Non-smart electricity meters are being tagged with quick response codes to help subscribers monitor their consumption at any time of the day, the head of Science and Technology Department at the government-affiliated Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company (Tavanir) said.
“The ongoing plan to attach QR codes on power meters will enable consumers to manage their consumption better, as they can access their information online,” Hadi Modaqqeq was also quoted as saying by ILNA.
As soon as the personalized code is scanned with the help of an iPhone or Android device, all data related to that meter will be shown to the owner of the meter and they can see how much electricity they have used and how much they will be charged up to that moment, he added.
The official said the code is directly linked to Bargheman.com website, where subscribers can see all information not only about bill payment but also about consumption rate.
There are close to 38 million meters across Iran, of which at least 10 million are non-smart and will be tagged by March.
Modaqqeq said utilities all across the world are using these 2D barcodes for diverse cases, which result in better efficiency and optimized processes.
From functional use such as payments to promotional use such as advertising, QR Codes are omnipresent.
They are saving customers time by making bill payment quicker and making them better informed.
According to Mostafa Rajabi-Mashhadi, a spokesperson for Tavanir, the total number of consumers in four sectors [households, industries, agriculture and commerce] was 37,600 million in 2020, which has now experienced a 2% rise to reach 38,300 million.
Giving a breakdown, he said household subscribers witnessed the biggest increase (475,000 new meters) and reached 30.4 million, up 7% compared to 2020 when the figure stood at 30.2 million.
There were about 480,000 electricity meters in the agro sector last year, which has now risen by 3%, meaning 14,000 new subscribers have been added to the key sector.
The number of consumers in the commercial sector has also experienced a rise of 4%. In other words, 202,000 new users have been added, increasing the number of subscribers in the commercial sector to 5.1 million.
Industrial consumers have increased from 1.7 million to 1.9 million.
Consumption Level
The spokesman noted that Tavanir has started to charge subscribers based on their consumption level, as per the new scheme that took effect on Jan. 20.
“Under the new pricing scheme, subscribers who consume less than 300 kilowatts-hour per month pay much less than the bill paid by those using more than 450 kWh per month,” he said.
“Before Jan. 20, power was sold at 1,000 rials [0.5 cents] per kWh to those whose consumption is maximum 300 kilowatts per month and those using 300-600 kWh were levied 16% more than the previous category [0.58 cents per kWh]. And consumers that use more than 600 kWh per month were charged 8,000 rials [4 cents] per kWh.”
“As per the new plan, those who consume up to 300 kWh per month will be charged as before, but if consumption stands between 300 kWh and 450 kWh, subscribers will be charged 6,000 rials [3 cents] per kWh. Subscribers whose consumption level stands between 450-600 kWh are expected to be levied 5 cents per kWh. If consumption exceeds 600 kWh, consumers will have to pay 7 cents per kWh.”
Different consumption categories and a progressive increase in tariffs are expected to spur consumers to moderate their usage and cut down on their power bills.
