City Power has indicated via Councillor Ingrid Reinten that due to the extent of the roll-out of the smart meter project in Johannesburg it is experiencing some teething problems.
In a statement forwarded by Reinten the technical nature of the project, the specialised skills as well as the backing systems needed all contributes to the problems.
According to Reinten’s email, 42 344 meters have been deployed of which 30 344 are for domestic use. The total number of meters on the billing system is 28 100 (or 89,21 per cent of the installed domestic meters) and the total number of meters with problems is 2,244.
City Power still uses estimates for billing purposes on the remaining units that are yet to be integrated into the system.
City Power has noted that some of the technical challenges also owe their existence to factors that are beyond their control, including a poor network signal in the areas where they are installed. The service entity has indicated though that it is not underrating the problem and is addressing the concerns raised by putting remedial measures in place. It is also in the process of replacing the faulty units with new ones and expect to complete this process within a month.
A call centre dedicated for this project has been set up and is manned by specially trained staff who will field any smart meter related issues.
Despite initial challenges, the project has delivered important benefits. It has generated over 800 direct and indirect job opportunities for the citizens of Johannesburg over the course of the project.
City Power also will be embarking on an educational and awareness drive to empower residents with the required knowledge about the new technology. This campaign focuses on the pre-rollout phase, the deployment phase and the post-rollout or billing phase. The pre-rollout period will communicate timelines for rollout, address security concerns and engage stakeholders on the project. During this phase the campaign will aim to create awareness about the benefits of smart meters. The implementation and post-rollout phase will include continuous education and inclusion of a detailed information letter that will form part of the customer bill, including contact details of the newly established and fully functional call centre. Calls to the call centre will be followed up by a field response team should it become necessary. These interventions will help ease the migration to this new technology and will assist in dispelling some of the misperceptions and myths around smart meters.
City Power is attempting to reduce the time lag for responding to problems to a maximum of four weeks.
To finally address the issue of unauthorised access to the meters, City Power will be re-installing the existing meter installations in protective structures that are tamper-proof. The protective structures have built-in alarms that are activated in any unauthorised event and a report will be sent to the control centre.
For more information contact the project call centre on 087 022 0540 or at smartmetersupport@citypower.co.za.
