Water/power meters to be replaced in €70m project

Christopher Debattista

Apr 2nd 2009, 13:03

I'm sorry to say that the investment won't be a local one since the winning bidder will be the one who offers the most economic (This the cheapest) offer. Most probably this will go to China. The Tender is international therefore anyone can enter, not just European Countries. You can check this with http://ted.europa.eu - register and seek for Maltese contracts .

Mark Seychell

Feb 6th 2009, 22:37

Perhaps Dr Gatt would like to elaborate on how at least a fraction of these funds were not used to increase the miserly amount that was set aside for road improvements? Or for trying to improve the transport system in general? Or as someone mentioned earlier for trying to save up the rainwater? Or...? Or...? Or...? And a hundred other ors could follow those mentioned for other uses of 70 MILLION EUROS instead of wasting them all just so that we can be the first in the world at something.

Franco Tabone

Feb 6th 2009, 20:58

I agree with the project. I just pray that the new meters will be manufactured in Malta, at least the €70M investment will remain in Malta and not pass this money to another country. In this way it will generate some internal work.

Karl Abela

Feb 6th 2009, 12:28

You can tell that this is a very good project because all those politically blinded people start throwing in spanners into the works for fear that this will look to good on the government.

Well done Austin Gatt....this is 70 mill euros very well invested to finally erradicate the thiefs...and we can then finally do away with the shocking computer generated estimates.

Paul Savona

Feb 6th 2009, 12:24

So once again, the minister decided without consultation what type of meters should be used,even though it looks evident that people want pre-paid meters.These meters have already been ordered and now cannot be changed.You can only check your actual consumption indirectly through internet instead of having a direct display readout.What about calibration of these meters and the data they transmit over power lines.Who can assure us that it is correct.Oh and just for the record, these meters take up twice the size of the recently installed digital ones complete with their service box.Looks like we have to alter our indoors as well to accomodate these so called intelligent meters.

J. Abela

Feb 6th 2009, 11:42

Another reason why the gov and enemalta won't take a step back to the introduced W&E tarrifs.
Enemalta doesn't have enough money to cover its enefficiencies. Suddenly, we all went green and urged/forced/imposed to consume less energy i.e. no need of another power station.

Now Enemalta wanta to invest 70M...yes 70m..who is going to pay for this project?. If this project was going to materialize and funded from profits well and good. However this project wil be funded by US consumers - by paying extra!!!!!!!

The sage is going on forever. Ping ponging the issue to every authority to cause delays.
Comments from top authorities are senseless...Sorry we are not stupid..

More fees to come on sewage and recyling. Constructors will need to demolish houses - brick by brick. Do you think I will buy a house with re-used bricks?..All those $$$$?. Prices will go up as it will take MUCH more time to demolish building, hence salaries hence more costs.As prof's said yesterday - taking people for a ride!!!

No words for it. IT IS A REALLY SHAME!!! SHAME ON ALL OF YOU!!!

jane deguara

Feb 6th 2009, 10:18

i wish they would get meters like they have in uk.. with cards so we dont get big bills they have to recharge them with our money... in the long run its better for everone

Dennis Debono

Feb 5th 2009, 10:11

..unfortunately this article does not give much information.

Please take a look at these articles for further info:

http://greenwombat.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/02/04/ibm-to-build-worlds-first-national-smart-utility-grid/
http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/ibm-brings-smart-meters-to-malta-5654.html
http://earth2tech.com/2009/02/04/ibm-welcome-to-smart-grid-island/


Mr. Pace -- I am sure that the €70Million are not only meters...I am sure there is a computer or 2 to get the readings off the meters and to transform those readings into bills, and the software on these computers to perform this task, which in turn those electronic bills have to be printed and then the printed bills have to be folded and put into envelopes (yes automatic folding machines exist) and are sent to the customers....

Anthony Scicluna

Feb 5th 2009, 07:24

UK had these type of meters in the 60/70's. One could top-up by putting a 50p coin into the meter. Friends of mine had them for their gas and tv meters. The difference between the two was that when the tv collector calls to open the meter any excess money over the rented rate will be rebated back.
Malta 2009, instead of coins it seem that top-up cards will be the order of the day!!!
As long as consumers are charged fairly and any abuse is stopped any system is good although spending 70 million is no joke..

Joe Borg

Feb 5th 2009, 01:50

I read some comments and laugh.

Are there people who actually feel happy because their power meter is being replaced? My God! Is this country going crazy or what?

