Smart Electricity Meters for Agro Sector

EghtesadOnline: Government-affiliated Power Generation, Distribution and Transmission Company (Tavanir) installed 307,000 smart electricity meters in agriculture sector last year in the first phase of the National Smart Metering Program (known as Faham in Persian), operator of the project said Sunday.

News ID: ۷۸۴۶۶۹

18 May 2019

"The first phase of the plan includes building infrastructure and equipping 450,000 agricultural subscribers with government funding," Mohammad Ali Validad was quoted as saying by Paven, the Energy Ministry news portal.

He said 56,000 meters were installed on agricultural wells in Tehran, Mashhad, Ahvaz, Zanjan and Isfahan.

Most agro-wells are equipped with the new system, helping the ministry efficiently monitor water extraction, Financial Tribune quoted him as saying.

"One million energy-intensive households and commercial units were also equipped with smart meters in the past 12 months."

Referring to the second phase of the project, he said it requires $70 million and talks are underway with the private sector to invest in the project.

A smart meter is a modern electricity meter that digitally sends meter readings to energy suppliers. It ensures accurate energy bills. Smart meters also come with monitors so that users can see and better understand their consumption.

"Smart metering systems put an end to the manual meter reading, which was prone to technical error and loss," he said. Thanks to the new gadget, subscribers are informed about their daily use.

Utilities in many developed and developing countries are promoting advanced electricity meters for economic and environmental reasons, namely to cut costs and reduce consumption.

The new meters helped save 1,000 megawatt in 2017.