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Benefits of A Prepayment System. Elimination of connection and disconnection costs Improved cash flow – Electricity paid for before use. Consumer can budget and manage his electricity more effectively. No re-connection fees No deposit required No meter reading necessary
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Benefits of A Prepayment System Elimination of connection and disconnection costs Improved cash flow – Electricity paid for before use. Consumer can budget and manage his electricity more effectively. No re-connection fees No deposit required No meter reading necessary Reduced billing cost (Printing & mailing) Convenience of electricity purchases No more billing estimates Will pay for used power only Improved security of buildings
Problems Associated with Conventional Prepayment Meters • Single-Purpose-Built Prepayment Meters regularly develop faults when compared to conventional smart meters • Must be sent back to manufacturer for repairs or scrapped, generating additional costs or new equipment purchases • Power theft becomes paramount • People find ways to beat system • Small constant purchases • Bridging of meters
Problems Associatedwith Prepaid Meters • Power theft increases losses which force increases of tariffs to compensate -- • All rate-payers lose • More customer revolt • Prepaid meters are stolen or deliberately destroyed in some areas • Lack of trained staff has cost some Municipalities dearly • In some instances staff is trained but not managed properly, so system does not get managed properly, causing damage and service disruptions • Maintenance in prepaid meter deployed areas is much higher • Prepaid meters require more maintenance
Problems Associated withPrepaid Meters • Regular inspections have to be carried out on metering installations • Auditing prepayment systems downloads • Checking for bridged-out meters • Not temper proof and cannot be monitored easily • Return on investment for prepaid meters is non-existent in some areas • When units of 80kWh are used, income and profit are so small it cannot even pay off the prepaid equipment loan • Changing technology makes prepaid meters out of date too soon and in many cases prepaid systems have been changed due to new requirements by the consumer and government -- such as free basic electricity • Rate-payers expect more tariff flexibility with prepaid meters • more trained customer service staff are required to cope with these new requests
Problems AssociatedWith Prepaid Meters • Paying power vendors - costs the municipality did not have before -- vary between 3% and 6% • Prepayment system must be administered on a daily basis • Customer tariffs have to cover up to three times more in capital outlay for a prepayment system than on a conventional system
TWU’s Approach ToPrepayment Plan Customers • The short-sighted deployment of prepaid meters will simply create additional CapEx losses as they are targeted by increasingly irate consumers. • There can be no distinction between any smart meter deployed, regardless of its consumer account configuration (a matter to be left to software programming in the central energy management system). • If a power theft is detected then all adjoining (subordinate and supercedent) user connections can be suspended until the thief is identified and the theft rectified.
TWU’s Approach To Prepayment Plan Customers • Smart grid applications are needed to make the local power distribution grid self-aware • Capable of detecting and shutting down illegal connections without the physical intervention of outside plant personnel. • Remote monitoring, • Distribution automation sensors, and • Smart meters • Fully integrated over a broadband network by a dedicated local energy distribution management system • Precluding implication of outside plant personnel in power theft.
Who Is TWU? • South African BEE Company • National ECNS & ECS Licences in SA • Will Acquire Similar Licences in Zimbabwe • Experienced Management Team • World-class Telecom / AMI partners • World-class Technology Solutions • Committed to Customer Satisfaction 9
TWU’s ROLE Provide Internet access services, along with pay-as-you-go business-to-business services Procure, implement, and operate a wholesale local fulfillment service for all cellular network carriers offering mobile calls in ZESA Zimbabwe metro area Provide no-cost metro, and low-cost national VoIP calls to all ZESA Zimbabwe metro customer sites 10
BENEFITS • TWU Responsibilities: • Technology Procurement • Implementation • Interoperable Management • Three Separate Management Systems • TWU Charges on a Pay-as-Used Basis for All Managed Services 11