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“Shinny New Meters” brings more troubles

January 22, 2008
The extended and almost never-ending period of darkened houses and dark streets is over in Georgia. It is a period in Georgian history that people want to forget. Flats were cold, gas and fuel to cook was in short supply and life was miserable.  Poor Georgians went to the street to protest and at least the fires they set in the street were sources to warm their bones and diminished spirits. At least now there is a constant supply of electricity but there are still many problems.

“We are grateful for having a constant supply of electricity and that we no longer have to live in the darkness. However, that is not enough in itself. The price for supplied electricity is enormous, more than what most families can afford, and there are no special allowances for those that cannot afford to pay. In addition to that they have installed the meters in such a way that cannot be easily monitored or controlled by the customers.

At the end of each month we receive large bills. I have observed that the bills always show rounded figures, thus we are suspicious about if the price is based on actual consumption,” says Maguli Chafidze, resident of the St. Nino Street in Kutaisi.  She and her neighbors (like the residents of other streets in Kutaisi) claim that new, so-called “glittering meters” have created lots of problems for residential customers. They would rather have their old meters back. At lest they indicated the exact amount of consumed electricity and customers knew just how much they would have to pay at the end of month.

The process of installing the meters has been underway since 2005 in Kutaisi. Approximately 60 percent of subscribers now have the new meters. According the decision of the “Energopro Georgia” old, automatic meters remained something rooted in the past and new, digital electric meters shall be installed in the households of 60,000 subscribers. 

“Electricity meter, like any other electric device, has its own set of conditions for proper use. The So called “Black meters” that were previously used by subscribers in the past were old-fashioned and not working. It was not possible to show the exact amount of spent electricity. Obviously the fact justified, if true, the need to install the modern meters. In accordance to the law, a subscriber shall install the meter at his or her own expenses. However, since the social conditions of Georgian population are very difficult, the state has taken-on this responsibility and has covered the cost of the installation for the new meters,” said Teona Geguchadze, spokesperson for the Kutaisi Branch of the Energy Distribution Company.

Considering that the government is now responsibility for funding meter installation, much financial burden and stress has been removed from the population.  The majority of Kutaisi residents associate the new “glittering meters” with a wide array of troubles facing them in recent times.  The main reason is that they totally unable to control those digital meters and cannot be sure if they are paying the right amount for electricity or not. .

“In the past I had two meters serving my home. One was installed in my flat and the other was located at the entrance in the common area. We could not enter the booth without the representative of the Energy Distribution Company with us. However, we could watch over just how much electricity we used each month with our own eyes.  Now, each family has only one meter and it is installed somewhere in the booth and that is out in the street. Thus, we cannot control them and the bills are much larger than we had ever received in the past,” complained the residents of St. Nino Street.

In accordance to the resolution # 18, May 15 2006, of the Georgian National Energy Regulation Commission, the fee on the electricity was doubled in June of 2006. If a subscriber spends 100 kilowatts a month than fixed rate for one kilowatt is 11,0 tetri; if a subscriber spends upwards of  300 kilowatt,  the fee is then increased for 1 kilowatt by 14, 0 tetri; but if a subscriber spends over 301 kilowatts a month the fee jumps to 14, 83 tetri. The above-mentioned estimated fee is then combined with VAT and the final fee results as follows:  in the first case a subscriber shall pay 12, 98 tetri for a kilowatt; in the second one-16, 52 tetri and in the third one-17, 19 tetri.

The resolution does not provide information for those subscribers who are using more than 100 kilowatt hours of electricity per month; they do not know which category they should have to pay and only when the bill comes they know. However, representatives of the Kutaisi Branch of the Energy Distribution Company do not think that is a serious matter. It is only a matter of some confusion. Representatives of the company state that it is only a small part of subscribers who are perplexed by the innovation; they expect that somehow that their meters are showing incorrect or indexes that are incorrect.

“The meters that are being installed now are digital and work on impulses; consequently they register the consumed electricity accurately. Old meters could not do the same. Moreover, they could not register smaller amounts of used electricity. If any subscriber has doubts about their meters, they can apply to our company and we will check out their meter for them. Our representatives will examine the meter in their home or business,” said Teona Geguchadze.

Consequently, representatives of the Energy Distributing Company deny all accusations put forth by subscribers. As it has become evident, nothing will be changed anytime the nearest future. People will have to grow accustomed to the new technology and this is in spite of the fact that with change brings damage to their personal pocketbooks

Shorena Kakabadze, Kutaisi

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