Apua Plans – Algernon Watts
Apua Plans 25M Smart
The Antigua Public Utilities Authority (APUA) is moving ahead with a US$25 million automated metering system that officials say will overhaul how electricity and water consumption are measured, while giving customers much greater visibility over their usage.
Financial Controller Sabrina Benjamin disclosed the cost of the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) project during Wednesday’s press conference on electricity and energy costs, describing the undertaking as a “serious investment”.
APUA expects a major deployment of the technology to begin later this year or early next year, following pilot projects that officials said have been underway for several years.
The system would replace much of the current reliance on employees physically visiting properties to record meter readings.
Acting Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operations Officer Roger Tonge said readings from the new meters would instead be transmitted automatically to a central server, where they could be used to generate customers’ bills.
“We get readings actually every day with a really fully functional AMI system,” Tonge explained. “Meter readers will not be required to go out and read your meters. The readings will be sent automatically to a central server.”
Electricity Business Unit Manager Andre Matthias said the technology would also give electricity customers significantly more detailed information about when they are consuming power.
Instead of simply comparing one monthly bill with another, customers would be able to see their electricity usage on a daily and hourly basis. Water consumption would also be available over longer intervals.
That could allow a household questioning a high bill to identify the particular hours or periods in which consumption increased.
“You will be able to see at what time of the day you have increased your consumption,” Matthias said.
The investment comes amid heightened public scrutiny of electricity bills and APUA’s meter-reading and billing practices.
The authority disclosed this week that approximately 10 to 15 per cent of its existing meters are not working, forcing it to estimate consumption on some accounts. APUA says those estimates are generally based on customers’ previous usage patterns while faulty meters are being replaced.
Officials also acknowledged that the current manual system leaves room for human error. Meter readers enter readings into handheld devices, and Tonge said mistakes can occur when numbers are entered incorrectly.
APUA believes automated readings will significantly reduce those problems and also address difficulties caused when meter readers cannot gain access to properties because of locked gates, dogs, overgrown vegetation or other obstacles.
The smart meters would transmit information directly to APUA without employees having to enter the property.
The technology is also expected to strengthen APUA’s ability to detect electricity theft and meter tampering.
Matthias said removing or interfering with an AMI meter can trigger an alert to the utility. The system would also allow APUA to disconnect services remotely, although he stressed that customers would be contacted before such action is taken.
The system could further assist with outage management by allowing the utility to identify affected areas through information being transmitted by the meters.
APUA has already begun taking steps towards the wider rollout. Tonge said water meters are being ordered and arrangements are being made to purchase electricity AMI meters, building on earlier pilot programmes.
The authority has previously signalled its move towards smart metering. In November 2025, Cabinet announced plans for an initial installation of 1,000 smart meters as part of APUA’s wider modernisation and digitalisation programme, with the technology intended to improve the accuracy of consumption readings and help curb tampering.
APUA also describes smart metering as part of its effort to make its services more efficient and reliable.
Officials did not specify during Wednesday’s discussion how many electricity and water meters will ultimately be replaced under the full US$25 million project or give a firm completion date.
However, Matthias said APUA is hoping for a “big deployment” of the AMI system beginning later this year and continuing into early 2027.
