Kahramaa makes big progress in installing smart meters system

Qatar General Electricity & Water Corporation (Kahramaa) has made major strides in the implementation of the smart meters system and the communication network for electricity meters in the country.The project is a qualitative leap in the process of comprehensive digital transformation, in line with the objectives of Qatar National Vision 2030.The project's strategic plan aims to install 600,000 smart meters powered by the Internet of Things (IoT) technology, in co-operation with Vodafone, in terms of securing the network necessary for the system's operation and in co-ordination with Siemens to provide the project with an infrastructure that includes the latest technologies, devices and advanced software used to connect and integrate intelligent control systems with the basic system for billing, monitoring and instant reading from a distance throughout Qatar.The corporation has achieved several important and advanced steps in the process of completing this integrated project, as the rate of installing smart meters has reached 42% so far, and the completion rate will reach 49% by 2021-end.According to the project plan, which is based on scientific and statistical foundations, 420,000 smart electricity meters will be installed by the end of the second quarter of 2022, and the project will be finally completed by the end of 2023.This level of achievement in the project had a positive impact on the processes of obtaining monthly billing readings at a high rate, reaching 97%, in addition to the possibility of obtaining immediate readings for the final liquidation of the meter in any property withing about 10 minutes.The system allows to cut off and reconnect the electricity service remotely. A connection can be restored in about five minutes after the subscriber pays the dues.The project smart meters project will allow to read consumption with extreme accuracy, and the prepayment feature will also be available.Subscribers can track the status of their balance and the amount due according to the monthly consumption via the mobile application to avoid any interruption in the service.Smart meters will enable the corporation to reconnect the subscriber's service within a short period.The meters will operate through an independent internet network dedicated for this purpose linked to the central system under the supervision of Kahramaa.Subscribers will not incur any cost for replacing their traditional meters with smart meters.The adoption of the fully automated system will contribute to saving energy consumption, through the huge database and information that will be available to Kahramaa, which will enable it to accurately identify consumption patterns in the country, and use this valuable information in planning and management ,which in turn will reduce carbon emissions and protect the environment.In addition it reduces operational costs related to meter reading.The project also allows benefiting from modern technologies to rationalise consumption by enabling subscribers to monitor their consumption, to support the objectives of the National Programme for Conservation and Energy Efficiency (Tarsheed). The modern system will also help identify violations and address them as quickly as possible to ensure the safety of networks.