Smart meters have already been deployed across many utilities and municipalities, yet the expected returns are still not being fully realised.
Improved revenue collection, accurate billing and clearer visibility of consumption remain persistent challenges for organisations that have invested in smart metering infrastructure.
To address this gap, ESI Africa, part of VUKA Group, and GridLens Energy will host a live webinar titled “Maximising smart meter returns” on Tuesday, 2 June 2026 from 14:00 to 15:00 SAST.
The webinar will take a practical look at where smart metering programmes underperform after deployment and what utilities, municipalities and energy users can do to improve outcomes from systems already in place.
Across the sector, common challenges include underutilised data, poor system integration, revenue leakage, billing inaccuracies and limited operational visibility. For many organisations, the issue is not whether to invest in smart metering, but how to extract measurable performance from the investment already made.
The session will bring together experts from GridLens Energy, Drakenstein Municipality and eThekwini Municipality to unpack the technical, financial and operational barriers that prevent smart metering programmes from delivering their full value.
Webinar details
Title: Maximising smart meter returns
Date: Tuesday, 2 June 2026
Time: 14:00 to 15:00 SAST
Registration: https://apo-opa.co/4dCRUcD
Expert speakers
- Carson Dean, Founder, GridLens Energy
- Hilton Smith, Chief Accountant: Water and Electricity Billing, Drakenstein Municipality, South Africa
- Sindisiwe Shozi, Chief Engineer, eThekwini Municipality, South Africa
Key discussion points will include:
- Why smart meter programmes often fail to deliver expected returns
- Where value is lost across data, systems and operations
- How to improve billing accuracy and reduce revenue leakage
- The role of integration and interoperability in improving performance
- Practical approaches to extracting more value from existing deployments
The webinar is designed for utilities, municipalities, metering teams, billing departments, revenue managers, infrastructure decision-makers, large commercial and industrial energy users, technology providers and system integrators.
Smart metering investment has already been made. The priority now is performance.
Register for the webinar here:
https://apo-opa.co/4dCRUcD
Africa Fact: By the third century BC the city of Carthage on the coast of Tunisia was opulent and impressive. It had a population of 700,000 and may even have approached a million. Lining both sides of three streets were rows of tall houses six storeys high.
Lil Rebel Ma
Hans Karlsen grew a start-up from zero to $1.6 million revenues in first two years of operation. Over and above being a successful startup founder, Karlsen is a natural leader, enabler, engineer and negotiator with over 25 years of industry experience in a variety of high technology sectors. Karlsen has served as a CEO, managing director, board member, senior advisor and finance director (CFO). He describes himself as a “serial entrepreneur” with the drive, persistence, passion and ability to identify and pursue high-value opportunities.