Ghana
Project Background:
Since establishing cooperation in 2011, Hexing Electric has supplied over 500,000 electricity meters to the Northern Electricity Distribution Company of Ghana, and has continuously provided professional technical support, deeply involved in system installation, operation, and maintenance management. Hexing Electric has worked closely with the power company to build a comprehensive solution covering anti-theft, metering management, and billing collection, effectively reducing operational losses, enhancing revenue capacity, and supporting more users to connect to the grid.
Project Scale:
100,000 smart meters
Project Period:
February 2020 – March 2022
Solution:
AMI Advanced Metering Infrastructure Solution
Challenges:
Severe Electricity Theft
Ghana has long faced a high rate of electricity theft, severely impacting the revenue capacity of power companies. Existing infrastructure is inadequate for anti-theft monitoring and control, leading to significant power losses through theft and other illegal activities.
Data shows that a large proportion of electricity supply in Ghana is lost due to theft and illegal consumption. In 2011, ECG reported distribution losses as high as over 30%, with technical losses exceeding 10% and commercial losses exceeding 20%. Electricity theft not only exacerbates power shortages but also increases supply costs and causes safety accidents such as electric shocks and fires, severely impacting social and economic development.
Difficulties in Electricity Bill Collection
The power company has long faced low electricity bill collection rates, with revenue insufficient to cover daily operations and grid maintenance costs, often relying on external financial support. Due to quasi-fiscal deficits, the company struggles to ensure stable operation of the existing grid and lacks funds to expand the grid to meet growing electricity demand from economic growth. Insufficient payment of electricity bills is one of the core reasons for the revenue gap.
Hexing Electric Solutions:
Integrated EPC Delivery Service
Hexing Electric provides full-process services covering engineering design, equipment procurement, and construction (EPC), delivered by a professional technical team, and offers systematic training to relevant personnel of the power company, ensuring high-quality project implementation and long-term stable operation.
Significant Revenue Increase
The AMI solution effectively improves metering accuracy and billing transparency, significantly reducing power losses.
In the four months following project completion, the power company’s revenue increased significantly by over 10% year-on-year, with new revenue of approximately tens of millions of US dollars. The efficient billing and management mechanism provides solid support for revenue growth.
Open and Flexible Platform Architecture
The MDC system adopts open communication protocols, seamlessly integrating devices from different manufacturers, compatible with existing systems and supporting future technology expansion, providing the power company with a highly flexible and sustainable platform capability.
Unified Information Management Platform
Hexing Electric deploys a Unified Interface Platform (UIP) as an enterprise service bus (ESB), integrating E-GIS, Oracle financial system, USSD, SMS and email systems, Mobile Money, and Hexing Electric’s own systems, achieving data interconnection and comprehensively improving information management and operational efficiency.
Improved Power Supply Reliability
The system integrates power quality monitoring functions, enabling early identification of potential power supply anomalies, assisting the power company in taking preventive measures, effectively reducing SAIFI and SAIDI indicators, and significantly improving power supply stability and reliability.
Enhanced Customer Experience
Through multi-channel solutions such as HEXPAY, Mobile Money, and USSD, electricity sales and payment methods are expanded; the end-user portal and mobile app provide real-time electricity data inquiry and convenient problem feedback channels. Customer complaint rates have significantly decreased, and user satisfaction continues to improve.
Project Value:
● Effectively curb electricity theft, reduce commercial losses
● Significantly improve electricity bill collection rate and operational revenue
● Enhance grid operation reliability and safety
● Optimize user experience, strengthen public trust in power services
