As many as 29,000 old and damaged meters were replaced in three government owned power distribution companies (DISCOs) with the assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Power Distribution Program.
Official sources said that 20,000 meters were replaced in Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) and over 9,000 meters in Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO) and Peshawar Electric Supply Company (PESCO).
The overall objective of this programme is to enhance the commercial viability of DISCOs by improving the accuracy of billing and eliminating the need for estimation. The programme launched by USAID will improve the confidence of consumers in the accuracy of their bills and is expected to reduce the commercial losses of DISCOs and improve profitability. The meter replacement project is a step-by-step process, in which the grid feeders are first surveyed and meters identified for replacement in accordance with DISCO records and approval.
Replacements are fully recorded on official DISCO forms and the meters which have to be replaced are further evaluated to decide whether to install them on walls or poles. When meters are installed outside homes and buildings; they are replaced in accordance with DISCO technical specifications set for all subdivisions and all retired meters are given back to DISCOs for destruction after two full billing cycles to allow customers to challenge readings as required.
The project ensures that all meters are installed at a readable height, which helps meter readers to take accurate readings. In the future, the programme will also install automatically read meters in different DISCOs. Walk-by automatic radio frequency (RF) meters allow meter reading by handheld computer units, while fully automated meter reading (AMR) systems transmit real time power consumption to its respective control center.
Currently, 7,000 AMRs are being installed in selected subdivisions within LESCO. The USAID Power Distribution Program is a five-year programme aimed at working jointly with DISCOs in Pakistan to improve their performance in terms of a reduction in losses, and improvement in both revenues and customer services.
The aim of the programme is to provide US assistance and support to Pakistan in its efforts to reform the power sector and bring an end to the prevailing energy crisis.