Mario Camilleri

Feb 4th 2009, 23:45

Can anybody please illuminate me and explain why this Government is investing a lot of money on the so called intelligent technologies when he is letting illegal water bore hole drillers getting away with murder by registering their illegality. 2600 was the latest figure of illegal bore holes. God only knows how many more there are. The irony is that they are making a lot of money from what is yours and mine. And mind you, it is not being used for agricultural purposes. And yet if the water table turns salty, the we have to make good for the desalination.
This government is intelligent, but only when, where and with whom he intends to be!!!

Mario (Marinton) Gauci

Feb 4th 2009, 19:59

@James Sultana

Before you post such a comment I suggest you take a look at old copies of newspapers. this project has been in the pipeline for a number of years and it is public knowledge. some people really amaze me looking at some of the comments below. Only in Malta is a government rightly criticised when things are not going right, but to be criticised when something good is being done is unbelievable.

true to the word....................... Maltese gemgem

lgalea

Feb 4th 2009, 19:58

l.cachia
In Iran, which wrongly some consider as a backward country, YOU OWN the meter and if you move house you take it with you.

But if EneMalta were to do this it will lose the "rent" which over a couple of years would have recouped its cost.

Andrea Coppini

Feb 4th 2009, 19:55

Re. Dual-rate meters, pre-paid meters, and all other fancy technologies:
I'm expecting the new meters to do just that. This is why they are 'read' every 15 minutes. This would allow Enemalta to calculate WHEN units were used, and (if the meters are remotely controlled, not just read) even shut down power when the 'pre-paid' credit runs out.

Think mobile phone billing (pre-paid, post-paid, different billing plans, etc) but for power.

My only worry is, if your credit runs out, how will you top up online? :-)

Anthony Paris

Feb 4th 2009, 19:22

Hopefully these new meters will make the dramatic improvement to the electricity supply that the bus ticketing machines made to public transport. I do not see how these meters will catch people who are stealing electricity. All they will do is tell us accurately how much is being stolen, but not who the culprits are. I imagine that once the government pours the 70 million into enemalta, they will sell it for a song. There are infinitely better ways of spening 70 million euro.

Gerard Cassar

Feb 4th 2009, 19:13

Just as laws enacted find people who transgress, new meters the second within a couple of years under the same government will also find people ready to steal electricity and water. Laws it is said are made to be broken. Minimise yes but eliminate 100% a bit difficult.
The moral of the issue is that plans are not made to provide the best, but what those in authority decide according to their advisers, whoever they are. Otherwise how was it decided to change water an electricity meters within such a short period. Either planning was defective or there were no people versed 100 % on the matter since the meters proposed now existed since years. Let's hope it is not done purposely to find ways where and how to spend or better waste money. But I just remember: "Money no problem!" Is it still no problem? So it appears.

Paul Barrett

Feb 4th 2009, 19:03

A lot of very interesting comments here - both pro and con the new meters.

Pre-pay meters are a real pain - trying to get your card charged, running low or out of credit.

Cheap rate elec for use at night means paying a higher charge for day-time use. Additionally if you live in a block of flats and have washing machines, vacuum cleaners and heavy machinery running during the night, there are going to be quite a few upset residents.

Installing the new meters will employ people - so to some extent the employment angle is covered.

Higher price for meters was meant to be tagged onto the bill from the 1st October but this was rescinded. The new higher meter charges came into effect from 1st January and thus the 70m project will be money recovered from us over a period of time.

The new meters will allow usage tracking therefore those that have illegally tapped into the power cable/water pipes will eventually be tracked down - this will be of benefit to all of us that are currently paying for theft.

James Sultana

Feb 4th 2009, 18:48

The interesting part about this story is:

Since all this hype is something new, how come that something new at the cost of 70 milion Euro and about which we never heard anything ALREADY HAS A CHOSEN CONSORTIUM ????

Keep it up Agostino Pio !!!!

Joseph Buttigieg

Feb 4th 2009, 17:55

Ah Ha, the cat is out of the bag now. That's why Austin Gatt is refusing to reduce the tariffs from October. He wants the 70 Million euros now to get the new meters.
You call that Ene Malta investment

philip pace

Feb 4th 2009, 17:43

Some simple arithmetic.

Someone can correct this, if I got it wrong.

Anyway it makes interesting reading.

Total of meters to be replaced= 257000

Pilot project of 5,000 . Estimated time some months
1st year 84,000
2nd year 84,000
3rd year 84,000
==================
Total 257,000
==================

Please note that by this time, another mindboggling idea would be announced to do away with this project to a new one as the situation would change and as ever the Government wants to 'invest' and gather the capital.

