GE to provide metering technology to Meralco

General Electric Company will provide advanced metering infrastructure integrated solution for Meralco's prepaid metering service to customers.

The orders will initially cover the 40,000 customers which shall be the pilot phase in the utility firm’s offer of prepaid retail electricity service.

The GE-AMIIS package will enable the utility firm to offer prepaid electricity service within its franchise area.

The Meralco contract had been the first sealed with GE for a customer in the Asia-Pacific region.

Meralco president Oscar S. Reyes has noted that “GE’s solution will play a crucial role in our overall smart grid initiative”; noting that this phase in their service innovation “is expected to bring about greater efficiencies in power distribution and improved customer service engagement.”

The prepaid electric metering system is a venture that Meralco has also been opting to align with the business of its affiliates in the telecommunications sector. Primarily, this can be done by integrating short messaging system  into the service offer. 

Meralco’s approach to smart grid may reach full integration over seven years for a total capital outlay of P40 billion. For the prepaid meters, the target post-pilot will be to introduce it to the C-segment of its customers which account for the biggest chunk of its subscriber base.