The concept of metered and prepaid electricity may be a near reality as the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) has started an equipment test bed in Spanish Wells, Eleuthera. Prepaid metering allows customers to better manage their electricity-use and bills via BTC’s 4G LTE data network.
BTC CEO Leon Williams said, “Prepaid metering is just one of the many examples of the “internet of things”. We are continuing to make the transformation to where our customers are.” It shows how we can use our advanced network to provide more convenience to the public. We are aware that there are hundreds of Bahamians with no electricity. By using a smart grid prepaid meter, customers can top up their account and monitor their usage. The system can even be designed to allow you to incrementally pay on your existing electricity bill. It will be a win/win situation for the electricity provider and the customer. We have been working with St. George’s Cay Power Limited on this ‘proof of concept’, (POC).”
CEO at St. George’s Cay Power Limited said, “We have been using the BTC prepaid metering solution for about a month now, and so far everything is going well. We have two meters that we are testing. In Spanish Wells we have several business owners that operate rental units. Prepaid metering will be beneficial to these customers as renters will be responsible for their power usage. I’m certain that it will also be beneficial for persons that may have problems paying for electricity.”…