Yemen plans prepaid system to face electrical sector problems

SANA'A, Feb. 21 (Saba)
- The Ministry of Electricity and Energy intends to start installing prepaid
electric
counters in an effort to reduce the number of collectors, operation costs, overdue
payments and non-technical losses at a time when it is seeking to improve its
operation.
An official at the ministry who asked not to be named said the ministry and the
Public Electrical Corporation will implement an experimental project for 15000
meters in
Secretariat Capital this year.
Once it proves successful, they will apply the solution to various provinces as
from 2011, the official said.
The ministry seeks to reduce technical electric losses to 24 per cent by 2011 to
improve revenues through several measures that require sufficient and necessary
funds.
The measures come under a study by consultative companies on the development of the
ministry and providing requirements for projects to reduce losses.
The first phase of this will start in Secretariat Capital and other main cities
such as Aden, Taiz, Hodeidah and Hadramout as well as installing meters for
subscribers who
randomly connected electricity to their facilities.
A special reference has been prepared for power efficiency project that ensures
supplying stations with spare parts, implementing permanent and periodical
maintenance programs,
implementing programs and plans to reduce losses, setting out conditions for
references for preparing a special study for tariffs, boosting revenue collection
levels and
collecting subscriber debts.
Commercially, the official said that the ministry had provided requirements for all
areas including meters and granting authorizations for the areas which had more
commercial
achievements.
About 30000 copies of the services guide were distributed as well, the official added.
Last year, the number of subscribers reached 1.6 million people by a 7 per cent
annual rate.
On Saturday, the ministry said that the bill of purchasing power from the private
sector increased through January-November 2009 by 7.5 per cent to YR 21.9 billion,
up from
YR 20.3 billion in 2008.
The sum included YR 14.3 billion in costs of buying power and the costs of fuel at
YR 7.6 billion.
Director General of the Power Purchase Department at the Ministry of Energy Arif
Taha said that the revenues from the bought power reached YR 18.3 billion with a
deficit
of YR 3.5 billion.
FR