Kamstrup released a new variant of the OMNIPOWER smart meter to be deployed in Africa offering a reliable solution to the challenges of managing a strained energy infrastructure.
One of the main issues that hamper nations throughout the continent is electricity theft, considered a major contributor to the problems facing Africa’s power supply. Kamstrup country manager of South Africa, Petrus Van Heerden said that power was stolen through illegal connections, meter tampering and bypassing, illegal electrifications, and the sale of illegal prepaid electricity vouchers from stolen vending machines. He added, “The OMNIPOWER smart meter warns immediately in case of tamper and attempts to physically access the meter and secures accurate and reliable metering data for billing and documentation purposes in near real time.”
The device can help limit load use, control time, and monitor consumption as another problem facing the continent is the rise in electricity demand – which causes a strain on an already overloaded supply network. The OMNIPOWER smart meter also holds a remote controlled breaker function, which enables the utility to disconnect supply to non-critical installations in case of overload. The same breaker can be used as an updated version of traditional prepayment functionality, allowing the smart meter to connect or disconnect supply according to the kWh paid up front.
With an own power consumption of only 0.6 watts, the OMNIPOWER smart meter also takes a lead in low-power.
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