Persons interested in acquiring prepaid electricity meters will soon be able to so as an adequate number of the devices are expected to be available, GINA said.
Minister of Public Infrastructure, David Patterson told GINA that the European Union (EU) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) funded Power Utility Upgrade Programme (PUUP) will cater for these prepaid meters.
The objectives of the programme are to improve the Guyana Power and Light’s (GPL) management and administration among other things.
Component three of the PUUP deals with the actual capital work which includes acquiring prepaid meters and upgrading the distribution systems.
“Tenders for this are being reviewed at the moment,” the Minister said.
Prepaid and postpaid meters are not available in large quantities, according to Patterson as those in the system are being distributed on a first come, first served basis.
The Minister added that those available are also used to replace damaged ones of existing customers. The damaged meters will be evaluated and rehabilitated where possible for re-use. “That happens regularly so that is why it is not openly distributed, we can’t give out all the meters and then when somebody has a fault with theirs we can’t help them,” Patterson said.
However, “be rest assured that those persons who applied for prepaid meters will soon receive them,” the Minister told GINA.
