Will 'smart' gas meters put an end to casualties and intrusions?

Azerbaijan plans to replace smart-card type meters with smart gas meters when supplying gas to apartments and houses, according to the state-run production association "Azerigaz.

" The organization reported that the new meters will be installed at the expense of the state. Citizen complaints have been ongoing for several years, particularly when smart card counters were replaced with mechanical ones.

Azerigaz spokesperson, Eldeniz Veliyev,told Turan that  around 40,000 smart meters have already been installed, with the new system allowing for remote control and real-time monitoring of the entire subscriber database.

Subscribers belonging to the "population" category will have their counters removed every five years and sent for periodic state inspection.

However, head of the Public Association "Protection of the Rights of Oil Workers," Mirvari Gahramanli, believes counters are frequently changed in Azerbaijan and that significant gas losses in the country are charged to the population. She told Radio Azadlig that she was skeptical about the new "smart" meters and stressed the need to reduce gas losses in the country.