Smart meter devices to be installed for hot and cold water in Tashkent

A program to install smart meters for hot and cold water will be launched in Tashkent, Kun.uz correspondent reports citing a government decree.

The Cabinet of Ministers instructed the Tashkent city administration to develop, by 1 August 2019, a program for installing in-house smart metering devices for hot and drinking water for 2020-2022 in cooperation with the State Committee on Investments and the Ministry of Housing and Communal Services.

The primary objective of the initiative is to prevent citizens from changing the data on how much water they spent. The smart meters will automatically communicate the information to the electricity supplier for monitoring and billing.

Smart meters, experts say, are very convenient. They enable two-way communication between the meter and the central system.

According to utility companies, smart metering offers potential benefits to householders. These include, a) an end to estimated bills, which are a major source of complaints for many customers b) a tool to help consumers better manage their water purchases—stating that smart meters with a display outside their homes could provide up-to-date information on water consumption and in doing so help people to manage their water use and reduce the amount of their bills.

Today, smart meters are being tested by Uztransgaz in pilot mode. About 200 such metering devices are installed in the Kibray district of the Tashkent region.

Thanks to them, the company can monitor gas consumption online and remotely disconnect debtors. The main goal is to work out this experience and then extend it to the whole republic. It is planned that such meters will be installed to all consumers by the end of 2022.

A similar program is already being implemented by Uzbekenergo. The company began work on the implementation of an automated system for monitoring and metering electricity consumption in the Tashkent region. In particular, in Angren it is planned to install over 53 thousand modern electricity meters.