NESCO to install 1.2m more smart prepayment meters in N-region

RAJSHAHI, July 16 (BSS): A total of 1.2 million more smart prepayment meters are going to be installed in the country's northwest region aimed at hundred percent revenue collection.
Northern Electricity Supply Company (NESCO) Limited, headquarters in Rajshahi, will install the smart meters under its project styled "Installation of 1.2 million smart prepayment meters in NESCO areas" with an estimated cost of around Taka 7.13 billion.
Under the project, 11,13,608 single phase smart prepayment meters, 86,392 three-phase smart prepayment meters, 13,619 data concentrator units, 70 head held units and three head-end-systems will be installed.
Apart from this, licence of the meter data management system for the meters will be installed.
Engineer Mahbubul Alam Chowdhury, director of the project, said they will create scopes of real time billing through removing overbilling and under-billing.
The project will be implemented at 33 upazilas under some 14 districts of Rajshahi and Rangpur Divisions and in two city corporation areas.
The main objectives of the project are to ensure hundred percent revenue collection, reducing system loss, introducing real time billing system and eradicating overbilling and under-billing, ensuring online bill access and payments by clients, implementation of load control management.
Upon successful implementation of the project until June 2024, digitization of the power distribution system and improved client services would be ensured in the project areas.
Earlier, the NESCO has installed 0.5 million smart prepayment meters in different parts of the region creating a way of checking misuses of power and getting actual revenue against the consumption of power.
On behalf of its four-year project styled "Installation of 0.5 million smart prepayment meters in NESCO areas" the public entity installed the smart meters in Rajshahi, Natore, Chapainawabganj, Bogura, Pabna, Dinajpur, Thakurgaon, Panchagarh and Nilphamari districts at a cost of around Taka 4.29 billion.
Under the project, 4,70,450 single phase smart prepayment meters, 33,450 three-phase smart prepayment meters, 3,142 data concentrator units and six utility vending stations were installed.
Besides, three head end systems, one master information centre, one digester recovery centre, one meter data management system, one vending system and one central billing system were installed.
In addition to the advance revenue collection the project has been providing improved client-services side by side with bringing down the non-technical loss to zero level.
Engineer Mahbub Chowdhury said the scheme also eased the demand side load management system together with halting the power wastage.
Upon successful implementation of the project in June last, the clients are seen using power upon its financial ability by using smart prepayment meters at present.