Ethiopian Electric Utility, the state agency engaged in distribution of electricity, says it is set to install 500,000 smart prepayment electricity meters for existing and new customers nationwide at a cost of $48.8 million.
These meters, also known as prepaid meters, operate on a simple ‘pay-as-you-go” basis, where users only pay for the electricity, they are using. Ethiopian Electric Utility Communications Executive, Anwar Abrar, stated that the project is working to install 125,000 smart three-phase meters, 25,000 smart single-phase meters, and 350,000 offline single-phase modern prepayment meters.
He mentioned that in the work performed so far, 60,457 single-phase meters have been installed for residential and commercial customers using up to 7.5 kilowatts of power.
Additionally, 7,013 three-phase meters have been installed and are providing service to residential, commercial, and small industries using between 8 and 24 kilowatts of power.
The communication indicated that these modern meters enable recently created the opportunity for over 67,000 customers to buy electric power from their homes throughout the week using mobile applications from the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Ethio Telecom, and Awash Bank.
Mr. Anwar further said that it will eliminate previous problems such as lost or damaged prepayment cards, network interruptions, and complaints regarding credit not entering the meter, according to Fana Digital.
