Imraan Mohamed

Marketing Manager

Itron

South Africa

THE EVOLUTION OF

PREPAYMENT

SOLUTIONS TO

SUPPORT LOSS

MANAGEMENT

INITIATIVES

Challenges in Revenue

Management & Electricity Theft

In SSA

on average, Non

technical losses

estimated at 30%

In Sub Saharan Africa

(SSA), on average,

only 50% of electricity

generated is paid for. * Source: World Bank Report 2011.

Real World Challenges

Nobody, short of the CFO, has overall responsibility for the

combined losses number.

The process cuts a wide path though the organization, which requires

mature coordination.

Companies do not devote / do not have the necessary resources to

minimize losses.

Technology constraints in the field: network equipment,

communications infrastructure, interoperability, enclosures space, etc.

Data quality in the operational systems hampers progress

Requires accurate data between technical, CMS, billing and prepayment

A holistic view requires integration between multiple systems

Overcoming an entrenched culture of non-payment for services

Not understanding the role of staff and community awareness / Social

Marketing

So why doesn’t everyone have a Revenue Assurance program?

The Birth of Prepayment

Consume kWh-> Meter Read -> Process -> Bill ->

Receive Payment $

Disconnection/Reconnection

Receive Payment $ -> Consume kWh

Self Managed disconnection/reconnection

Initial Driver/Benefit for AMR

Revenue Management

Electricity Theft

Where Do the Losses Occur?

BACKOFFICE & POINT OF SALE

Software & IT: Lack of Controls

Poor Business Processors: Vendor

policy, Cash Management.

Unsecure H/W in the field (Vending

Security Modules, PC’s passwords)

NETWORK + METERS (NTL)

Illegal Network Connections

Installation Bypass

Meter Fraud.

TECHNICAL LOSSES (TL)

Revenue Management

Improvements

ON-LINE Prepayment Vending (>300K Consumer base)

Predominantly OFF-Line

NO Prepayment

Move to On-line Vending (STS) Remove Security Modules from the

field

Improved data quality due to centralised data management

Increased Revenue with lower cost base, + better customer service!

Upfront Payment by Vendors Reduced working capital due to

upfront funds

Improved revenue protection due to improved data availability and better cash & vendor management

ELECTRICITY THEFT

MITIGATIONS

METER FRAUD

Move to Split Metering

More anti tamper

features

INSTALLATION BYPASS

Split Metering

Secure Meter Kiosks

Migrate to “AMR”

Data Mining/Analysis

ILLEGAL

CONNECTIONS

Energy Balancing

Data

Mining/Analysis

STRONG BY-LAWS AND

PROSECUTION FOR THEFT

SPLIT METERING

MOVE FROM IN HOME METERS TO SPLIT METERING

• Consumer has unrestricted access to the

meter: potential for fraud

• Utility does not have free access to meter

(Tamper – only lights

circuit connected

through meter)

• Consumer has no direct access to the meter: lower

potential for fraud.

• Utility has unrestricted access to meter.

• MCU (meters) can be secured in vandal proof

enclosure

• Multiple MCU’s can be secured in a single enclosure

Split Meter Technologies

Wired Split Meter • Meter to CIU communication via

dedicated pilot wires

• Low risk of interference,

dedicated point to point

• Ideal for new installations

• Meter to CIU communication via

mains cable

• No additional cabling required for

meter installation – save on cost

of cable and labour time

• Overall cost of meter and

installation significantly reduced

• Ideal for retrofit installations

PLC Split Meter

Pavement Kiosk

4/8/12 way Pole Top Box

SECURE THE METER ENCLOSURE

• Secure the Meter

enclosure/Room.

• Security Controlled

and/or Remote Access

Control.

• Alarms sent when

unauthorised access

detected.

MAKING WHAT YOU HAVE SMARTER

Provide an add-on AMR capability for your STS

prepayment meters.

Enables advanced Revenue Assurance for Utilities.

Multiple meters connected via serial bus to a centralised

communicating device.

Add-on remote communication for split meter to extend

functionality.

Affordable alternative to full blown AMI/Smart metering

Solution.

Make Space Provision in

your Meters

boxes/Kiosks NOW for

communication

equipment that may be

installed later.

CENTRALISED METERING SYSTEM (CMS)

• CMS can provides direct feedback of individual meter

consumption, token acceptance and alarms.

• Compliments high end smart meter initiatives to get a full view of

losses on your meter installed base.

• Compliment Statistical Metering and Network loss management

Initiatives

• Used with Business Intelligence solutions to enhance knowledge

of field conditions and where losses are occurring

Data Warehouse

VENDING AMI/AMR

DB

BILLING

SYSTEM

KNOWLEDGE APPLICATION

• Financial view of technical and

non technical losses.

• Technical view of technical and

non technical losses.

• Identification and possible meter

tampering

• Identification of partial bypasses

• Identification of ghost vending

• Trigger of Targeted inspections

• Spatial view and drill down

capability

BENEFITS

In a typical utility, revenue assurance programs have the

potential to:

Reduce overall consumption while at the same time

increase revenue to the top line

Case studies show up to 15% decrease in consumption with

positive revenue growth

Revenue added is much higher margin than incremental sales

Increased revenue combined with lower supplier bills implies

more available cash for re-investment, and improved service

delivery

Improved network performance due to reduced load

Decreased energy demand on generating capacity

Sustainability of our planets water and energy resources

Why its worth it…….

Key Take-Aways

Losses (Financial and Technical) are significant challenges to

African utilities NTL + TLs

$Mill invested in Basic STS keypad based prepayment in Africa –

We can leverage on this.

Smart Metering has its place but not all your customer segments

qualify for and require a complex smart meter.

Upgrading basic prepayment to split metering and allowing a

migration path now to upgrade to an AMR type solution can

assist with identifying & curbing losses.

Solutions exists today and technology is an enabler to solve these

problems.

The solution is NOT in the meters or the technology, it lies in

the approach and the end to end solution.

There is no substitute for sound management and good business

processors.

THANK YOU