Prepaid Metering Services

Giving complete control to the consumer.

Everything you need to know about Prepaid Metering

In the past prepaid metering meant that you had a prepaid meter installed with a keypad inside your home. You had to buy your electricity (or water) up front, which meant going to your local convenience store, handing over your cash, going back to your home and enter a 20 digit code into your keypad.

This is no longer the case. The entire metering industry shifted to the "Smart Metering" concept. Whilst this may be exciting news to many metering companies, we at Protea Metering would just like to welcome the rest of the industry to the future. We have been developing and building a Smart Metering infrastructure for years, long before it was the latest craze.

Clients of some service providers may not even notice a difference between the old prepaid system and their new smart meter. The procedure to load credit onto their meters didn't change much or at all. At Protea Metering, however, things changed drastically. Protea Metering clients can load credit onto their Smart Meters with the push of a single button from the comfort of their living rooms. The whole process is automated, meaning no travelling to a store, no cash transactions, no keypads. And on top of that clients now have a complete information system at their finger tips to manage their electricity (or water) consumption.

Smart Metering

What is Smart Metering?
Communication between Metering Servers and Meters.

Why Smart Metering?

  • Accurate Billing
  • Multi-tier tariff structure (e.g. Time-of-Use) possible
  • Convenient Payment methods
  • Prepayment mechanisms for electricity and water
  • Fast credit control switch-back on payment
  • Clients can manage consumption and reduce electricity costs

Is there a keypad in the house?
No. Cellphones and the internet are used for the communication of all information. Updates of remaining credit are sent to the cell phones of clients. Payment can be done via cell phone. Any number of cell phones in the household can register. They are all updated of remaining credit, and payment can be done from any registered phone.

What can clients get on the web?

  • Consumption Graphs
  • Time-Of-Use Analysis
  • Day /Month Trends
  • Remaining Credit graphs
  • Meter Readings
  • Statements
  • Tax Invoices
  • Payment Options

Do I need access to the Internet?
No. A normal cell phone is all you need.

  • All registered users of the household receive SMS messages when the credit runs low.
  • Any member of the household can check the remaining credit with his /her cell phone
  • Payment can be done from any cell phone with a registered bank account.

How do I Register?

  • Select your Smart Complex and Unit
  • Choose a Username and Password
  • Enter your name and details
  • Press “Submit Registration”

Protea Metering will assist with registration off clients who do not have internet access.

How I can make Payment?
1. From a Registered Bank Account

  • By sending a PAY instruction by SMS.
  • By using the PAY option on the OAMI Web site.

2. Credit Card Payment
  • By using the Credit Card payment option on the OAMI web site

3. With an Electronic Fund Transfer
  • From the Internet bank portal of your bank
  • With cell phone banking facilities of your bank
  • With Smartphone Banking App of your bank
  • Transfer to a third party at the ATM of your bank

4. With a cash deposit slip in a Bank.

How Do I Register a Bank Account?
Download a debit order form, complete and sign the form and send it back to Protea Metering.

See also www.OAMI.co.za for additional information.