Prepaid power meters to be installed in HCMC, Hanoi

Thứ sáu, 27/5/2011 | 09:08 GMT+7

Prepaid electricity meters will be installed on a trial basis in HCMC and Hanoi in June in an effort by Electricity of Vietnam Group (EVN) to encourage its customers to check the amount of power they use each month.

The HCMC Power Corporation said it would install prepaid electricity meters at a few residential areas around the city first, and if the plan proves to be efficient after the trial, it would expand the plan to other parts of the city. Nguyen Anh Vu, head of public relations at the power corporation, told the Daily on Wednesday that the corporation’s first such service resembled the popular prepaid card service of mobile phone networks. “According to the appraisement of energy experts, the usage of prepaid power meters will help people cut their power consumption by 25% because the users could keep track of their daily use,” he said.          He said those meters are most suitable for the short-term power users such as temporary residents, migrants and small enterprises. Vu also said the corporation is looking for the most suitable measures to collect money from users of prepaid watt-hour meters so that the program could be started next month. This trial operation will also be launched in Hanoi City, said Nguyen Anh Tuan, deputy general director of Hanoi Power Company. Tuan told Tien Phong newspaper that the company has installed the meters at the private residences of some officials of the power company. It will later be installed throughout the capital city, he said. An expert in the electricity industry said the Prime Minister had approved a scheme for installing these prepaid power meters, under which the power tariff will be some 32% higher than the average price now. However, the progressive pricing mechanism will not apply. Source: The Saigon Times Daily