$1 billion ADB-funded tender for smart meters: Domestic metering industry feels threat to its business

The domestic metering industry is up in arms against the ministry of power division's move of floating $1 billion Asian Development Bank-funded tender for smart metering project, saying it will kill the local meter industry.
The government has received a loan from the ADB and floated an international tender for procurement of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) in Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) and Lahore Electric Supply Company (LESCO) circles. The last date for the tender is February 21.
Nature of the tailor-made qualifications of this international tender is such that the local meter manufacturers are automatically excluded from the bidding process. In case of a single entity, the accumulative amount of bidders' participation in the contract must exceed $100 million and participation in at least one contract must exceed $40 million.
In case of a joint venture (JV), the accumulative amount of bidders' participation (all partners combined) should exceed $100 million and participation of one of the partners in at least one contract must exceed $40 million.
The domestic metering industry circles are of the view that the qualification conditions (both experience and financial requirements) ensure that the local meter industry is not able to be a part of it.
It may be noted that the local manufacturers are producing all types of energy meters since 1965 and fulfilling local demand.
The direct employee base of the industry is approximately 50,000 while another 40,000 workers are indirectly involved in vendor industry. The industry also saves huge foreign exchange as all products are indigenously developed with maximum local value addition. The local industry has installed smart metering projects, running successfully in the country over the last five years.
The industry believes that the ADB-funded IESCO/LESCO smart meter project is not only in violation of SRO 827(I), 2001, but it would also have adverse impact including closure of local meter industry and rendering tens of thousands of workers jobless, huge financial burden on DISCOs in terms of circular debt, enhance trade deficit, zero technology transfer in the country and no creation of jobs locally.
It said a similar effort was made at the end of 2017 but the previous regime of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) realized the detrimental impact on local industry and scrapped the idea of floating international tender. Instead, it diverted the same loan towards National Transmission and Despatch Company (NTDC) for the upgradation of transmission system.
However, no such development could take place and the present government has once against taken it up for floating an international tender to acquire smart meters.
The industry circles have demanded that a stringent technical and financial pre-qualification criterion which prohibits all local manufacturers from participating in this tender should be modified to ensure full participation of the local manufacturers. Further, they said the government should not deprive local industry of the opportunity to participate in the tender and earn valuable foreign exchange for the country. They said the technical specifications for meters of WAPDA should be followed for the tender.