There has been an increase in complaints about the installation of digital or smart meters across NSW.

Of the 26,000 complaints received by the NSW Energy and Water Ombudsman in the last 12 months, 60 per cent relate to customers being incorrectly billed.

NSW Energy and Water Ombudsman Janine Young says more customers are turning to solar to reduce their power bills, but the transition has not been easy for some.

“The energy landscape is changing significantly,” Ms Young has told the ABC.

“There are more customers relying on their own systems rather than buying all of their electricity from poles and wires via a retailer.

“So there needs to be a constant review of regulation in this space to make sure that consumers are protected when things go wrong.”

Ms Young said problems often lay with the installer, not the energy provider.

“We're receiving a number of complaints where the solar installer has hooked up the solar system to an existing analogue or 'old-style' meter,” she said.

“The installer shouldn't be doing that — it's not safe, it doesn't comply with regulations and it means that the customer is not getting any feed in tariffs.

“So we would have to work through and see who is actually at fault when we get a metering complaint like that.”

The Ombudsman said customers should first follow their retailers' complaints process to resolve discrepancies.

“Ring your retailer, if they can't resolve it for you, ring our office,” Ms Young said.

“We can work through it very quickly.”