Very low cost meters for low power consumers

The electric utilities in Brazil are facing a serious problem related to the great number of consumers whose consumption is close to the minimum billing threshold, representing some 30 kWh/month (this is the so-called compulsory minimum tariff). The revenue to the utilities from these consumers does not compensate the investments necessary to buy and to install conventional electromechanical meters. The simplest conventional electromechanical meter, the single-phase meter, is a product that has been improved and whose cost has been reduced over a long period of time, and that has no further possibilities of simplification and/or cost reduction. The solution desired should cost from one-third to one-half of the cost of the conventional electromechanical meter, in order to assure payback to the utilities concerned.