The Emalahleni Local Municipality’s smart meter project is well underway.
Vodacom Business, the enterprise division of Vodacom Group has partnered with the municipality to help lessen the burden on the Eskom account by reducing electricity losses.
The auditing of pre-paid meters is currently happening and residents will see fieldworkers with tablets in the area working around the clock identifying meters that have been bridged. New meters will immediately be installed if a faulty meter is identified.
“After the audit we will install new meters in a massive way. The teams have been given tight deadlines as the municipality is under pressure to service the Eskom debt,” Mr Kingdom Mabuza, municipal spokesperson said.
Mesdames Mandy Brown and Sinthembile April are two fieldworkers busy with an audit on pre-paid meters.
During a council meeting in March, the municipal manager, Mr Theo van Vuuren said the cost benefit of this exercise is very positive and the municipality can save up to R30-million a month.
Globally, utilities have used smart metering to successfully understand electricity usage and supply management.
Smart meters facilitate the communication between the utility and the end-user.
Through real-time monitoring, utilities are able to measure site-specific information that provides insight into when and how much energy is being used.
This allows for more accurate energy usage forecasts and also provides information to encourage end-users to consume energy outside of peak demand times.
