Using prepayment for revenue assurance:
Prepayment remote metering pilot project
results
Edison Makwarela
Presentation Layout

History of prepayment in Eskom (SA)

Current challenges

Pilot Project

Results of the Pilot Project

Future direction
History of Prepayment in Eskom
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1988 -"Electricity for All" concept developed.
customers had to be supported by the smallest
amount of Eskom personnel.
system to operate with a low level of
management and maintenance.
the standard billed system required a lot of dayto day management to process accounts and to
maintain connections and disconnections.
many of the areas where potential customers
reside had almost no infrastructure.
History of Prepayment in Eskom
(continued)
 no fixed addresses, high unemployment, no bank
accounts and no postal services
 many customers were illiterate and did not
understand bills
 Eskom started the development of the basic
prepayment system which is still in use today
 about 3 million prepaid meters installed to date in
South Africa.
increasing by 250 000 annually.
Challenges with current system
 ±3 million meters installed in Eskom
 after installation meters are never visited except:
 customer calls/maintenance
 for general audits (2-3 years cycle)
 tampered meters are not easily detected
 access to installed meters is not always possible
 no means of communicating with meters in the
field
 cannot interrogate meters remotely
 cannot disable possible tampered meters
Challenges with current system
(continued)
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high revenue losses in electrification projects

need to communicate with meters remotely
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government enforced Electrification Programme
continues
average sales per customer per months ±R35 (±$6)
Remote Metering Options Considered
Complete
New system
Options
•current meters not faulty
•cost of new system
•huge current installed base
•return on investment
•compatibility with current
standards
Drivers
Establish remote
communication
with current
installed meters
Business requirements
 develop a walk-by,
 non-intrusive,
 non-contact audit (extract/read data) system
 to collect and store data from prepaid meters
 technology developed to work with current meters*
 cost per unit should be as low as possible
 device must be replaceable without changing meter
if it fails and visa-versa
 it must be relatively easy to install developed
devices
Developed Technology - InfoPOD
RF transceiver
or InfoPOD
MC171 Port
•connect RF transceiver to port
• one RF transceiver per meter
•short distance remote metering
100m
Benefits
•data and tokens transfer
•meter interrogation
•trip meter remotely
•tamper detection
System Operation
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InfoPOD connected to meter
trough MC171 port
placed inside the meter base
Master unit connected to
HHU or Laptop
Field Trials

2002: 5 prototype InfoPODs at Zonkizizwe

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2003: 5 new InfoPODs installed at Zonkizizwe.
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tested ease of installation, effect of steel &
concrete structures on communications.
2m distance, complex software on HHU, MC171
connector problems
47m distance, software user friendly, run on laptop
presented results to Management.
Funding for Pilot was approved for 300 units.
Objectives of the Pilot
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establish effective
prepaid meters
remote
communication
with
read meters from the street (at a nominal distance
of 50m).
check if InfoPOD stores the correct date and time.
check the effect of electromagnetic interference on
detection range.
determine effects of power loss on InfoPOD.
verify data accuracy of sales & credit information
stored on the InfoPOD.
Pilot Preparations -2004
selected areas with specific RF challenges

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tin houses
radio interference
potential tampering of meters
interference from Hi-Tech devices
installations limited to transformer zones
to facilitate revenue loss calculation
held meetings to informed customers
about the project
Pilot Project
Ideal Pilot

expected to install 300 units
for pilot
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3 sites with 100 units each
Challenges

number of connections pertransformer zone

customers not at home*

tampered meters

faulty meters

incompatibility – proprietary
meters

Faulty InfoPODs
Pilot Actuals

Diepsloot = 67 units

urban – tin/brick houses

high revenue losses


Mmakau = 71 units

rural – tin houses

radio base station-702MHz
Ivory Park = 32

urban – tin/brick houses

particular brand of meters
Results of Pilot
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the maximum distance from where an audit was
conducted was 99 meters.
the mean distance was 44 meters which allowed
the users to read several meters from the street.
a limiting factor - the 3 hour battery life of the
laptop.
takes 1.5 - 3 minutes to get data downloaded
(depends on strength of signal)
the mean time to install an InfoPOD was 10
minutes.
could send all types of tokens to the meter from
the street
Results of Pilot (continued)
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audited weekly or two weekly.
two master units malfunction if used
simultaneously within a 1km radius.
InfoPod installed in Lab

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communication established from a max. distance of 79m
lab is next to Eskom Control Centre (Grid)
Results: Revenue loss Reduction
Ivory Park
PrePilot
Post
Pilot
% bypass
12.5
6.3
rate
Avg kWh/
183.43 183.43
house/m
losses
50%
reduction
Saving/m
109.8
(R1 000)
Diepsloot
PrePilot
Post
Pilot
Mmakau
PrePilot
Post
Pilot
16.7
2.7
11.27
4.2
234.4
234.4
122.3
122.3
66%
63%
89.1
19.2
$1 ± R6
Results: Normal Graph
Results: Normal Graph
energy consumed
Results: Tampered meter
time
Other Realised Benefits


monitor the quality of supply by checking the
frequency of trips at the meter.
network planning - can show changes in
customer’s energy consumption per transformer
zone.

revenue management - show the amount of credit
purchased as well as the frequency of purchases

correct non-standard tariffs in a fast non-intrusive.
Other Realised Benefits (Continued)
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trip meters and reset them from the street.
can test meters by the standard dispenser test for
maintenance reasons.
can be integrated with online vending

send credit to meters remotely with minor
modifications to the InfoPOD
Future System
Concluding Remarks
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remote communication is expensive in SA
pilot projects initiated to test future model
27 000 more units will be installed in 2005 in
strategic townships
all developments will adhere to STS
prepayment remote metering is the future
Municipalities in SA implementing the technology