MULTAN: The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has helped in preventing overbilling complaints and unscheduled loadshedding through installation of 40,000 smart meters and setting up a centralised IT centre, said Mepco Chief Executive Officer Fazalullah Durrani. Talking to newsmen on the successful completion of the USAID power distribution programme here on Thursday, he said that the smart meters had been installed in Multan, Vehari and Khanewal circles in the first phase. The smart meters had ensured 100pc removal of overbilling complaints, he added. He said that the smart meters would be installed in the remaining circles till December because the Mepco was facing shortage of staff and smart meters. Giving details of the USAID multiple initiatives and projects, he said that the PDP established the state-of-the-art IT infrastructure and installed 40,000 smart meters on all the high-end industrial and commercial customers and on tube-wells of Multan, Khanewal and Vehari areas, besides installing a new billing system. To improve planning and engineering functions, new computers centres had been established at all the circle offices and headquarters with geographic information system (GIS) mapping and power system analysis tools, he said, adding that these were helping in improving the area planning and making plans for expansion, loss reduction and rehabilitation and in optimising investment. To overcome unplanned loadshedding, the USAID had installed a modern and innovative automatic monitoring and control system and had established a new power distribution control centre the Mepco CEO added. He said that it had tremendously improved the load management and given relief to the public. He said that 48,000 capacitors had been installed on tube-wells, which resulted in improved supply to the tube-well customers and saving 70 megawatt. Similarly, on selected feeders, switched capacitors and automatic voltage regulators had been installed, which would reduce losses and improve power supply to the tube-well customers in the rural areas, he added. The Mepco CEO said that for the first time, single-phase smart transformers had been introduced in congested areas of Multan and bare-conductor LT lines had been replaced by 600km aerial bundled cable (ABC), which had improved power supply and reduced complaints. He said that the USAID had trained the Mepco employees and provided special vehicles and tools to the line staff. The senior managers had been trained locally and abroad, he added.
