UNELCO’s new smart meters help customers detect early leaks and save water

July 27, 2024 12:17 am | Posted in Business News | Share now TwitterFacebook

By Doddy Morris.

Juliet Emile, a UNELCO water customer, has shared her positive experience with the newly installed smart water meter that was implemented earlier this year.

According to Emile, she noticed a significant difference compared to the old manually read meter, which often resulted in delayed leak detection and unexpectedly high bills.

“With the old meter, I would only find out about a leak after three months when I received a shockingly high bill. By then, it was too late to prevent the excessive water consumption costs, which could range from VT100,000 to VT200,000,” Emile told Vanuatu Daily Post. 

“The new meter, installed in January, has been extremely helpful. In February, I was informed about a leakage before the bill was issued. They explained that the new meter can send readings back to their office, allowing them to monitor daily water usage. They compared my normal household usage to that of a business and told me I was using water as if I had a swimming pool at home.

“My meter is stationed by the road, quite far from my house, so we have to turn it on and off manually. We only turn it on to refill one to two days of our normal use and then turn it off again.”

She added that when the bill for March, the first quarter of the year, arrived, she expected a high amount. However, the bill was VT59,000, which made her happy as it was less than expected. This gave her a timeframe to manage water usage better by turning the water on and off to reduce the bill.

“We hadn’t located the leak by March, so I continued to save water by turning the supply on and off as needed. By June, the next quarterly bill showed a significant reduction, around VT17,000, which was much better. I expect the bill to decrease further once we fix the leakage within the house plumbing. Hopefully, my water bill will drop to VT10,000 or less every three months,” she also informed the Vanuatu Daily Post.

Director of UNELCO ENGIE, Frédéric Petit, told the Vanuatu Daily Post that the new water meter is called a smart meter, similar to the electricity meter. One good thing about the new meter is that it sends the meter index for each customer every day, allowing UNELCO to monitor for leaks daily and inform the customer if one is detected.

The Director explained that one main reason for this is to conserve water resources. Water wastage, resulting from leaks in UNELCO pipes as well as those of individual customers, can be prevented to protect the environment and preserve the water source.

“Out of the ten thousand customer the UNELCO has with water supply, 1400 customers which is 14% have installed this new smart water meter,” he told Vanuatu Daily Post yesterday.

“Our plan is to install all of the 10 thousand customers in 2 to 3 years. Today we witnessed a customer of UNELCO where we had installed their smart meter, there is a leak and  we are working to fix the problem.

“In the future, UNELCO’s project is to supply those data through an app to each customer via mobile phone or a website, where a customer can login with their own password to see their current consumption in the last few days.”

Director Petit added that the meter works with a small radio which sends data from the meter every day. It will send message to a main station, the station connects to the Internet and from there the UNELCO office reads every data that comes out.

“There is a battery in the meter, which the supplier said it can last for ten years,” he explained. 

“The traditional meter which most of the customers have, its life span is also ten years, as it has some rotating parts that worn or damage.

“I ask the customers to use the meters responsibly since water is precious, especially in the islands in the Pacific and it is something that is important to preserve.”

The new smart water meter was installed not only on the customers’ meters, but also on UNELCO’s district meters on a pipe that supplies an area to monitor the entire water consumption.