The Sunday Mail
Livingstone Marufu
ZIMBABWE Electricity Supply Authority (Zesa) is expected to save over US$120 million this year when it completes the installation of more than 40 000 outstanding smart pre-paid meters.
The project will begin by the second quarter of the year.
Experts say smart meters easily detect power theft and leakages.
Zesa spokesperson, Mr Fullard Gwasira told The Sunday Mail Business that the power utility is expected to take delivery of the smart metres by August this year and complete installation by year end.
“We are set to roll out 40 000 smart prepayment meters by second quarter of 2016 which will see us saving a lot money, encourage cooperation between consumers and us to reduce peak loads and optimise resource allocation and efficiency.
“The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) has installed 555 689 (98,4 percent) pre-paid electricity meters during the first phase of the programme.
“The second phase of the programme is targeting to reach the 800 000 prepaid meter mark in line with the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (Zim-Asset), the economic blueprint to empower the nation through reliable power supplies,” said Mr Gwasira.
ZETDC has proposed to hike tariffs from an average of US9,86c per kWh to US14,69 per kWh.
According to the 2016 Tarrif Application Presentation, Zesa made a $202 million loss in 2015.
“We are set to come up with a number of ways to recover our debts and save energy and money through payment plans for overdue customer accounts and offsetting of debt for Government and parastatals,” added Mr Gwasira.
On the overall, Zesa intends to mount pre-paid meters on poles to minimise tampering, including auditing and monitoring both medium and large power users and low and zero consumption points.
Regional power utilities that have implemented smart metering pilot projects include Eskom (South Africa), Tanesco (Tanzania), Zesco (Zambia) and Botswana Power Corporation.