Cost of project= €70,000,000
Amount of meters= 257,000
Each meter costs €272. 31, as of from today

By then if (and I repeat if) the project is totally finished to the last screw (pun intended) the cost of the meter would increase by four to five fold by futuristic 'transparent' accountabilty, 'disappearing' energy units and lost water, professional 'legalised' excuses and every single reason under the sun.


Get serious!

Andre Debono

Feb 4th 2009, 17:42

You people never stop to amuse me!!!
So this government was attcked & insulted as we say in Maltese 'qatta bla habel' on how corrupt he is!! Yet then he invests in a system which practically cuts most of the abuse & those of us who enjoy criticising the government just take off one hat & wear another.
Be serious.
P.s. An intelligent government (as every other person) should invest in during 'bad times', so that during good times he is reaping benefits. A bad govenment will only spend & invest during good times. But then he will not benefit when 'bad times' come around.

philip pace

Feb 4th 2009, 17:21

When I read such sensationalist propoganda I don't know whether if I should laugh or cry.

Well the Minister seems to think that we are all stupid citizens as one has to read between the lines and take a look back on how many millions of liri/euros we have paid so fair to have a simple service such as this.

We first had a 'first rate power station' at Delimara with the initial cost doubling and even tripling to the final amount ( a super costly project), then we had a whole futile exercise of replacing the old meters to the the new digital ones, ( a costly and unfinished project) then the whole sordid mess of the utility tariffs with the Governemnt changing the music every now and then.

Why don't we have a electricity/water meter where we can purchase for a few euros any amount that we want before and we would pay one reasonable one time amount for the meter which would be ours to keep?

In truth we have the MOST EXPENSIVE WATER AND ELECTRICITY METERS IN THE WHOLE UNIVERSE!

I honestly don't know if the Minister can be taken seriously enough.

I can

Elaine Fitouri

Feb 4th 2009, 17:05

What are we waiting for to introduce a pre-paid service for our electrical service? It existed in the 60's in the UK. I'm sure it would go a loooong way to solving many people's problems with mounting bills and enemalta's growing debt. It's not a solution to the exorbitant tariffs, but given the choice, I would rather pay before I use, even at the current rates.

I don't want 'state-of-the-art'. I want practicality for my pocket. Most new meters are tamper-proof anyway.

I C Moore

Feb 4th 2009, 17:05

Considering that Enemalta's pricing system is now cost based, this project would definately increase the investment cost and thereby the prices. If the pricing system is on projected data (as probably is) this might be a move to justify the current high prices. Should we clap or cry?

J Borg

Feb 4th 2009, 16:59

I hope that these meters will also be able to measure dual metring that is they also measure outgoing electricty so as to promote the use of alternate energy sources and allow people who invest in such sources to feed their energy back into the national grid and have that energy measured and quantified.

Phil Pryce

Feb 4th 2009, 16:56

If all the meters are going to be changed anyway, wouldn't this be a golden opportunity to install dual-rate meters with a cheaper tariff at night? When there is a reduced load on the power stations at night, as is currently the case, the power station is running inefficiently. If dual-rate meters were installed it would encourage people to run their high consumption things like washing machines/dishwashers etc at night. This is common practice in other countries.

l.cachia

Feb 4th 2009, 16:46

Will the rent remain the same? Why not give us the option of buying the meter? that way we could cut back on the ammount we pay every time a bill is issued.

J.BORG

Feb 4th 2009, 16:46

@N.Calleja

You are incorrect to say I am one of those **always** finding fault in what Government does. Please re-read my comment. I said that ...yes...this is indeed good....BUT...in the current circumstances....is it really really a priority? Can't this for instance be reduced to 50% of the planned budget, allowing 35 Million Euros to be instead used as a recovery package to help our industry in these difficult times? We will indeed be BEHIND other countries as you mention....if we do not do something urgent to boost help to industry. That was the real essence of my comment Mr Calleja and now how you understood it....

V Fenech

Feb 4th 2009, 16:41

Maybe with this Enemalta would finally know the number of existant meters in Malta and stop basing its calculations on estimates!

A Cachia

Feb 4th 2009, 16:29

I agree with this investment. 1000's of people STEAL electricity. This is costing Enemalta millions of EURO alone.

If theft is minimized, then enemalta can cut out the exorbant electricity rates and pass this on to cunsumers.

