| Meter reading in the Philippines | | | | when presented with the bill, confirm the amount |
| A portable thermal receipt printer was used to | | | | payable, collect payment, and print out a receipt. |
| solve a difficult problem by an electricity company | | | | The Benefits of a Mobile Payment System |
| that supplies electricity to an area six hours north | | | | An engineer at the electricity company said the |
| of Manila, Philippines. The mountainous terrain, lack | | | | benefits were immediate. The company reduced |
| of a modern road network, and long distances | | | | the number of meter readers from 45 to 25, |
| between customers made billing and meter | | | | reduced the data entry staff from 15 to 5, |
| reading difficult and accurate record keeping | | | | eliminated the 43 bill distributors, and reduced the |
| impossible. | | | | administrative staff who re-keyed the data. With |
| The Problem | | | | instant billing, the payment collection cycle was |
| Meter readers travel on motorcycles. There was | | | | shortened. The software includes a prompt which |
| no logical way to plan their routes in the cities. In | | | | is a description of the next meter to be read, |
| rural areas, they followed power lines off dirt | | | | overcoming the problem of route planning. Made |
| track roads, until they found a meter at the end | | | | up readings have been eliminated, since they |
| of a cable. They matched the meter's serial | | | | instantly show up as anomalies. In addition, the |
| number to that on a card and wrote in the new | | | | hand held computer's internal clock imprints the |
| reading. At the day's end, the data was entered in | | | | time the entry was made, allowing studies to be |
| to the company’s computer system. Bills | | | | conducted. |
| were printed and delivered by a team of | | | | Improved Power Usage Efficiency |
| distributors, who retraced the previous day's | | | | The company found a significant side benefit with |
| routes. Customers paid cash or had seven days | | | | its new system- a 5% improvement in overall |
| to make payment at the nearest company office. | | | | power usage efficiency, resulting in the reduction |
| Some meter readers could not find or be | | | | of 'systems loss'. When the company draws |
| bothered to look for customers, so they simply | | | | down power from the National Grid, it is charged |
| made up the numbers. | | | | according to a meter reading taken at the sub |
| The Solution | | | | stations serving the company. For the first time, |
| The electricity company equipped each meter | | | | they are able to determine precisely how much |
| reader with a mobile payment system that | | | | electricity they are selling. Speeding up the billing |
| included a thermal printer and custom software. | | | | process identified a 20% discrepancy between |
| After entering the new reading into the hand-held | | | | what the electricity company was drawing down |
| computer, meter readers print out and deliver the | | | | and what it was selling. Meter readers record their |
| electricity bills in the same visit. Back at the office, | | | | observations directly into the mobile payment |
| the workstations are docked and data entered. | | | | system and have identified direct theft and |
| Information is available to counter staff at the | | | | broken cables. As a result, the 20% discrepancy |
| company’s collection centres. They enter the | | | | has been reduced to 15%, allowing the company |
| customer's account number into their desk top | | | | to recoup in excess of $780,000 (US) annually. |