The Sunday News
Lackson Munkombwe Sunday News Reporter
THE Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) has started rolling out prepaid smart meters, which can report when customers tamper with them and can switch off geysers without affecting other gadgets. Zesa spokesperson Mr Fullard Gwasira said the initiative is a pilot project currently being carried out in Pumula suburb, Bulawayo.
“The pilot project of the installation of smart meters to medium and large power users was started in Harare and is eventually targeted to be rolled out to all regions countrywide,” said Mr Gwasira.
He said the power utility is expecting to roll out smart meters to several households around the country. “In the first phase of the project ZETDC is targeting to install 4 000 smart meters to medium and large power users and in the second phase it has plans to install 36 000 smart meters,” he said.
Mr Gwasira said the exercise will improve revenue collection which has been a challenge over the years.
“Smart meters have an enhanced functionality of the creation of a smart grid wherein operational costs are curtailed by medium and large power users. These include load curtailment, and greater revenue protection as the meter talks to Zesa regarding tampering, by pass, low consumption and load curtailment,” he said.
The smart meters use the Meter Data Management model, a central system that enables remote communication with installed smart meters countrywide. Using smart pre-payment meters, utilities now get reads from smart meters at an interval of 15 minutes or less.
Mr Gwasira said ordinary meters are just till points and smart meters are more complex till points which have the ability to communicate with the central system at Zesa to report meter by-passes, low consumption and are able to effect load curtailment.
“It gives Zesa the ability to switch for instance, all geysers without affecting the lights for a particular area. Medium and large power users should embrace the smart metering technology as it creates a win-win situation between the power utility and its valued consumers in terms of revenue protection and value for money. Domestic consumers are thus in a position to account for their consumption through the prepayment system. Customers in all the categories also become conscious of energy conservation as they pay before consuming the power,” he said.
Zesa has cited massive leaks of pre-paid meter units which have seen more than 4 000 properties in Harare using electricity for free via by-passing the meters or tampering with them.
The power utility has also set several measures to help in the collection of revenue and improve efficiency for the power utility this year. Mr Gwasira said the power utility has already successfully installed 558 490 prepaid meters in domestic premises and small institutions countrywide in the first phase of the project.
Zesa has started rolling out pre-payment smart meters in Pumula in Bulawayo while users are asked to change pre-paid meter accounts to smart meters. Power users were asked to register their new accounts at the Zesa offices before the power utility shuts down the old system to allow the new system to function in those areas.
