Meralco Taps GE’s Metering Technology

Manila Bulletin

October 13, 2012, 2:44pm

New York-listed General Electric Company (GE) will be the provider of the advanced metering infrastructure integrated solution (AMIIS) to underpin Manila Electric Company’s (Meralco) rollout of prepaid metering service to customers.

The orders will initially cover the 40,000 customers which shall be the pilot phase in the utility firm’s offer of prepaid retail electricity service.

So far, the Meralco contract had been the first sealed with GE for a customer in the Asia-Pacific region, a development which the American firm considers to be very much aligned with the aspirations of many countries to invest in advanced technologies to modernize their energy delivery infrastructure.

Meralco president Oscar S. Reyes has noted that “GE’s solution will play a crucial role in our overall smart grid initiative”; noting that this phase in their service innovation “is expected to bring about greater efficiencies in power distribution and improved customer service engagement.”

It has been emphasized that the GE-AMIIS package will enable the utility firm to offer prepaid electricity service within its franchise area – and this is something that will also support prospective industry developments, such as the much-anticipated open access and retail competition in the industry.

The whole chain of the smart grid solution for the power industry integrates the installation of “intelligent meters” that will allow end-users to monitor their consumption and synchronize it with their spending capacities.

It has been explained that the GE-AMIIS allows “remote access to the meters, which will further enhance Meralco’s ability to improve monitoring of outages, service connections, power quality and power demand in almost real time.”

According to GE regional executive Matt McKenzie, his company’s technology offer “will enable Meralco to improve customer service and support the utility’s data management and analysis requirements for years to come.” GE Philippines chief executive Jose Emmanuel Victor de Dios added that the prepaid metering service will be a new opportunity for technology providers to help consumers manage their energy usage.

The prepaid electric metering system is a venture that Meralco has also been opting to align with the business of its affiliates in the telecommunications sector. Primarily, this can be done by integrating short messaging system (SMS) into the service offer. (MMV)

Meralco’s approach to smart grid future will be multi-tiered and it may reach full integration over seven years for a total capital outlay of P40 billion.

For the prepaid meters, the target post-pilot will be to introduce it to the C-segment of its customers which account for the biggest chunk of its subscriber base. (MMV)    source