Smart meter (AMI)
Definition. A smart meter is an electricity meter that records consumption in intervals and communicates readings back to the utility over a network, removing the need for a physical meter reader and enabling remote disconnection and time-of-use billing.
Also called: AMI meter · AMR meter · Advanced metering infrastructure
Where you see it: On the meter itself — a communications module and often a display cycling through interval data — and on the bill as consistently non-estimated readings.
What actually changes
Estimated bills largely disappear, because the reading no longer depends on someone reaching the meter. Time-of-use billing becomes practical for domestic consumers. Outage detection improves, because the utility learns a meter has gone dark without waiting for a phone call.
What does not change is the tariff. A smart meter measures the same kilowatt-hours at the same notified rates.
The 'my bill went up' question
Bills frequently do rise after a meter change, and there are two honest explanations that have nothing to do with the new meter being wrong.
The first is that the old meter was under-recording — mechanical meters slow with age, and a replacement measuring correctly reads higher for identical consumption. The second is that a history of low estimates ends, and the first accurate reading captures consumption that was previously understated.
The way to settle it is a meter test. A meter can be challenged and tested, and a meter found outside its accuracy class is replaced and the billing adjusted.
Remote disconnection
AMI meters can generally be disconnected and reconnected remotely. That cuts reconnection delays after payment substantially, from days to minutes on some networks.
It also means disconnection for non-payment no longer requires a crew visit, which in practice makes it faster.
Frequently asked questions
Can I refuse a smart meter?
Metering equipment is the utility's property and its replacement is part of the network's operation, so there is no general opt-out. Concerns about a specific installation are handled as a meter dispute, not as a refusal.
Does a smart meter let me see my own usage in real time?
The meter records interval data, but consumer access depends on whether the DISCO offers a portal or app for it. Availability varies considerably between companies.
Related terms
- Meter reading — How to read a Pakistani electricity meter correctly, which digits to ignore, and how to check the reading printed on your bill against the device on your wall.
- Average bill — Why your bill sometimes says AVG instead of showing a real reading, how the estimate is built, and how the correction lands on the following month.
- Time-of-use tariff — How TOU billing works in Pakistan, who is required to have it, and whether shifting your load to off-peak hours is actually worth it.
- Bidirectional meter — What a bidirectional meter records, how it differs from a reversed ordinary meter, and how to check that yours is registering export correctly.
Go further
Back to the full 44-term glossary, or open your own bill with the reference number lookup.