THE prepaid meters have become the metering system of choice for more Guyana Power and Light (GPL) Inc. consumers, an initiative that is practically selling itself, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Bharrat Dindyal said Monday.
He explained that this demand is currently placing a significant financial burden on the utility company as GPL has just placed an order for about 12,000 meters at the cost of about US$1.2M.
“I think we no longer need to sell prepaid meters, almost all the consumers who are using these meters have good things to say to the extent that people are coming in large numbers asking to be converted from post-paid to prepaid; but the problem for us is keeping up with that demand,” the CEO said.
Prepaid meters are supplied free of cost; however, one prepaid meter costs the power company about US$130 (both cost of meter and installation).
The prepaid metering system is a new technology that allows customers to carefully manage their electricity. It consists of a display unit that is setup in the house and is interconnected to a central meter established on an electric pole.
The consumer wishing to purchase power approaches the vendor/seller and discloses a number that is assigned to the consumer’s house meter. The consumer is then given a code that is linked to the meter number.
The technology 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.