SEDIBENG. The installation of electricity smart meters by the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM) in partnership with the Chinese company, Beijing Xiaocheng Electronic Company, South Africa (BXC SA) is in full speed. This was revealed to Sedibeng Ster at a special media briefing and demonstration in Vanderbijlpark last Thursday. This is amidst rejection and uncertainty from parts of the members of the community. Falcon Ridge, Municipal flats and parts of Vanderbijlpark have already been fitted with the eletricity smart meters. The old municipal boxes will be replaced but Eskom electricity meter boxes will not be replaced as they are privately owned. The ELM meters will be installed inside the green meter box on the pavement or inside pole mounted boxes. The water smart meters will be installed later this year. ELM says that no funding was provided for the project form their side and that BXC SA was required to finance the project. The municipality will then pay for the project through the proven additional cash flow
The old municipal boxes will be replaced but Eskom electricity meter boxes will not be replaced as they are privately owned. The ELM meters will be installed inside the green meter box on the pavement or inside pole mounted boxes. The water smart meters will be installed later this year. ELM says that no funding was provided for the project form their side and that BXC SA was required to finance the project. The municipality will then pay for the project through the proven additional cash flow
The water smart meters will be installed later this year. ELM says that no funding was provided for the project from their side and that BXC SA was required to finance the project. The municipality will then pay for the project through the proven additional cash flow
This was revealed to Sedibeng Ster at a special media briefing and demonstration in Vanderbijlpark last Thursday. This is amidst rejection and uncertainty from parts of the members of the community. Falcon Ridge, Municipal flats and parts of Vanderbijlpark have already been fitted with the electricity smart meters. The old municipal boxes will be replaced but Eskom electricity meter boxes will not be replaced as they are privately owned. The ELM meters will be installed inside the green meter box on the pavement or inside pole mounted boxes. The water smart meters will be installed later this year. ELM says that no funding was provided for the project form their side and that BXC SA was required to finance the project. The municipality will then pay for the project through the proven additional cash flow
The old municipal boxes will be replaced but Eskom electricity meter boxes will not be replaced as they are privately owned. The ELM meters will be installed inside the green meter box on the pavement or inside pole mounted boxes. The water smart meters will be installed later this year. ELM says that no funding was provided for the project from their side and that BXC SA was required to finance the project. The municipality will then pay for the project through the proven additional cash flow realized through successful and effective deployment of the smart meter system. The system, it is said, aims to assist ELM to reduce water and electricity revenue losses by providing direct access to metering data, detection of meter tempering, provision of repayment and credit mode functionality, provide information on system outages and reduce load. Speaking to Sedibeng Ster ELM’s acting manager of Communications, Marketing and Branding, Stanley Gaba said that community members must be taught ‘a culture of payment.’ The R1 billion project (including water smart meters installations) will see areas such as Sharpeville, Bophelong, Evaton, Eatonside and Boipatong all also installed with these smart meters. “For
The R1 billion project (including water smart meters installations) will see areas such as Sharpeville, Bophelong, Evaton, Eatonside and Boipatong all also installed with these smart meters. “For consumers there will be no more irregular meter readings or high estimated readings. There will be safe meter boxes which will be easily managed by consumers,” said Gaba. The electricity and water rates will stay the same as they have to be approved by the council and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA). Gaba also added that BXC SA will manage the entire system for a period of ten years during which skills and knowledge will be transferred to ELM personnel.
