HESCO to install 30,000 smart electricity meters in Hyderabad, Laar circles

The Hyderabad Electric Supply Company (HESCO) has announced plans to install 30,000 Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) meters across its Hyderabad and Laar circles, according to a statement carried by the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).

The rollout falls under the Electricity Distribution Efficiency Improvement Project (EDEIP), an initiative aimed at modernising Pakistan's power distribution network and reducing losses in the system. Documents cited by APP indicate that the project involves a complete facility for the AMI metering system covering the 30,000 planned units, though the full cost breakdown and installation timeline were not detailed in the initial announcement.

Advanced Metering Infrastructure systems allow utilities to remotely monitor electricity consumption in near real time, replacing older mechanical meters that require manual readings. Utilities in Pakistan and elsewhere have increasingly turned to such systems in an effort to curb electricity theft, reduce billing errors, and better track losses across the distribution network, long-standing challenges for the country's power sector.

HESCO, one of several regional electricity distribution companies operating under Pakistan's power sector structure, serves consumers across Hyderabad and the surrounding Laar region in Sindh province. Distribution companies like HESCO have faced persistent criticism over high transmission and distribution losses, which utilities and analysts say contribute to the broader circular debt problem affecting Pakistan's energy sector.

Projects such as EDEIP are typically supported by a mix of government funding and financing from international development partners, though the specific funding arrangement for this phase of meter installation was not specified in the available documentation.

Officials have not yet outlined a firm completion date for the 30,000-meter installation or detailed how the rollout will be phased across the two circles.