Durban — The eThekwini Municipality said it was rolling out smart meters and provided information on how customers can identify legitimate staff coming to change their meters.
On Friday, in a video, the municipality said as part of the municipality’s Smart City strategy, eThekwini electricity continued to roll out smart meters. The city plans to eventually have a smart meter installed in every single house within its perimeters.
“The city has installed just over 70 000 smart meters and plans to have installed 350 000 by 2024,” the municipality said.
“Dedicated teams have been assigned across all regions replacing old meters with new ones.”
The municipality said it was aware of customers’ concerns about possible imposters entering their premises during this time.
“Customers are advised to check for the following details before giving anyone access to their premises: A permanent employee who comes to your house to change your meter must produce an identification card that consists of their name, surname, photo, service number and must be wearing blue overalls. However, a contractor will be wearing red overalls, their identification will state that they are subcontracted under a company working with the municipality. Their identification card must include an expiry date of the contract,” the municipality said.
“Beyond being identified by their apparel, the employee or contractor on site will have documentation pertaining to the meter change.”
The municipality urged customers to always request identification.
It also implored customers to co-operate to assist the municipality achieve its goal.
In June, the Daily News reported that the roll-out of smart water meters in the municipality was expected to begin in July.
The implementation of an advanced metering infrastructure solution comprising smart water and prepaid water meters was discussed at the eThekwini Executive Committee meeting at the end of June. A report said the smart metering strategy would cater to both electricity and water metering requirements to avoid duplication of effort.
The report stated that this would follow the International Water Association (lWA) best practice, with a view to reducing consumer over-consumption that would protect critical resources; ensure that revenue is realised upfront: improve the cost recovery by the municipality and provide a payment vending platform for water sales.
The report stated that the evaluation for the potential service providers had been cloned, and was awaiting budget approval. It was regarded as a crucial project for the city. In preparation for the implementation phase, the water department is assisted by the electricity unit to develop the back-end systems in support of the water-smart metering infrastructure.
The report indicated this was the most crucial pathway for preparatory work before the actual roll-out of the infrastructure, as the supply and installation of metering devices come last, once the back-end systems are in place.
The smart metering project will be implemented to leverage all automation capabilities beyond just prepaid to maximise existing infrastructure at the electricity unit, enabling a combined effort to cater for both water and electricity utilities.
Daily News