Prepaid water meters the way to go
August 2001
Flow Measurement & Control
The excitement around the provision of free water and electricity barely subsided when utility service providers woke up to the headache of delivering on this noble promise. It is a simple matter to credit an individual account with 6 kl of water and 20 kW.h of electricity, but the problem of collecting outstanding revenues for consumption in excess of these levels is now exacerbated. Consumers can rightly demand their free water every month, leaving the service provider with the problem of connecting and disconnecting the service to deliver on credit where it is due.
"The answer clearly lies in a prepaid system", says John MacDonald, Managing Director of Rhomberg.
Tellumat and Rhomberg, market leaders in their respective fields of prepaid electricity and industrial automation, have combined their expertise in a joint venture to introduce a unique and tamperproof solution, for the administration and control of prepaid electricity and water.
"Consumers are entitled to claim their free share and even more if they pay the additional costs," MacDonald says. "With the Ecowater system the service provider will have none of the burdens of connecting, disconnecting or the costly actions of collecting unpaid revenues".
The system consists of two elements:
* A Tellumat customer interface unit (CIU) - a special version of the successful Tellumat prepaid electricity meter which now incorporates additional functionality for the management of water consumption.
* A Rhomberg water dispenser unit - provides measurement and control of the service and replaces the conventional water meter.
"The key to the success of any prepaid system no doubt lies in the vending system. By using the 20-digit standard transfer specification (STS), an industry standard widely used in the world of electricity prepayment, the Tellumat/Rhomberg solution allows for the seamless integration into any vending system that supports STS", says MacDonald.
A thorough and careful analysis was made that resulted in a system, designed and manufactured in South Africa, meeting both the requirements of the service provider and the consumer, for example:
* No batteries or limited life components are used, eliminating costly routine maintenance.
* Materials used are mostly plastic, limiting theft for scrap value.
* Environment appropriate ruggedness of construction.
* Convenient entry of credit at the CIU inside the comfort of home.
* Simplicity of installation and operation.
Tellumat and Rhomberg are currently manufacturing follow-up orders, as a result of several successful trial sites.
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