FAISALABAD:Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO) has installed 183,403 Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) smart meters to improve electricity billing accuracy, enhance monitoring of power consumption and minimize manual reading errors.
FESCO Chief Executive Engineer Muhammad Aamir said that the advanced metering system enabled automatic transmission of electricity consumption and meter-reading data to a central system through communication technology, making data collection, verification and billing more efficient and reliable.
He said that the system was designed to ensure that consumers were billed accurately according to their actual electricity consumption while improving transparency and enabling timely identification and correction of metering-related issues.
Explaining benefits of the technology, he said that smart meters provided data that could be used to monitor metering performance, identify potential technical faults and undertake corrective measures more efficiently.
This system would also help reduce dependence on manual meter reading and minimize the possibility of errors during billing process, he added.
Engineer Muhammad Aamir directed the relevant officers and staff to properly inform consumers about the installation process and benefits of AMI smart meters.
He also instructed them to promptly investigate and resolve complaints relating to metering and electricity bills to safeguard consumer interests.
Director AMI Rao Muhammad Ali said that continuous monitoring of the smart metering system was underway, with data received from installed meters being regularly examined through the central system.
He explained that whenever communication interruptions or technical faults occurred, the relevant meter and its communication status were checked according to established procedures, followed by necessary measures to restore connectivity and rectify the problem.
He said that complaints and suspected discrepancies were addressed after examining and verifying the relevant metering records and available data, helping ensure accurate billing and protect consumers from avoidable errors.
Providing details of the installations, Rao Muhammad Ali said that FESCO had so far installed 183,403 AMI smart meters, comprising 146,823 single-phase meters and 36,580 three-phase High-Tension (HT), Low-Tension (LT) and whole-current meters.
He further said that access to the Meter Data Management (MDM) portal had been extended to subdivision level, enabling AMI meters to be monitored directly by the relevant subdivisions as well as FESCO headquarters.
The expanded monitoring facility was helping officials identify metering-related issues more quickly and respond to consumer complaints more effectively, he added.
Rao Muhammad Ali urged the consumers not to rely on unverified information concerning smart metering or electricity billing rather they should confirm such information through FESCO’s authorized channels.
AMI Cell at FESCO headquarters was fully operational and the consumers could contact it for information about smart metering system and assistance in resolving related problems, he added.