Automatic billing: Special meters to detect exact electricity usage

ISLAMABAD:

A proposal is under consideration to install a system that can pinpoint groups of consumers who are contributing to increases in line losses of electricity distribution companies.

The use of smart metering will enable power distribution companies (DISCOs) to pinpoint loss generating areas, an official at the Ministry of Water and Power said on Thursday.

The official said the proposal is under active consideration not only for Islamabad, but for all DISCOs in the country. However, that due to the heavy expenditure involved, it will be implemented in phases.

In phase one, meters with Automatic Meter Reading (AMR) ability will be installed on a common delivery point, while in the second phase, AMR-enabled meters will be installed on all 11 kilovolt outgoing feeders. Moreover, in the third phase, AMR-enabled meters will be installed on distribution transformers, while in the fourth phase AMR-enabled meters will be installed for individual industrial, tubewell and commercial customers.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 9^th, 2012.