R Systems has supported the GSMA-funded Mobile4Energy project for innovative prepay electricity deployment in the Kiangurwe community, Kenya.
The Mobile4Energy-led consortium of companies, including Smart Metering Systems plc, Airtel Kenya, DigitalRoute and R Systems, has been granted GSMA funding for the development of a meter to cash solution which will provide much needed electricity to a thousand of the community’s residents. The solution will allow them to manage consumption via their mobile phones and top-up their accounts via mobile operator pay-as-you-go networks.
The Mobile4Energy-led consortium will deploy its proprietary mobile-enabled metering, billing and collections solution that brings the tried and tested advantages of telecoms’ realtime billing systems and cash collections networks to the utility sector.
We hope that this project will be the proof of concept to a new mobile enabled approach to utility billing and collections with a much lower cost to serve.
We are also happy to contribute to the welfare of remote communities by facilitating their access to affordable and widely available utilities”, added Raluca Rusu, R Systems International CEO.
The prepay electricity solution was showcased by Mobile4Energy in live demos during the European Utility Week event in Vienna in November 2015 and also during Mobile World Congress 2016 in Barcelona.
Solution demo showcased at European Utility Week, Vienna, 2015
About GSMA
The GSMA’s Mobile for Development Utilities programme supports the use of mobile technology to improve access to energy, water and sanitation services to the underserved.