It’s not every day we stumble across a reader who’s itching to know more about acronyms relating to the energy industry, but we told ourselves that when they did, we’d be there to help.
In 12 words: these are the numbers that identify your electricity and gas connection points. We use NMIs for electricity and MIRNs for gas.
They work a little bit like addresses do, with each NMI and MIRN representing a single supply address. So, in a block of flats for example, even though it’s the same block, each tenant will have their own.
Let’s start with the NMI (you might also hear it as ‘nimi’ out loud). It stands for National Metering Identifier and it’s used to identify electricity connection points in Australia. Your NMI number has 10 or 11 digits (if you’re in Queensland, it might start with 2 letters).
MIRN stands for Meter Installation Registration Number and it’s used to identify gas connection points in Australia. Like your NMI, you can find your MIRN number on your bill.
Your gas meter will also have a meter number which isn’t the same as your MIRN. If you’re unsure which number you’re looking at, check the first digit – MIRNs begin with a 5.
There’s no specific NMI or MIRN lookup available online, so the best place to look for your NMI or MIRN is on your energy bill (the exact spot will depend on your power company). Just make sure to look for your NMI or MIRN – not your meter number, as these are two different things.
Because your NMI is related to the connection point (rather than the meter itself), you might not find your NMI number on your meter. It also means that if you ever replace your meter without making any drastic changes to your electricity supply, your NMI will most likely stay the same.
If you’re wondering how to find an NMI or MIRN number without a bill, you can try calling a power company that operates in your area. Depending on the information they have access to, they might be able to help.