As the issue of the installation of Advanced Meter Infrastructure (MAI) continues, Pec Sierra has accused the Electricity Distribution and Supply Authority (EDSA) of illegally removing already installed meters in different locations and replacing them with previous meters of the Authority.
The smart meters have reportedly been removed from certain businesses like GTBank, Hotel Barmoi, Hill Valley hotel, Crown Express, Country Lodge and Karl Travel Agency and replaced with the old meters which EDSA had stopped using.
It was further discovered that business and households that resisted the removal of the AMI were threatened that they will be cut off from electricity supply.
The question now is why is EDSA removing the advance meters and replacing them with the old meters which the Deputy Minister of Energy 1 Hassan Barrie has said “collection of light bills by Authority was challenging” and therefore saw the need to “embark on the installation of post -paid meters which helped increase revenue”.
The issue of the installation of the advance meters by Pec meters has been going back and forth with Parliament stepping in to settle the impasse and the head of the Energy Committee in Parliament issuing a release that the Minister of Energy “should re-install all Pec smart meters removed recently from homes and business houses in the Western Area.”
In a telephone interview with the Acting Commercial Manager of EDSA Mallay Bangura he disclosed that he received instructions from his Boss that he should go ahead with the removal of the Pec AMI, and so last week he embarked on the removal but that he has again been instructed by the same Boss to put on hold the removal.
Bangura stated that the whole situation is confusing as it was parliament that gave orders for EDSA to put a hold on the work and later parliament gave them the go-a-head to remove the meters so “my Boss and I discussed the matter and agreed that we should put on hold the work until we get (proper) clarifications on the issue.”
He furthered “we have decided to put on hold the whole process until the matter is amicably resolved.”
Although he can’t tell the number of meters that have so far been removed, the Acting Commercial Manager said the advance meters belong to EDSA and so EDSA can do whatever they wish to do with it and that they don’t see the whole process as a waste of resources and time.
He however stressed that “we are looking at how we can resolve the matter with Pec Sierra Leone “amicably.”
Culled from Awoko
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