Formulating best practice recommendations for prepaid electricity meter deployment in Soweto, South Africa – Capitalising on the developed‐world's experiences

Abstract

This study seeks to formulate best practice indicators characterising the prepaid electricity meter market. This was undertaken by reviewing both developed and developing countries' experiences with the technology, conducting in‐depth interviews with key stakeholders, and applying the strength weaknesses opportunities threats analysis tool. The generated outcomes are used to formulate a set of best practice recommendations that can inform decisions on improving the acceptability rate of the technology in Soweto. We found that the introduction of the technology faces a number of challenges, broadly being its complete rejection by some communities. In particular, the inadequacy or absence of incentives, the absence of prepaid meter market tariffs and regulatory mechanisms are fundamental factors affecting acceptance levels and effectiveness of the technology in developing countries. The case of Soweto is unique in that it has a historical political basis that even led to some violent protests. To improve the acceptance level and increase the buy‐in of local communities in Soweto, we formulated a number of best practice recommendations including the need to factor in the programme design the historical context‐specificity of Soweto, its low‐income status, the need to put the communities at the centre of the programme and the implementation of incentive measures inspired from the developed world.