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Samantha Chigogo Herald Correspondent
RESIDENTS have expressed mixed feelings over smart meters as Harare City Council launched the roll out of a pilot project to install the meters in 2 000 households across six suburbs in the city.
Council has identified six suburbs — Bluffhill, Sunningdale, Kambuzuma, Greendale, Avenues and Avondale — for pilot installations that will be used to analyse how smart water meters work.
Addressing journalists during a tour of smart meter installations in Harare on Tuesday, Harare Water Department central area manager Engineer Richard Kunyadini said the pilot project would protect residents from faulty meter readings in the future.
“We need to test the meters in different water supply systems and analyse how the meters work in high pressure water zones like Sunningdale or areas with intermediate water supplies so that we choose the best meters which work perfectly in all conditions,” he said.
Eng Kunyadini said smart water meters would allow water usage on a credit facility to defaulting members.
“With these smart meters, we will allow our residents to use water on credit, basically that is why we say it is a smart meter rather than a prepaid meter. It is smart in that defaulting residents can actually get water on credit and then pay later when they get the money,” he said.
“We are trying to get policymakers to see if there can be minimum amounts of social water, where the poor can get a certain amount of water for free just like water policies in countries around us.”
This comes as residents raised concerns over smart meters, saying water was a vital need that should never be tampered with.
Eng Kunyadini said council would not impose smart meters on all residents but prioritise those that request installation first.
“The pilot project will be run for six months and we expect that by that time we would have all the facts to choose the best and after that we start rolling out citywide,” he said.
“We are proposing to start with residents who are requesting for the installations. People should make their applications at district offices so that we start with those that are willing to have smart meters.”
Eng Kunyadini said the system would use battery power with a lifespan of almost five years.
“Residents did not have to worry about the availability or non-availability of electricity in the metering system, he said.
Council’s acting corporate communications manager Mr Michael Chideme said there had been an overwhelming response to smart meter installations as the system promotes accountability.
“We have had an overwhelming response on the installation of smart meters and civic organisations that are campaigning against the smart water meters are not genuine,” he said.
“I think it’s a fundraising gimmick on their part because they are not representing the generality of the people who want to benefit.
“Following the installation of electricity prepaid meters, residents now appreciate the benefits and advantages of such systems hence they now expect the same value and benefits from water meters.”
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