that kind of tariff. 
4. NMI (National Meter Identifier) is your connection's unique ID. You won't use it for the sums, but it confirms you're reading the meter tied to your bill.
   
   

Codes vary slightly between manufacturers and states, so if yours aren’t obvious, your bill or your distributor can confirm which register maps to import and which to export.  
 
So, what do smart meter readings mean? The key idea is not to assume the first number on the screen is the one that matters. It’s usually just one of several.  

A Simple Self-Verification Worksheet

Reading the numbers is easy; the value comes from comparing them correctly to your bill. Here’s a repeatable check: 

1. Record both registers on the same day and write down the date. Note your import total (e.g. 01/03) and your export total (e.g. 04/40). 
2. Wait one full billing period, then record both again on the same day your retailer takes its reading, if you can. 
3. Subtract the first reading from the second for each register. That's your import and export for the period. 
4. Compare those two figures against the "usage" and "solar exported" lines on your bill. 
5. Check the read type on the bill: actual, estimated, or customer read. This single detail explains most surprises. 

If the numbers land in the same ballpark, everything is working as it should. If they’re materially different, you now have specific figures to raise, rather than a vague feeling that something’s off. 

Why Your Smart Meter Reading Is Different to Your Bill

A smart meter reading different to bill is the single most common worry for solar owners, and here’s the important reassurance: a reading that doesn’t exactly match your bill does not automatically mean you’re being overcharged. The usual causes are administrative, not technical.  

Estimated Reads

If the meter’s remote communication dropped out during the billing window, your retailer may have estimated your usage rather than using an actual read. Your manual reading is a truer, more current snapshot, so the two won’t match until the next actual read reconciles then.  

Billing Period Misalignment

Your bill covers a set date range, but the meter read date and the bill issue date rarely fall on the same day. The retailer estimates the few days in between, which creates a small, normal gap.  

The Wrong Register Applied to Your Tariff 

If you’ve recently switched retailers or plans, it’s worth confirming your new tariff is being billed against the correct registers, especially if you’re on time-of-use. This is the one genuinely worth querying, because it can affect what you pay.  

Inverter Export Throttling

If your solar app shows more generation than your export register or bill reflects, this is often normal, not a fault. Your network sets an export limit (commonly 5 kW per phase in much of NSW, up to 10 kW on Ausgrid), and your installer programs the inverter to obey it. When your panels produce more than the cap, the inverter automatically ramps down what it sends to the grid, so the surplus is self-consumed or simply not exported. Your app measures what the panels generate; your export register measures what actually reaches the grid. Throttling explains the gap between the two. 
 
Note: Because your meter data lives with your retailer and distributor, they’re the right people to investigate any of these. Meter data doesn’t sit with your installer, but with your retailer. 

How a Battery Changes What Your Registers Show

If you’ve added storage, or are thinking about it, your readings shift in a way worth understanding. A battery captures your daytime surplus and uses it at night, so you’ll typically see your import register climb more slowly (you’re buying less in the evening) and your export register grow more slowly too (you’re storing surplus instead of sending it all out).  
 
That’s the trade working as intended: you’re swapping low-value exports for high-value self-consumption. If you’d like the reasoning behind why the maths often stacks up, our article on time-of-use tariffs and solar batteries covers it in detail.  
 
Your registers can also flag when something isn’t right. If your evening import stays high even though your battery showed a full charge earlier, that’s a discrepancy worth chasing down, and often points to a battery draining faster than it should. And if you join a Virtual Power Plant, your export register will also capture energy dispatched during grid events. Hence, it’s worth knowing what to check for VPP battery compatibility before you sign up.  

Conclusion

Your smart meter records import and export separately, and once you can find the right register, you’re no longer at the mercy of a confusing bill. Record both readings, compare one billing period against your statement, and check the read type before you worry.  
 
A reading that doesn’t perfectly match your bill is usually explained by an estimated read or a billing cycle that doesn’t line up, not by an error in your favour or theirs. If the gap is material, though, your retailer holds the meter data and is the right place to ask. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

Which meter reading is import and which is export? 

Import is the electricity you buy from the grid, often shown as register 01 or 03. Export is your surplus solar sent back, often shown as 04 or 40, sometimes with an arrow pointing away from a house. Codes vary by meter, so check your bill or ask your distributor if you’re unsure.  

Why is my smart meter reading different to my bill? 

Usually because of an estimated read, a billing period that doesn’t align with the meter read date, or the wrong register being applied to your tariff. These are administrative, not signs of a fault. Compare the same billing period like-for-like and check whether your bill used an actual or estimated read.  

How do I check my solar feed-in credit is correct? 

Record your export register at the start and end of a billing period, subtract to get the total kWh exported, then compare that against the exported figure on your bill. If they broadly match, your feed-in credit is being calculated on the right number.  

Is it safe to read my own smart meter? 

Yes. You can open an unlocked meter box and press the scroll button to cycle through the display screens. Never open the meter’s protective cover, touch wiring, or tamper with the device—that's dangerous and illegal. If the box is locked, contact your network distributor. 

Who do I contact if my numbers don’t add up: my retailer or installer? 

Your retailer, because they hold your meter data and issue your bill. Meter faults are rare and are handled by your local network distributor, who owns the meter hardware. Your solar installer isn’t the right contact for billing or metering questions.