I’m Joe from Smarta Switch in Brisbane. “Interval data” is one of those phrases retailers and brokers throw around like everyone just knows what it means. Most business owners don’t, and there’s no reason you should, it’s not exactly dinner conversation. But it’s the thing sitting underneath almost every accurate energy quote, and by the end of this decade every business in the country will have it whether they ask for it or not. Here’s what it actually is, why it decides what you pay, and how to get your hands on yours.
We’re paid by the energy retailer when you switch, never by you.
The one-line version
Interval data is a record of exactly when your business used electricity, broken into 30-minute blocks, instead of one lump total for the month.
Think about the difference between a bank statement that just shows one number, “you spent $4,000 this month,” versus one that itemises every transaction with a timestamp. Both add up to the same total. Only one tells you when the spending happened, and that’s the one that actually explains your habits.
Interval data is the itemised version of your energy use. Whether you have it, and how good it is, comes down to one thing: what type of meter is bolted to your wall.
The three meter types
Every commercial electricity meter in the country falls into one of three categories, and the category decides whether interval data even exists for your site.
- Type 4, the smart meter. Records usage in 30-minute blocks and reads itself remotely, nobody has to visit your site. Interval data flows automatically and your retailer can see your usage shape whenever they need to.
- Type 5, an interval meter, but it has to be manually read. It’s still capturing usage in blocks, the data just isn’t flowing automatically the way a Type 4’s does.
- Type 6, a basic accumulation meter. It only shows a running total, the same as an old household meter. No time-of-use data, no demand profile, nothing. Just one number that goes up.
If your bill has ever shown a single usage figure with no breakdown by time of day, you’re almost certainly sitting behind a Type 6. If your retailer has ever shown you a half-hourly usage graph, you’re on a Type 4. (Here’s where to find that detail on your bill.)
Why this actually decides what you pay
This isn’t a technical curiosity. Interval data is what lets a retailer or broker price your contract on what your business genuinely does, instead of an assumption.
Two charges depend on it directly:
- Time-of-use tariffs. These charge different rates depending on when you use power: peak, shoulder and off-peak. (Full breakdown here.) Without interval data, nobody can tell whether you’re a business that mostly runs in the cheap overnight window or one that’s slammed during the expensive evening peak, so a flat, unhelpful assumption gets used instead.
- Demand charges. These bill you on your single worst 30-minute spike in the month. (Full breakdown here.) Interval data is the only thing that actually shows where that spike sits, and whether it’s a genuine problem or a one-off.
A site stuck on Type 6 can still be quoted, but it’s quoted on averages and estimates, not on what actually happened at your site. That cuts both ways: sometimes it works in a business’s favour, more often it means paying for a risk profile that isn’t really theirs.
Victoria’s decade head start
Here’s a genuinely interesting fact if you’re anywhere outside Victoria: Victorian businesses have had this sorted for over a decade. The state completed a mandatory smart meter rollout back in 2013, roughly ten years ahead of the rest of the country. If you’re running a business in Victoria, there’s a good chance you already have full interval data available and may not even know it.
Everywhere else, it’s been patchy. Some sites already have a Type 4 meter, plenty of older or lower-usage sites are still sitting on a Type 5 or Type 6. There was never a national deadline forcing the issue, so it came down to when your site was last metered and what your retailer chose to install. That’s about to change.
Every meter in the country, by 2030
On 28 November 2024, the AEMC (the body that writes the rules for Australia’s energy market) finalised a rule that ends the patchiness. Every remaining Type 5 and Type 6 meter in the country has to be replaced with a Type 4 smart meter.
The timeline: an accelerated rollout starts 1 December 2025, and every business has to be converted by 1 December 2030.
If your business is still on an old accumulation meter, you don’t need to do anything to make this happen, it’ll come to you as part of the national rollout. What it means practically is that within the next few years, every business in the country will have full interval data, and every retailer will be able to price accordingly. The businesses that get ahead of it, by understanding their own usage shape early, are the ones who’ll be ready to negotiate properly the moment their new meter goes in. The ones who ignore it will just get a new meter and keep paying an old, averaged-out rate.
How to actually get your interval data
You don’t have to wait for the national rollout to see your own numbers. If your site already has a Type 4 or Type 5 meter, the data exists right now.
Two ways to get it:
- Ask your retailer directly. It’s your data, from your site, and you’re entitled to see it. Most retailers can produce a historical interval report on request, sometimes through an online portal, sometimes by someone actually sending you a file.
- Get a broker to pull it for you. Sign a Letter of Authority (here’s exactly what that does, and doesn’t, authorise) and we can request your historical interval data directly, then use it to check whether your tariff structure and demand pricing actually suit how your business runs.
Either way works. The only mistake is not looking at it at all, because until someone does, your contract is being priced on an assumption instead of on your business.
What to do this week
- Find your meter type. It’s usually on your bill, or your retailer can tell you in one phone call: Type 4, Type 5 or Type 6.
- If you’re Type 4 or Type 5, your interval data already exists. Ask your retailer for a historical usage report, or let us pull it for you.
- If you’re Type 6, know that a smart meter is coming whether you ask for it or not, nationally, by 1 December 2030. No action needed on your end, but it’s worth knowing why your bill will start looking different.
- Get it reviewed properly. Upload your bill on this page or email hello@smartaswitch.com.au. We’ll check your meter type, pull your interval data if you’d like us to, and tell you whether your tariff and demand pricing actually match how your business uses power. No cost, no commitment, because we’re paid by the energy retailer when you switch, never by you.
Most people never think about their meter until something forces them to. The businesses that get their interval data sorted early are the ones who walk into a renewal already knowing what a fair price looks like, instead of taking whatever number lands in the inbox.
Joe Lawrence, Co-founder, Smarta Switch Australia 0435 642 592 · joe@smartaswitch.com.au