MEW to start smart meters at investment buildings in Sept

Project to help consumer regulate water and electricity consumption

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 14: Assistant Undersecretary for Consumer Affairs in the Ministry of Electricity and Water Mesha’an Al-Otaibi disclosed that the ministry will start operating the prepaid meters for water and electricity consumption at investment buildings by September 2019.

Al-Otaibi pointed out that the ministry supervised the installation of 5,000 smart meters in different sectors, adding the project if completed will put an end to disputes among building owners and tenants concerning the payment of water and electricity bills.

He explained that the directorate has concluded a study on tender for supplying smart meters and referred it to the Central Tenders Committee. He expected the first smart meter to be installed by February 2020 under the first phase to be followed by second and third phases. He said the tender will cover installation of smart meters in all buildings across Kuwait within three years.

He recommended two ways to resolve the issue of water meters in investment buildings. The first suggestion is to allocate meters for each flat depending on the planning of the residential building. Secondly, the main meter should remain operational in addition to the smart meter in each flat to record the individual consumption.

Al-Otaibi reiterated that smart meters will help the consumer to regulate water and electricity consumption each month through the relevant application, which offers other services like online payment. He pointed out that some consumers paying their bills do not see immediate proof of receipt on the application, because it normally takes 24 hours for the system to update the payment. He stressed that the ministry is not obliged to enforce travel ban on defaulters, because the ministry has an alternative mechanism for collecting money by cutting the service to consumers who refuse to pay their bills.