The venture to complete the replacement of 450,000 old electricity meters with smart ones needs an additional 2.5 trillion rials ($59 million), director of the plan (named Faham in Persian) said on Monday.
“As soon as the line of credit is opened, the project to monitor energy consumption more precisely will be implemented thoroughly,” Hadi Modaqeq was also quoted as saying by ISNA, adding that financial barriers are an impediment to the project’s implementation. The official noted that the transfer of Faham project from the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Organization (Satba) to the Iran Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company (Tavanir) is being carried out.
“So far, close to 200,000 smart electricity meters, out of the planned 450,000 ones, have been installed, which shows that we are far behind the program that needs to be pursued with a higher speed,” he said.
A smart meter is a new kind of electricity meter that digitally sends meter readings to energy suppliers. It ensures more accurate energy bills. Smart meters also come with monitors, so users can better understand their energy usage.
"Smart metering systems put an end to the manual meter reading, which is prone to technical error and loss," he said, noting that thanks to the new system, subscribers can be informed about their daily use and sent notifications in case of excessive consumption.
Modaqeq stressed that households requiring at least 30 kilowatt of power and agricultural wells are prioritized groups, after which plans should be devised for other groups of subscribers.
Announcing that Faham will be completed by the end of the current fiscal year (March 2019), he said there is no problem in manufacturing the smart meters domestically and producers can speed up the process if the finance is provided. Modaqeq also said smart meters helped save 1,000 megawatts of electricity in the past fiscal, which is due to reach 1,500 MW in the current year.
In October 2016, Iran’s Energy Efficiency Organization and Italy’s Centro Elettrotecnico Sperimentale Italiano signed an agreement to install smart electricity meters in Iran. The project called for mounting 32 million smart electricity meters in the country.
Utilities in many developed and developing countries are promoting advanced electricity meters for a variety of economic and environmental reasons, two of which are to cut costs and reduce consumption during peak hours.
Tavanir and South Korea Electric Power Corporation also signed a memorandum of understanding in 2016, worth $10 billion, for upgrading Iran's power infrastructure, reducing energy wastage and making the national grid smart.
