Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir Khan on Friday inaugurated $ 95 million Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) project for around one million consumers of Rawalpindi in the territorial jurisdiction of Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESC).
Addressing the event organized by IESCO, the minister said that the project will help eliminate theft, further improve electricity delivery, not accuse other users of electricity theft and obtain accurate data.
Minister further said that the energy industry has always been in need of modern technology and with the realization of this fact government of Pakistan has started AMI project in all Discos in collaboration with ADB; IESCO’s AMI is a big project in the country and other companies should learn from it.
He further said that the federal government is planning to shift government buildings on solar power, adding that different solar projects are ongoing in different parts of Pakistan for low-cost electricity.
Minister further stated that he has issued instructions to all Discos to shift the meters of commercial, agricultural, bulk consumers, as well as, high loss feeders and transformers to AMI meters.
The Minister said that earlier AMI system was installed in Multan and Lahore Electric Supply Companies on a very limited scale.
He said that in August and September, the performance and problems of the discos were carefully reviewed. He added that the IESCO AMI system would be replicated in other DISCOs.
Dastgir said that on the instructions of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, all possible efforts are being made to reduce the price of electricity so that maximum relief can be given to the consumers.
He said the government is going to bid for 600-MW of solar power projects by the end of this month or in December to replace the expensive power plants with cheaper power generation sources. He added that all government buildings are also being converted to solar energy.
Chairman, Board of Directors, Engineer Qamar-ul-Islam Raja said on this occasion that the completion of this project will further increase the sale of electricity in IESCO and the timely payment of electricity dues will also improve the financial position of the company. He further said that the establishment of an operational centre and a modern metering lab is also part of this project which will further improve the operational efficiency of the company.
IESCO Chief Executive Officer Dr. Muhammad Amjad Khan said that the project will provide the company accurate information due to which the confidence of customers will improve.
He further contended that consumers will be able to monitor their electricity usage 24 hours a day through a mobile app and in case of any failure power will be restored as soon as possible. He further said that with the help of AMI project, meter reading and payment of dues will be ensured and accurate. He further said that along with the IESCO head office, a backup data centre will be set up in Gujar Khan within a short period of time to deal with any emergency.
