Latest update February 18th, 2025 1:40 PM
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GPL gears for prepaid meter service
– U.S. company awarded US$500,000 supply contract
UtiliSol, a company from Chattanooga, Tennessee (USA), pushing energy innovation in developing countries, has been awarded a US$500,000 contract to provide prepaid energy options to 2,300 households in Guyana.
Catherine Colby
Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Power and Light Company (GPL), Mr Bharat Dindyal, confirmed the award of the contract and said officials of UtiliSol will be in Guyana this week to finalise the arrangements.
“The customers love it, because it helps them manage their finances,” Catherine Colby, vice president of development at UtiliSol, is quoted by news reports in Chattanooga as saying.
“The companies love it, because it enables them cut expenses and collect on past debts that might otherwise go unpaid.”
UtiliSol will provide meters and in-home displays that allow customers to monitor how much electricity they are using, and how much they have remaining on their account.
When the account runs low, consumers can purchase prepaid energy cards from a variety of sources to keep the lights on.
The company was formed in 2006 as a spinoff from Chattanooga-based wind power company Tennessee Valley Infrastructure Group.
Joe Gordon, UtiliSol President, said the devices encourage consumers to save energy. “They have an in-home monitor and can keep track of how much they are using,” he said.
Energy consumption typically drops 10 to 15 percent while using the monitors, Gordon said.
Initially, the project will be tested in 2,000 homes in Georgetown, Dindyal said, given that Georgetown has the required infrastructure necessary to facilitate the project. Once the pilot project is implemented successfully, GPL intends to expand to thousands of households across the country.
UtiliSol, which has six employees, will provide the in-home equipment as well as the equipment, software and training GPL will need to operate the system.
Ms. Colby said the programme benefits the utility companies because they no longer have to generate bills, don’t have to send a crew out to turn someone’s power on or off, and can collect on past due bills by allowing a customer to turn their power on while crediting a portion of their prepaid power to their past due account.
UtiliSol has operated similar programs in Dominica, St. Maarten and Honduras.
The pre-paid meter service is funded as part of the Unserved Areas Electrification Programme, which is financed by the Inter-American Development Bank.
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