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Sewa’s smart meters to end wrong readings, inflated bills

Sharjah - In response to complaints from the public and businesses about wrong power consumption readings and steep bills

To enable accurate power consumption readings, Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA) has installed 5,000 smart meters in industrial and commercial projects, in the first phase.
Advanced smart power meters are being installed in industrial and commercial projects, in line with the directives of His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, to adopt advanced technology in services, said SEWA chairman Dr Rashid Al Leem. “Installation of these meters is being done in several phases until it covers all parts of Sharjah by 2020,” he said.
The SEWA 2020 plan also includes replacing old meters with smart ones in residential buildings. “Smart meters would contribute to the rationalisation of power consumption and help the authority cope with demand,” Al Leem said.
Smart readings for more savings
As part of a trial, SEWA recently installed 8000 smart meters in Muwailih, Al Shuwaiheen, Al Hamriay free zone, which worked well.
“This is in response to a large number of complaints from the public and big business projects about inaccurate recordings of their power consumption, which needed fixing by technicians,” Al Leem said.
Consumers in Sharjah have welcomed the authority’s efforts and hope that the smart meters will put an end to the high power bills caused by the old meters’ inaccurate readings. “You get back from vacation to the shock of your life. Even when our home was unoccupied for weeks, we’ve been slapped with a steep bill,” said one Sharjah resident.
Engineer Yasser Issa, Director of SEWA’s Meters Department, said that the advanced smart meters works with 200 ampere to 2500 ampere, based on the consumption load.
afkarali@khaleejtimes.com

• Sharjah