The Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company (ZETDC) said the pre-paid electricity project had brought major benefits, such as forcing customers to avoid power wastage.
“Customers now have the empowerment to manage their electricity usage,” the statement said.
“The majority of customers have cut back consumption by between 21% and 27%, leading to considerable savings in both electricity and money.”
ZETDC has over the past years installed about 40 000 free pre-paid meters to domestic and industrial properties in a project that has reduced electricity demand by 110 megawatts (MW) at any given time.
Zimbabwe needs about 2 200MW of electricity at peak consumption, but generates just below 1 300MW, while relying on imports from South Africa and Mozambique to fill the gap.
Despite battling ageing equipment and failure to generate enough electricity for the nation, load-shedding has been minimised since last December.
ZETDC said it was awaiting 130 000 new pre-paid meters to reduce the backlog and cater for new connections in new residential areas.
Source: ‘Pre-paid electricity meters force consumers to change habits’ – NewsDay Zimbabwe