Abstract :
A reliable and cost effective electricity service is critical to economic growth. In order for ZESCO to satisfy the electricity demands of its current customers and bring its services to the new customers, it is essential to ensure an adequate revenue stream to cover its operations and maintenance costs and a portion for new investments in system rehabilitation and expansion. For this to be achieved it is necessary for ZESCO to operate efficiently and economically. In addition to having identified prepayment as one of the six strategies to reduce distribution nontechnical losses it has been identified as a vital tool for revenue enhancement. ZESCO Limited has in the past undertaken various schemes to improve the debt situation i.e. through debt dismantling campaigns and disconnections, yet the customer debt has continued to rise. It is for this re ason that ZESCO de c ided to undertak e the prepayment pilot project to determine the benefits of the prepayment system in terms of revenue collection, cash flow enhancement and customer relations. Emmasdale Township in Lusaka was selected as a pilot area. Emmasdale Township is a medium cost residential area and has a total of 1,800 c ustomers and the project targeted only 1000 customers within the area. The marketing of the prepayment system thr ough the public media, poste rs an d doo r-to-door camp ai gn wa s under ta ken one month before the installation of the prepayment meters commenced. The benefits of the prepayment system were also explained to the customers through the use of brochures and regular meetings.
