ZETDC, a subsidiary of the national electrical utility ZESA, began operations in 2021, building on actions taken in 2018. The company is committed to securing its goal of efficient smart grid deployment and looking to benefit from its main determinants that include reduction of losses, revenue protection, energy efficiency, real-time monitoring, billing for postpaid customers, and management of distributed renewable
energy resources.

Largest grid deployment

Iskraemeco is proud to have created a major footprint in Africa with the largest C&I + G deployment with MT880 meters. The main goal is to meet the accuracy class requirements for all the meters installed. Our company also deployed our AM550 smart residential and interoperable meters that secure assets while also meeting grid needs in the future. Symbiot’s MDM and HES capabilities, as wells as a customized web portal and a demo license for MDM functionalities, have been effectively delivered to enable a personalized and successful solution across our software suite.

The project’s unique and notable use cases

Transformer protection

Temperature sensors are connected to the MT880 meters’ alarm input, which is connected to the transformers. When the temperature of an old transformer used in Zimbabwe rises, MT880 sends an alarm. When the alarm is received, a direct signal is sent to the MCB (Miniature Circuit Breakers) to disconnect the device. This is known as transformer protection, and
it protects the transformer from damage caused by high temperatures.

Tamper protection

Tamper protection includes alarms that occur on the meter itself or alarms that the meter can register for the environment. One of these alarms that occur outside the meter is the opening of the enclosure door,
which can be achieved by the alarm input function of this meter. A limit switch can be connected to the alarm input of the meter, which, when an intrusion occurs, records the event and immediately sends an alarm to Symbiot. The software suite then sends a command to disconnect the meter’s relay and stores it as an alarm. It is also possible to program the meter to connect and disconnect. In addition, an operator can
check on site to see what went wrong.

Prepayment

The main use case presented to ZETDC was a demonstration of MT880 as a prepayment meter for a flat tariff system. In this scenario, the wallet is available for credit, consumption and other operations. When the credit drops to zero, the suite sends an alarm to the MT880 meter’s external circuit breaker, which disconnects the customer from the grid. Since this method has proven successful in the past with flat tariff meters, ZETDC has decided to continue the rollout with MCBs installed in all the provided meters.

Integration

ZETDC’s request was to integrate web services with the ICS (Industrial Control System) billing software, which was implemented at their premises. Following successful implementation, invoices are now automatically generated by the ICS software based on the readings collected by Symbiot. Another successful integration was made with the GIS (Geographic Information System) program, which is coordinated with our suite and allows work orders to be delivered directly from our system to their software via workforce management.

Translating needs into solutions 

Our fundamental goal is to meet customers’ needs by providing outstanding products and solutions. As a result, Iskraemeco’s aim is to provide Zimbabwe with a smart grid that includes accurate loss detection,
revenue growth and protection, real-time analytics, alarm reception and processing, and reliable billing. Through excellent collaboration with our partners, paramount cables, and by delivering top-notch quality to our customers, Iskraemeco plans to continue modernizing and developing smart solutions to provide excellent energy management to the African market.