LESCO to install 1.7 million modern meters

Consumers will be able to view their electric load, voltage and bill any time

LAHORE: The Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO), in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), will install 1.7 million meters based on the advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) to address billing complaints and power theft.

The installation of the modern meters will cost $300 million. The move will help eliminate traditional meter reading and its cost, as well as line losses.

Incidents of meters and transformers catching fire are also likely to be reduced as the devices will keep relaying information to a central control room.

LESCO's contract with a foreign company has been finalised for the technical and commercial evaluation of the AMI project. The consultancy contract has been signed for the installation of new AMI meters in place of old devices in the LESCO region. The consultancy firm will complete commercial and technical evaluation in three months, after which work on the project will start. The project will be completed in four years.

Of the project cost, 78.5 percent will be met by the ADB, while LESCO will provide 21.5 percent of the funding through its sources. Under the project, 1.7 million AMI meters will be installed in LESCO's south and central circles.

The plan envisages the installation of 1,474,532 single-phase and 213,120 three-phase meters. In the two circles, 28,753 commercial and industrial users' meters will be replaced by the latest AMI devices.

The project will help in improving the monitoring of the demand and supply of electricity. Traditional meter reading, its cost and line losses will be reduced. Better planning would be possible through the availability of timely and accurate information in the central control room. If any meter is out of order, the control room will immediately detect it. The cost of disconnection and re-installation of a meter will also decrease.

After the installation of an AMI meter, the user can check his electric load, voltage and bill at any time. Thus the system will work automatically.

Talking to The Express Tribune, LESCO Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mujahid Pervaiz Chattha said the company aims to provide better facilities to its more than 4.7 million consumers through the advanced technology. “We continue to plan according to the future needs while dealing in a timely manner with customer complaints.

This is the first step towards providing better services to consumers through the use of advanced technology.” The CEO commended the determination of the Project Management Unit staff who worked for the project.

"It's a user-friendly plan, by which the consumers will not face problems regarding overbilling or incorrect bills because they can monitor their meters’ data anytime,” he said.

He said the consumers will know how much power they have used. If someone tampers with a meter, it will be known immediately, thus power theft will not be possible.

He said that the customers will no longer have to wait for the bill because it will be available immediately. The installation of advanced metering infrastructure will reduce LESCO’s operational costs, the LESCO chief said.

Chattha added that reduction in line losses will benefit the consumers more than the company. He said reduction in power theft and losses would help lower the bills. After the installation of AMI meters in LESCO's south and central circles, the project’s scope will be extended to all administrative circles in the region covered by the company.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 16^th, 2020.