Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat on Wednesday announced that within nine months it will launch a pre-paid electricity system in Kabul.
 
Officials said the first smart meters will be installed in government institutions and in homes where the owners are in arrears with their electricity payments.
 
The program would then be rolled out nationwide.
 
They said government institutions and homeowners would buy electricity vouchers and load the credit to meters for electricity – in much the same way that the pre-paid mobile phone system operates.
 
Officials said this system would force everyone, including powerful figures, to pay for the electricity they use.
 
In addition, bills sent out every two months, under the current system, will now be sent out monthly.
 
Breshna spokesman Wahidullah Tawhidi said that once the smart meter system has been installed, Breshna clients would only have electricity if they had paid for it.
 
Tawhidi confirmed that the first meters will be installed in government institutions and in the homes of individuals who consistently fail to pay their bills.
 
“Smart meters are equipped with a card; it depends on consumers on how much electricity they buy whether they buy for 100 Afs or 1,000 Afs, but their card gets credited which they then use for their meters,” said Tawhidi.
 
Kabul residents meanwhile welcomed the move – especially that of getting their bills monthly but were concerned about an increase in costs.
 
“If the bill comes on a monthly basis it would be very good, because the people are very weak financially,” said Kabul resident Noor Agha.