Story by John Nhandara
Power utility, ZESA has launched the second phase of the smart-metering project which is meant to address bottlenecks in revenue collection.
The project was launched at a cost of US$35 million and is being rolled out through ZESA’s subsidiary, the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company, ZETDC.
Speaking during the launch, which held at the Harare Polytechnic College this Tuesday, ZETDC acting Managing Director Engineer Ralph Katsande said, “The journey started in 2012 when we introduced our first ever prepaid platform. This phase of prepaid metering is covering residential areas, farming points and small enterprises, while smart meters will be rolled out to large and medium power users.”
The programme is based on a modern state of the art metering technology in line with international best practice.
ZESA spokesperson Dr George Manyaya noted, “We are fostering digital transformation. It’s in line with international best practices and the 4th industrial revolution.”
The country is also on a transformation drive to adopt the smart grid system to ensure energy efficiency, reduce power losses and address vandalism of electricity infrastructure.