Abstract
Despite state-owned electricity utilities’ implementation of smart metering infrastructure, the utility continues to face challenges in collecting metered data and resorts to manual data collection. Qualitative research methodology is employed in this research to understand challenges faced by the utility’s smart metering infrastructure. Semi-structured interviews of subject matter experts are used as a research instrument.
The collected data was analyzed using thematic analysis to formulate key themes. Through the coding process, four themes were generated, and they include poor communication technology, poor meter calibration, inadequate workforce training, and irregular maintenance. The findings of the research show that there is consistent dissatisfaction with the effectiveness of communication protocols between smart meters and data collection systems.
Additionally, it was found that software system updates were performed rarely, if at all, pointing to a possible weakness in routine maintenance procedures. Furthermore, the reliance on manual interventions undermines the benefits of smart metering technology in improving data accuracy, reliability, and system automation.