GPL to disconnect, reconnect from inside

Last Updated on Saturday, 26 December 2015, 21:00 by GxMedia

“GPL will know account activity in real time and we will have ability to disconnect them internally rather than going on the pole,” Shevion Sears-Murray told Demerara Waves Online News (www.demwaves.com).

Under the US$5 million project being funded by the Inter American Development Bank (IDB), customers would also be given a gadget to monitor their electricity consumption internally.

Known as the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), the project includes the installation of meters for each customer on racks on utility poles. The pilot project is currently confined to several areas in the heart of commercial Georgetown.

The GPL spokeswoman said the company planned to expand the AMI project if the pilot was successful.

Sears-Murray pointed out that the AMI system would allow GPL to detect tampering and the absence of consumption from inside the data centre. The company, she said, would then dispatch personnel to conduct field-checks. “GPL will be able to read the meter real time and we can check to see someone to see who is on the system,” she added.

The power company spokeswoman explained that the new system would empower customers to read their meters in real time and correlate the readings with those on their bills. Readings can be provided via SMS and Online.

Installation of the meters in the pilot area is expected to be completed by December 22, 2013.