65% of Agro Wells Equipped With Smart Meters So Far

Government-affiliated Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company (Tavanir) has installed 30,000 smart electricity meters in the agriculture sector since March 2021, the head of Dispatching Department at Iran Water Resources Management Company said.
“Of the total 200,000 agro wells in Iran, close to 131,000 [65%] are equipped with smart meters and their water extraction and power consumption can be monitored online,” Javad Hajiani was also quoted as saying by ISNA.
Thanks to the new gadgets, consumers are informed about daily use and adjust consumption. Utilities in many developed and developing countries are promoting such meters for economic and environmental reasons, especially to reduce cost and consumption, he added.
Smart wells have sensors and valves installed downhole to allow easy and systematic monitoring.
The injudicious use and waste of groundwater from legal and illegal wells have emerged as a major problem in Iran's struggle against the water crisis that has gotten worse over the past half century as precipitation declines and consumption rises.
According to Hajiani, Tavanir installed 307,000 smart electricity meters at farms in 2018 in the first phase of the National Smart Metering Program (known by the Persian acronym Fahm).
Nonetheless, with the rise in the price of steel and equipment used in manufacturing smart meters, the average price of each meter increased to 200 million rials [$1,000], which slowed down installations in 2020.
“The current price of a smart meter is now more than double the price in 2019 and this has discouraged farmers to equip their wells,” Hajiani said.