The model
Stop buying meters. Start buying a working service.
A Meter as a Service contract replaces the upfront purchase of meters with a monthly fee per connected meter. This page sets out what stays with the utility, what Mitar provides, how the money flows and the questions a CFO asks.
| Topic | Traditional meter project | Meter as a Service |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront investment | Capital spend on meters, installation, meter-reading software and integration | No upfront meter purchase: a monthly service fee per connected meter |
| Getting started | Long procurement before any field evidence | Field evidence first: a time-limited pilot on one feeder, within your procurement and regulatory rules |
| Who runs the system | The utility hosts, staffs and maintains the platform | Mitar runs the platform and the radio network; the utility’s teams use it |
| Revenue visibility | Expected cash worked out by hand, then matched to deposits after the event | Every sale tracked until the meter confirms it; expected cash compared month to date with recorded bank deposits, by agency |
| Upgrades | A new project and a new tender for every generation | Platform improvements delivered as part of the service |
| Accountability | The utility carries the technology and performance risk | Risk is shared: service levels are agreed in the contract |
How the money flows
Mitar does not hold or move your customers’ money. Ownership and financing of the meters, the term, the currency, payment security and what happens at the end of the contract are set out in the commercial proposal.
- Customers buy creditRevenue lands in the utility’s own accounts.
- The utility pays MitarA monthly fee per connected meter.
- Mitar delivers the serviceMeters, radio network, software and support, against agreed service levels.
What stays with the utility
- Its customers and the relationship with them
- Tariff decisions, with its regulator
- Revenue, collected into its own accounts
- The data about its own network
What Mitar provides as a service
- Smart meters, through our partners and subject to national approval
- Radio connectivity and the Mitar platform
- Day-to-day operation and updates
- Training and support for the utility’s teams
Not a new idea
Comparable models already exist.
India’s smart prepaid metering scheme pays private operators a monthly fee per meter over about 10 years, with an upfront subsidy. Nigeria introduced a meter asset provider framework in 2018, since amended. Mitar’s position follows from this: how and when the provider is paid, and the payment security behind it, are agreed up front. 3 4
The questions a CFO asks
Is this a lease, a loan or a service?
It is a service contract with a monthly fee per connected meter. Ownership and financing of the meters, the term and what happens at the end are set out in the commercial proposal.
How a service fee is accounted for depends on the contract and on your accounting rules. That is a question for your auditor, and we are glad to walk them through the structure.
Does Mitar hold our customers’ money?
No. Mitar does not hold or move your customers’ money. You collect and bank it in your own accounts; the platform records and reconciles it.
Can we keep our tariffs?
Tariff decisions stay with you and your regulator. Today Mitar applies flat per-kWh rates by customer segment, so we check your feeder’s tariff in week 1.
How can we contract a pilot under our procurement rules?
We design the pilot to fit them, for example as a time-limited, small-scale trial. Its results can inform any later tender.
Who owns the data and the customer relationship?
The utility. There is one deployment per organisation, with your name, currency, time zone, agencies and users. Sales, the reconciliation ledger and the activity log export to Excel or CSV. Hand-over and exit terms are agreed in the contract.
What if we want to stop?
Exit terms and the hand-over of your data are agreed up front, and the pilot is designed so that you can stop after about 90 days with facts in hand.
Where the numbers come from
- A. Sehgal, S. Apte and V. Kulkarni, Prayas (Pune), Balancing costs and benefits: need for strengthening regulatory frameworks in smart metering (19 August 2025). Per-meter-per-month fee model of India’s smart prepaid metering scheme.
- NERC, news release on the Meter Asset Provider Regulations (NERC/R/112), effective 3 April 2018; the framework has since been amended, as reported by Legal500/Mondaq (9 May 2022).