The radio link is weak
The sale stays marked as waiting until the meter answers, and it is never credited twice. A failed or refused command can be sent again. Signal strength is visible for each meter.
How it works
From payment to power, with proof at every step.
Six steps, from the customer’s payment to the receipt, and what happens when something goes wrong.
A customer pays at a counter or through a retail provider.
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The customer pays
At an agency counter or through a retail provider. Online payment follows once mobile money and card operators are connected; none is live yet.
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The sale is recorded
Mitar writes the sale to the ledger with the tariff rate used. Every sale has a number, and a receipt is printed.
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The credit is encrypted
The purchased kWh are packed into an AES-128-encrypted command for that one meter.
There is no token to type, copy or share.
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The credit is sent
The command travels over LoRaWAN, through a gateway, to the meter. Meters answer when they next report: typically within a minute or two on a good radio link, longer on a weak one.
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The meter confirms
A sale is marked delivered only when the meter itself answers: it acknowledges the command, or its next report shows that the remaining energy rose by about the amount sold.
Until then the sale shows as “Waiting for meter” on the sale screen and in the sales history.
The rule that matters -
The receipt can be checked
The two-copy receipt carries a QR code that opens a page saying whether the receipt is valid or voided. Old receipts can be reprinted, marked as reprints, and every reprint is logged.
Edge cases
What happens when things go wrong.
A sale must be cancelled
Cancelling a delivered sale sends a negative recharge, and the books change only once the meter confirms the take-back. Any refund of money is handled outside the platform. If the meter shows less energy left than the sale added, the person cancelling (administrator or supervisor) must confirm that the balance may go negative and the supply may be cut.
A receipt is lost
Any old receipt can be printed again, clearly marked as a reprint, and the reprint is logged.
The meters
What Mitar talks to.
Mitar manages single- and three-phase prepaid smart meters that use LoRaWAN radio and have a remote relay, through an open-source LoRaWAN network server and an encrypted broker. Two meter models are supported today. Credit delivery to the three-phase model is still in test: built, not yet confirmed on a real three-phase meter.
Mitar sends credit as an encrypted command, not as an STS token, and it does not connect to STS or DLMS meter fleets. It runs beside them, on a feeder where you have no prepaid smart meters yet.
Security
What is in place today.
- Signed sessions, and a check of the user’s role and agency on every request
- Meter and network-server keys are set but never shown again after entry
- Encrypted connections to the radio network
- Web sessions that sign out when idle
- An activity log of sales, administrative actions and sign-ins, exportable to Excel or CSV
Not yet in place
- Independent security testing and certification