TNB to expand installation of smart meters nationwide

Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) plans to expand the installation of smart meters nationwide with a target of 1.2 million units in the Klang Valley following its success in fitting 340,000 units in Melaka.

Its chief retail officer, Megat Jalaludin Megat Hassan said the utility company is expected to supply nearly nine million units nationwide by 2021 for the benefit of more users.

He said the smart meter has many advantages and technologies which could help consumers control electricity consumption effectively.

"One of the advantages of the smart meter is that customers can track their electricity consumption trends and with this information, they can control their consumption trends," he said in an interview on TV3's prime-time Buletin Utama recently.

Megat Jalaluddin said among the positive feedback received on the smart meter was that consumers continued to get their electricity bill as usual (not the estimate bill) even during the Movement Control Order (MCO) period.

"During the MCO period, users, who had installed the smart meter, were not affected by the estimate bill, instead they received the actual bill," he said, adding that the actual bill could be accessed directly through email, as well as displayed on the MyTNB app and on the TNB website.

"Payment of the bill is also easier, more accurate and transparent by just using MyTNB. With this application, users can control and monitor their electricity usage while educating them on energy savings," he said.

So far, over 700 million smart meters had been installed worldwide, including in Europe and the United States.

TNB began installing smart meters under a pilot project in Melaka and Putrajaya from 2014 until 2016.

-- BERNAMA