Smart meters to be rolled out in pilot areas
Smart meters are expected to provide relief to financially burdened consumers who will be more likely to regulate their electricity usage.
One thousand smart meters will be rolled out in Newcastle as part of a pilot project meant to assess the viability of this prepaid system.
Of these, 500 will be installed in Ncandu Park and 500 in Fernwood.
Fernwood residents will have to be apply for this service between 5.30pm and 6.30pm this evening, at the Fernwood ground’s multipurpose room in order to qualify. An identity document and municipal account is necessary to complete the application.
Ward councillor, Matthew Shunmugam, urges everybody who lives in the area to take advantage of the offer.
“If people don’t register for the smart meter system, they will be doing themselves a great dis-service,” said Mr Shunmugam.
“What’s nice about this system is the fact that it gives you control over the usage.”
Asked why the Ncandu Park and Fernwood areas were chosen to roll out the project, Cllr Shunmugam explained, “We chose those areas so the lower income homes can feel the immediate benefit of a prepaid system. It is also logistically and technically easier to roll-out the pilot project in lower income areas where the structures of the buildings in the suburb are more standardised. We will use the pilot project to assess all of the problems that may arise. By the time we are ready to roll out smart meters to the rest of Newcastle, it will be a fine-tuned system,” he concluded.
