DESCO starts production of pre-paid meters

FE Team | Published: October 01, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

FE Report
The Dhaka Electric Supply Company Ltd (DESCO) has started commercial production of pre-paid electric meters to help enhance government revenue, checking electricity theft and reducing systems loss.
"We have started commercial production of pre-paid electric meters in the DESCO factory at Mirpur last week," DESCO managing director Saleh Ahmed told the FE Sunday.
He said initially the DESCO would manufacture 50,000 pre-paid electric meters per year in its factory. The production will be increased to 1,200,000 per year by next three years.
The energy and power adviser Tapan Chowdhury will formally inaugurate the DESCO's pre-paid meter manufacturing factory soon, the DESCO top brass said.
The DESCO has initiated commercial production of the pre-paid electric meters in its factory following recommendation of the Power Division about six months ago, a senior Power Division official of the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources (MPEMR) said.
He said currently most of the power distribution companies are incurring losses mainly due to huge systems loss that include electricity theft.
A section of corrupt power sector officials are involved in the electricity theft in league with the unscrupulous businessmen and clients, he alleged.
Mass use of the pre-paid electric meters will help check malpractices in the country, the power division official said.
He said the power subscription would not only get relief from bill-related hassles but also get a two per cent rebate in usage of the pre-paid meters.
For manufacturing the pre-paid electric meters, the DESCO is utilising the technology innovated by the Institute of Information and Communication Technology (IICT) of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).
Several months ago the DESCO purchased some 5,000 pre-paid meters from the BUET to run those on experimental basis in the city's Uttara area.
"As the pre-paid metering at Uttara was found successful, attaining client's satisfaction, the DESCO took the initiative to manufacture meters from its own factory," the DESCO top official said.
The price of the BUET-manufactured pre-paid electric meter was Tk 8,000 per piece, while the price of a DESCO-manufactured meter would be Tk 4,500, Saleh Ahmed said.
Initially the DESCO would sell the pre-paid meters to subscribers under its command area that includes Mirpur, Gulshan, Banani, Baridhhara, Tongi, Badda, Dakhhin Khan and Dhaka Cantonment.
"We have also plan to sell the pre-paid meters to the subscribers of other power entities, including Dhaka Electric Supply Authority (DESA), Rural Electrification Board (REB)," the DESCO managing director said.
The DESCO was formed in 1996 for commercialisation of electric supply in Bangladesh.
It started its formal operation in September 1998 by acquiring the power distribution line along with 100 percent asset of Mirpur area from DESA.
Later it expanded its area of jurisdiction to Gulshan, Banani, Baridhhara, Tongi, Badda, Dakhhin Khan and Dhaka Cantonment.