Falklands : Public Works Department Seeks Alternatives to Meter Reading
Submitted by Falkland Islands News Network (Juanita Brock) 04.05.2006 (Article Archived on 18.05.2006)
The fabourite option is Kilowat Cards.
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT SEEKS ALTERNATIVES TO METER READING
By J. Brock (FINN)
Though the Public Works Department need to recover lost revenue from un-calibrated card metres, they are fully aware of the difficulties the withdrawal of the service will cause for some people. The department are keen to make the system as user-friendly and as fair as possible.
Some people would wish to remain on card meters and PWD are sympathetic but there are some issues that first need to be addressed.
Reprogramming card meters in some cases has technical problems; some card meters are failing and will therefore have to be converted to credit mode. In some households PWD has problems accessing meters for reprogramming, meaning that they are still on old tariff rates. This is grossly unfair to customers with credit meters who have been paying the increased tariff since December, and to those who have been co-operative, whilst many card customers are still paying the pre December tariff. PWD feel this is unacceptable. Simply charging a different price for cards to compensate does not work as there are legal difficulties involved in the meter displaying credit at a different rate to that charged for the card.
After receiving representations and discussing the problems, the PWD have come up with some alternatives:
- All customers will all be changed on to the current tariff (17p per unit) by the end of this month.
- Some customers will be allowed to remain on card payment. These are those people who receive welfare assistance and all old age pensioners (if they so wish).
- Any other customers may apply to remain on the card prepayment system and their application will be assessed on its merit. The purpose of this is to reduce the number of card meters to a manageable amount for the interim period.
Cllr. Richard Cockwell, Chairman of the PWD Committee asks that customers on card meters who are not on the current rate are therefore asked to notify the Power and Electrical Department within the next three weeks as to when it is convenient for their meters to be altered. Alternatively they may be contacted by PWD. He further added that this changeover will be strictly enforced in conjunction with other Government agencies if necessary. PWD will work out of normal hours to make it possible for everyone to give them access to meters.
The Public Works Department will continue to investigate the option of installing a number of new card Meters which read in Kilowatts. The advantages of these maters are that the price of the card can be altered rather than the meter. This programme could take some time but should meet the concerns of those who wish to return to card payment. PWD will inform customers of any changes to the policy.
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