The management of the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has announced that it will from November begin the installation of smart meters across the country.
An estimated 40,000 smart meters already on the ground for installations, will expectedly bring an end to the era of illegal connections and meter theft in Ghana – issues that have posed great challenge to smooth water supply to the consuming public.
In an encounter with the media - Chief Technology and Innovation Manager of GWCL, Richard Appiah Otoo said: “next month, we are going to start the installation of the smart meters; we have already procured 40,000 and an additional 40,000 are in the process. We are starting in Accra, then as we spread across we move it to the rest of the regionsâ€.
According to the company, smart water metering primarily will provide the GWLC with the information they require to run a more efficient water distribution network across the country. Hence, while the investment brings with it numerous advantages to the consumers, it will also have huge positive impact on GWLC’s role in preserving the country’s water resources in Ghana.
Explaining some challenges associated with the old metering system, the GWLC noted that unaccounted water sources make up about half or 50% of Ghana’s total water consumption, due to many consumers not having a water meter installed as well as unidentified leakages in the pipes between consumers and the utility. Consequently, this has resulted in water wastage.
As part of its goal of achieving efficiency in water distribution across the country, the GWCL is seeking to reduce the non-revenue water ratio of 50% by 5% yearly till it reaches its target of 20-25%.