"AssignmentLiterature ReviewPrepaid Electricity Billing Meter (PEBM)Subject: Communication Skills1. Introduction:Pakistan Electric Power Company (PEPCO) faces several problems regarding the currentelectricity billing system. Firstly, the system is unreliable and inefficient as the current energymeters require staff to manually check readings. Secondly, consumers pay bills at the end of themonth so there is no cash inflow for thirty days. Many consumers request to pay their bills ininstallments or to get an extension in the due date of the payment, disrupting PEPCO’s cash PEBMflow. Furthermore, the current billing system does not allow consumers to keep track of theirdaily power usage or to manage their load according to peak times.In light of the issues caused due to the current electricity billing system of Pakistan, it isimportant to introduce a new system which could be reliable and efficient. The PrepaidElectricity Billing Meter (PEBM) will allow consumers to pay for their power usage in advance.This will result in PEPCO having a steady cash inflow. In addition to this, consumers will be ableto keep track of their power usage and manage their budget accordingly. Prepaid Billing has been offered by utilities in several countries, including United Kingdom,Ireland, South Africa, New Zealand, India and Argentina. According to a report by Pike Research,over 20 million prepaid electric meters were installed worldwide by 2011, and this figure willreach about 33.7 million in 2017 [1].The PEBM may also help reduce power usage all over the country by providing the feature ofload management. As consumers will know their budget for each month, they will useinformation regarding different tariffs and peak times to manage their power usage. This willresult in the saving of electricity. The Distributed Energy Financial Group conducted a survey ofabout 1,400 customers who were using prepaid electric service in the US Northwest. The surveyshowed that the customers’ energy use dropped by 5.5% - 14%. M-Power, one of the oldestand largest prepaid electric programs, situated in Arizona, reports energy savings in the highend of that range [2].Literature ReviewPage 2 of 6 PEBM2. Brief description of existing approaches: Prepaid Energy Meter for Billing System Using Microcontroller and RechargeCard [3]In this system of prepaid billing, the meter has a blinking Light Emitting Diode(LED) to showenergy pulses. This allows a Light Dependent Resistor (LDR) circuit to calculate the units ofenergy consumed and display the remaining units on the Liquid Crystals Display (LCD). Therecharge is done using a recharge card and a keypad. A buzzer is used to warn the user if theamount reaches Rs.10. A relay system is used to shut down the supply when the amount isdepleted from the account. It is expected that after this system is implemented, users will haveaccess to a reliable and user friendly system which will allow them to pay according to theirbudget. The system will also reduce deployment of manpower for meter readings.Intelligent GSM Based Prepaid Energy Meter in a Cashless Economy [4]In Nigeria, an intelligent Global System for Mobile Communications(GSM) based prepaid energymeter has been developed that accurately calculates the amount of consumed energy anddisplays the balanced energy available from the pre-purchase of electricity made by theconsumer. The pre-purchase is done by recharging the system via SMS. This energy meter givesregular updates to the utility, displays a real time update on the consumer’s account and keepsLiterature ReviewPage 3 of 6 PEBMa log of the consumed and remaining electricity of the consumer, via SMS. Furthermore, thesystem allows the utility company to send updated usage rates according to the Time of DayTariff (TDF) to the meter and to get information regarding user demand.3. Proposed approach to solve the problem:The approach we have chosen is based on GSM technology using easy load. The mechanismconsidered is similar to that mentioned in Intelligent GSM Based Prepaid Energy Meter in aCashless Economy [4]. The reason for choosing this method over the other idea (Prepaid EnergyMeter for Billing System Using Microcontroller and Recharge Card [3]) is that GSM technology ismuch more secure and reliable than rechargeable cards. Recharge cards are not helpful forthose people who live in remote areas and have the difficulty of buying the cards before thebuzzer sounds. For the proposed method, a relay is used for the switching of load according to the controllercommand. The amount recharged is checked by the controller while it is being consumed. Theamount left is then compared to the minimum amount prescribed to the controller. When theamount left becomes equal to the minimum amount, a notification is sent to the user torecharge the account again.Literature ReviewPage 4 of 6 PEBMThe PEBM will be implemented using this mechanism as this is a cost effective, reliable and userfriendly system. The existing meters can be modified to implement the prepaid feature, thusreducing cost. There will be confirmations for all transactions, reducing chances of theft ormishandling. The Android application will provide guidance to the user for every feature in thePEBM and will facilitate consumers by readily providing them with information related to theiraccount.4. References:[1] Richard Martin. “Number of Installed Prepaid Electricity Meters will Surpass 33 Million by2017”. Internet: https://www.navigantresearch.com/newsroom/number-of-installed-prepaid- electricity-meters-will-surpass-33-million-by-2017, March 21, 2007 [Aug. 22, 2016].[2+ Josie Garthwaite. (June 6, 2014). “Prepay Plans for Electricity Offer Alternative to the UsualMonthly Power Bill.” National Geographic. *Online+. Available:http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2014/06/140604-pre-paid-electricity- billing-plans-help-or-hurt-consumers/, [Aug 22, 2016]. [3+ S. Ganurkar, P. Gour. (2014, April). “Prepaid Energy Meter for Billing System UsingMicrocontroller and Recharge Card.” International Journal of Core Engineering andManagement (IJCEM) [On-Line]. 1(1), pp. 12-18. Available: http://ijcem.in/wp- Literature ReviewPage 5 of 6 "