5 lakh smart prepayment meter to be installed in northern region

Publish: 7:03 PM, October 27, 2019 | Update: 7:03 PM, October 27, 2019

RAJSHAHI, – Around five lakh smart prepayment meters are going to be installed in different parts of the country’s northwest region aimed at checking misuses of power and getting actual revenue against the consumption of power.

Headquared in Rajshahi, Northern Electricity Supply Company (NESCO) Limited will install the smart meters under a project styled “Installation of
five lakh smart prepayment meters in NESCO areas” with an estimated cost of around Taka 414.83 crore.

Zakir Hossain, NESCO Superintending Engineer and Director of the project, said the three-year project is being implemented in 16 power supply units under Rajshahi, Natore, Chapainawabgonj, Bogura, Pabna, Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Panchagarh and Nilphamari districts.

Under the project, 4,67,200 single phase smart prepayment meters, 32,800 three-phase smart prepayment meters, 3000 data concentrator units, 17 utility vending stations, one central data center, one master information centre and one digester recovery centre will be installed.

In addition to the advance revenue collection the project will provide improved client-services side by side with bringing down the non-technical
loss to zero level. The mega scheme will also ease the demand side load management system together with halting the power wastage.

Upon successful implementation of the project by June, 2021, the clients could use power upon its financial ability by using smart prepayment meter.
Besides, they could see their respective ongoing power load and reading. The clients will get Tk 100 instantly as emergency credit if their pre- paid money is exhausted.

NESCO Managing Director Engineer Zakiul Islam said smart meter, the core part of smart grid system, is becoming an active field of research for its
immense potential in efficient power distribution and load management. It is expected to have potential applications in the region as well.

Efforts are already underway from distribution companies to introduce intelligence in the meter system, he added.

Engineer Islam said modernization of distribution and its revenue collection system is mandatory for the utilization of Smart Grid effectively.
With lots of problems in this sector, the implementation of substation automation in the distribution sector is a challenging task.

He, however, said the present government has given top priority to the development of the power sector considering its importance in overall
development of the country and has set the goal of providing electricity to all citizens by 2020.