Electricity meters: USAID upgrades DISCOs’ infrastructure

Thousands of obsolete meters replaced with new, accurate ones.

ISLAMABAD: The United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) ‘Power Distribution Program’ is replacing old mechanical meters and any damaged meters with state of the art electrostatic meters in Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO), Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO) and Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO).

“More than 20,000 meters have been replaced in LESCO and 9,000 in both FESCO and PESCO, in selected subdivisions where improvements in meter reading and subsequent customer billing can be monitored,” a statement by USAID issued here Tuesday said.

The overall objective of this program is to enhance the commercial viability of these government-owned power distribution companies (DISCOs) by improving the accuracy of the energy billed to customers and eliminating the need to estimate bills.

This will improve consumer confidence in the accuracy of their bills, and is expected to reduce the commercial losses of DISCOs and improve profitability.

The meter replacement project is a step-by-step process, in which the grid feeders are first surveyed and meters identified for replacement.

The project ensures that all meters are installed at a readable height, and is a small but important intervention which helps meter readers in taking more accurate readings.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 3^rd, 2013.

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