Go ahead with the project. Nonfqu tant flus fic cucati... this is a good investment.

Ray Pace

Feb 4th 2009, 16:16

Well this is why we have to pay more on electricity and water. I would like to know how ever, who is going to pay for the hundreds of thousands of new electronic meters bought by Enemata to replace the old ones. Enemata bought thousands of these meters to be replaced but had problems finding persons to install them. Government has first to make sure that loses are cut by proper decisions, by decrease the inefficiency and mismanagement for example more control on mobile phones, but the worst of all the hiring and usage of hired vehicles before putting the burden on all of the Maltese families. I believe that the Maltese families do not deserve this kind of treatment and stress trying to make ends meet.

D Vella

Feb 4th 2009, 16:15

Enemalta loses more water through old broken pipes than pilfering. Seventy million euro would go a long way toward replacing those pipes. At the same time it would give employment to Maltese and in he process saving untold millions of euro going to a foreign bank account.

Joe Galea

Feb 4th 2009, 16:09

Enemalta's priorities are really in the right order. Why not 70mEuros doesn't give them as lower tariffs especially during these recession times? On one hand it says it will make huge losses then we read that it will spend this huge sum just to change the meters!!!

Come on be serious!!

M. Buhagiar

Feb 4th 2009, 15:51

I really remain in awe sometimes how money start coming out all of a sudden!

Michel Borda

Feb 4th 2009, 15:45

Is it worth it ???? say theft 2 million a year , it would take 35 years to recover!!! apart from damages and maintenance to system !!!! by that time we would all be using solar cells on our roof tops !!! xejnsew.com

Mario Farrugia

Feb 4th 2009, 15:41

How about saving the €70 million and reduce our tariffs, instead?

R Genovese

Feb 4th 2009, 15:41

Couldn't 70 million euro be better spent saving the millions of litres of rainwater lost to the sea year in year out?

D. Borg

Feb 4th 2009, 15:37

Should'nt the govt. postpone these projects costing millions of euros and invest in the economy in order to safeguard job losses in this hour of financial world crisis?

N.Calleja

Feb 4th 2009, 15:36

Why is there always someone like Mr.Borg that is always finding fault with anything done by the government? Should we always remain behind other countries in the use of modern technologies? That's why in many issues we are ahead of other countries. If the government budgeted 70million euro for this project, naturally it's in the country's interest. Should we remain regarded as a third world country? Like when the Socialist government bought the second-hand Stouger telephone system?

Mario (Marinton) Gauci

Feb 4th 2009, 15:30

If this means stopping most of the electricity / water theft than it is definitely good news. Theft of both in Malta is rampant and at the end of the day, we the consumers are paying for it. I suggest to Enemalta that when the meters are replaced, persons found abusing the system should be made to pay an estimated bill for say 5 years and not just a petty fine or a genral amnesty as was the case about 2 years ago.

David Muscat

Feb 4th 2009, 15:23

@J. Borg. We are here speaking of a project that will take place over 3-4 years thus not all €70m will be spent at once and after all if this can save us from paying what others steal isn't that a priority

Mario Tabone-Vassallo

Feb 4th 2009, 15:16

Idea u ghemil brillanti. Hekk jitnaqqas l-iskomdu ghall-konsumatur, jista' jitnaqqsu l-ispejjez rikurrenti u nittama s-serq tad-dawl u l-ilma. PROSIT

J.Borg

Feb 4th 2009, 15:15

I am aware of the need to improve our electricity and water infrastructres...and even have it state-of-the-art. .......But...... is this really urgent & justified at this stage, when 70 Million Euros could be more effectively used as part of a 'Recovery package' to help our industry to improve its competitivenesss? Do we really need to have remotely-read meters at this stage when such funding could be used for re-training/re-skilling of our workforce, for amplifying Malta's Research & Innovation programme (was just 700K Euros in 2006!) ....? We are not saying 700 thousand euros...but a 70 Million Project. I am a bit perplexed why is this being given priortiy. There is no guarantee that these meters will reduced electricity theft... how many consumers will regularly check every 15 minutes their consumption??? So please, can our politicians stand-up and be counted & therefore re-think the real value of this project at this stage!

Paul Barrett

Feb 4th 2009, 15:05

This is good news if it does away with the estimated bills.

Changes in tariffs should no longer be made in-between billing/actual reading cycles. If the tariff is changed, bills should be printed and sent out immediately at the old rate so that customers know exactly where they stand.