Company Announcement - Utility Systems, of which JSE-listed MICROmega Holdings Ltd is the majority shareholder, is South Africa’s premier supplier of water management devices and smart water metering technology, using Standard Transfer Specification pre-payment devices. Established in 2001, the Durban-based company also has a growing global customer base.
As the urgent need for management of water grows worldwide, with resources dwindling as the global population grows, Utility Systems is set to start a serious expansion of its sales activities in the Middle East.
“After extensive meetings in the United Arab Emirates and Oman, Utility Systems will be supplying meters for pilot testing in Dubai and Sharjah with distributor, Lootech (a member of the Lootah group), and the Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority; and in Muscat with the Public Authority of Electricity and Water,” confirms Peter Rodseth, managing director of Utility Systems.
According to EcoMENA – a consultancy that creates awareness on renewable energy, sustainability, waste management, environmental protection, energy efficiency and resource conservation in the Middle East and North Africa – the UAE is among the top water-scarce countries in the world. The country also has one of the world’s highest per capita water consumptions of 550 litres a day, and is experiencing a rapid increase in population, resulting in huge demand for water.
SEWA has already taken delivery of the first batch of Utility Systems WMDs to start its initial pilot site. “This will be an important reference site,” says Rodseth. “Not only for SEWA but also for other water authorities in the UAE. Utility Systems is likely to conduct pilot programmes for these authorities using the Kamstrup ultrasonic meter which, after lengthy testing, is about to be approved for use in the region.”
In Oman, PAEW is likely to be starting a pilot site for STS pre-payment meters in the near future as they have elected to install STS-based pre-payment meters across the country, for both electricity and water.
The Dubai-based Lootah group has interests in many business sectors in the region, with offices in the UAE and Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon, as well as down the North East coast of Africa from Egypt to Ethiopia, Djibouti and Tanzania. The group will be partnering with Utility Systems to develop these markets.
Notes MICROmega CEO, Greg Morris, “This step into the Middle East market represents a significant opportunity for Utility Systems to expand its international footprint, while maintaining its position as a world leader in the provision of smart water metering solutions and so helping address the very serious need for better global water management.”