Government targets 350,000 connections nationwide by 2012

•Electrogaz phasing out post paid connections In a bid to reduce losses incurred in uncleared power bills, Electrogaz in the process of phasing out the use of conventional billing meters, a senior official at the country’s Utility House has said. According to Lucien Ruterana, the acting Commercial Director at Electrogaz, the process of connecting the new system of billing and power distribution which is prepaid (Cash Power) and began in 1997 has now been extensively developed. “At least 95 percent of meters around Kigali City are now pre-paid. We are no longer connecting conventional meters to new customers,” Ruterana said. He also mentioned that while the process is being done in phases, Electrogaz intends to have all the “old” meters in the country replaced by the end of the year including rural areas. According to Ruterana, Eletrogaz has a rural electrification plan that been set for a five year period with the aim of increasing electrification rate from the current rate of 6 percent to 16 percent by 2013. Based upon single-phase and Single Wire Earth Return (SWER) system technology, each household will be equipped with a ready board including main circuit breaker, earthing terminal, light socket, 2xoutgoing circuit breakers and split meter. In the frame of the Electricity-Access-Rollout-Programme, government also targets 350,000 connections nationwide by the year 2012. As of June this year, the number of household clients on the pre-paid payment system stands at 110,000 clients. While the new meters are provided free of charge, connection fee varies depending on the type of cables and distance between the poles. The move comes against the backdrop of the Utility Company incurring losses in the past years in un-cleared bills. In 2005, Electrogaz incurred a loss of about Frw 1.5 billion in uncleared bills (water and power) over a period of nine months. The huge debt incurred between January - September of that year prompted Electrogaz to disconnect the indebted clients, including government ministries, which owed a half of the total debt. “The new system (pre-paid) helps us in recovering money. It also gives a chance to customers to consume what they can afford and manage consumption,” Ruterana said, pointing out that though new system has cost government a “fortune” the advantages of the using it outweighs it as it is cost effective and efficient. Ends

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Government targets 350,000 connections nationwide by 2012