Under the digitisation and up-gradation programme, Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) has planned to replace all existing old meters with state-of-the-art advance metering infrastructure (AMI) meters till 2030 across all six circles aimed at ensuring accurate meter reading, billing, controlling power theft and reducing load-shedding.
Briefing the media persons, IESCO Chief Executive Officer Dr Muhammad Amjad said the company has around 3.8 million consumers in six circles. “All the connections (3.8 million) will be replaced with AMI meters by 2030,” he said. However, the IESCO chief noted that in the first phase, around 1.2 million connections in Rawalpindi Cantt Circle, Rawalpindi City Circle and Taxila were being replaced with AMI meters.
The company has already installed over 42,000 meters so far in various areas of Rawalpindi in the short spin of time, he added.
Under the plan, in the first phase, the company would install around 1.2 million AMI meters, initially in Rawalpindi City Circle, Rawalpindi Cantonment Circle and Taxila (Division), he said. The task would be completed by June 2026 for which initially two contractors have been hired to install around 2,000 AMI daily in the said circles, he said.
Dr Amjad said the Asian Development Bank has provided $109 million in financial assistance to complete the project under the second power distribution enhancement investment programme. The contract for the project was signed on September 3, 2022, while its effectiveness date was January 2023, he added.
The CEO said the AMI system would bring about a permanent elimination of power pilferage with systematic control of transmission through round-the-clock monitoring of the electricity meters. This technology would help reduce power sector losses, enhance the quality of billing and recoveries, control power load-shedding and also address the consumers’ complaints of wrong or over-billing, he said.
He said the AMI system would also end human interventions in meter reading, enhance customer support, better measurements, more accurate billing, a degree of control of consumption and help improve IESCO’s ability to reduce non-technical losses. He said automated 100 per cent correct and timely meter readings would reduce costs incurred on meter readings significantly.
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