MUSCAT, OCT 6
Local Omani power sector services contractor Oman National Engineering & Investment Co SAOG (ONEIC) has won a pair of contracts from Nama Group to support the rollout of electricity smart meters across key areas of the Sultanate of Oman.
In separate filings to the Financial Services Authority (FSA), publicly traded ONEIC said it had secured a contract worth around $41 million from Nama Electricity Distribution Company – part of Nama Group – for the supply and operation of smart meters and head-end systems (HES).
On its heels, came another smaller contract valued at around $4 million from Nama Dhofar Services Company, for electricity smart meter reading, meter replacement and maintenance services in Dhofar Governorate.
According to ONEIC officials, as many as 300,000 electricity smart meters will be installed as part of the first contract. Comprising a combination of single phase and 3-phase electricity smart meters, these devices are planned for installation across Oman in line with Nama Group’s multi-year initiative to replace analog meters with smart meters.
That initiative, first conceived under the National Smart Meter Programme of the Authority for Public Services Regulation (APRS), envisages the installation of an estimated 1.2 million smart meters covering all electricity consumers by 2025. The project – orchestrated as part of the government’s digital transformation drive – is expected to deliver a number of far-reaching benefits to consumers, as well as the broader electricity sector.
For one, it will do away with physical meter reading – a practice long associated with faulty readings and inaccurate billings. As smart meters allow remote reading, consumer complaints related to erroneous billings are expected to be dramatically reduced, thereby contributing to a more efficient billing and collection system in the country.
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