Smart Power; a smart card electricity payment system

Approximately 10% of Midlands Electricity 2.2 million consumers use prepayment meters utilising magnetic cards. Although the magnetic card meters proved very successful it became clear that a system that removed the need for reading and billing would give a significant improvement. Quality of service could also be improved if the several variations of meters could be eliminated. It was therefore decided to seek a replacement system that had a secure method of payment, could also transfer meter readings automatically and had alternative suppliers of standardised meters. After evaluating various technologies, microprocessor based smart card technology was selected as providing the two-way secure data transmission required for elimination of the need to read meters and bill customers. A pilot metering system was produced for site trials. The valuable experience gained enabled the objectives to be formulated and the cost benefits to be established for the successful development of a new system. The author describes the main features of the smart card system