Very low cost meters for low power consumers

Electric utilities in Brazil are facing a serious problem related to the large number of consumers whose consumption is close to the minimum billing threshold, representing today 30 kWh/month (this is the so-called compulsory minimum tariff). The revenue to the utilities from these consumers does not compensate for the investment necessary to buy and to install the conventional electromechanical meter. The simplest conventional electromechanical meter, the single-phase one, is a product that has been improved and whose cost has been reduced over a long period of time, and that has no further possibilities of simplification and/or cost reduction. The ideal solution should cost from one-third to one-half of the cost of the conventional electromechanical meter, in order to assure the payback to the utilities.