DTEK Donetsk Grids will install over a thousand smart meters free of charge

Thermal power generation01 September 2020

By the end of 2020, the specialists of DTEK Donetsk Grids will have replaced electricity meters for 1,065 customers free of charge. The first 200 Mariupol families are already using new modern metering devices instead of the old ones, which helps save money. Power engineers urge Mariupol residents to allow energy employees into their premises to perform installation and explain how to make sure that it was indeed a DTEK employee who came to their house.

‘DTEK understands the needs of its customers. Therefore, we systematically upgrade power grids and create modern service. Smart meters will help our customers save on electricity bills every month. In total, more than 45 thousand such devices are already in operation in the region. By the end of the year, this number will have increased by another thousand,’ said Oleksii Dehtiariov, General Director of DTEK Donetsk Grids.

New meters are being installed in the houses covered by the investment program. It is formed at the beginning of the year and approved by the national regulator (NEURC). Customers must allow DTEK Donetsk Grids specialists to enter their premises (if the meter is in the apartment) to perform installation work.

The specialists inform the residents about the replacement in advance. They post notices in houses indicating the date and the contact phone number of the company’s person in charge. The work is performed by the employees of DTEK Donetsk Grids dressed in branded grey-and-yellow overalls with the name of the company. Upon the request of a customer, electricians must produce the appropriate IDs.

In 2020, new electricity meters will be installed for the residents of 138, 140, 142, 144, 146 Budivelnykiv Avenue, and 238 Shevchenko Blvd. All electricity meters planned for free installation will allow taking advantage of the night-time tariff (which is half-price) at the customer’s option.

In Ukraine, residential customers have the opportunity to use a two-zone tariff when paying for electricity. According to its terms, the cost of kilowatts during the day (from 7:00 to 23:00) is UAH 0.9 per kilowatt-hour up to 100 kWh, and UAH 1.68 per kilowatt-hour above 100 kWh. At night (from 23:00 to 7:00), the tariff is twice as low, UAH 0.45 up to 100 kWh, and UAH 0.84 over 100 kWh.