The initiative to have all mundane electric meters replaced with the pre-paid system will be pursued as part of the Guyana Power and Light’s agenda to reduce technical and commercial losses this year.

Following a Board of Directors meeting Thursday, it was agreed that as a first measure, the new meters will be installed at the residences of all Directors of the GPL board, followed by executive managers and employees. The implementation process will be conducted within the next week.

The intervention comes in wake of recent concerns expressed about the installation of pre-paid meters in the Festival City area which had resulted in residents taking protest action against the process.

GPL stated that it had announced prior to the installation and had discussed at many levels, including at press conferences, consultations with residents and in Parliament, its intention to commence the pilot project.

On August 23, the process began in Festival City where eight pre-paid meters were installed and according to media reports on August 26, residents of the area took protest action calling for the removal of the new system from their homes, claiming that little explanation about the meter’s operations was provided.

In an invited comment on the issue yesterday, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, the Minister responsible for the electricity sector, said the recent developments come as a surprise, since except for residents who had a problem with internal wiring, the challenge was not insurmountable.

The Prime Minister believes that it may have been a case where people failed to pay close attention to the implementation process. He said nevertheless that GPL will stick to its policy, alter the approach, but pursue the goal of implementation.

GPL in a release Thursday stated that a public discussion and a revised approach to the installation of pre-paid meters will be undertaken while the eight parties which have already had the new system installed at their houses will be given a credit on their pre-paid meters. The beneficiaries will however not include GPL Directors who will have the new meters installed.

Other areas targeted for the pre-paid meter pilot project are sections of Kitty, North Ruimveldt, Bourda Market and Black Bush Polder in Region Six.

Residents of all these areas were exposed, through community engagements with GPL, to the new technology and its benefits. The plan is to have about 2,000 meters installed in the pilot phase.

The new technology is the latest in pre-paid service, and allows customers to carefully manage their electricity. The system also has a wide range of features such as a built in alarm mechanism, an electricity duration indicator and other services that would update the customer on a timely basis. (GINA)