Angola’s national electricity distribution company ENDE has launched the installation of 34,423 prepaid meters across Bié province, in a project financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) aimed at modernising the grid’s billing infrastructure and improving revenue collection.
Work began on Friday at the 500 Casas neighbourhood on the outskirts of Cuito, the provincial capital. The new meters will be added to the 6,662 prepaid units already in service in the province, bringing the total prepaid meter count to 41,085.
According to a statement issued by ENDE to the state news agency ANGOP, the AfDB-backed project is designed to modernise the billing system and improve energy consumption management across the province.
Once completed, the project is expected to ensure fairer and more transparent energy consumption records, reducing billing-related complaints. ENDE also called on the population to refrain from vandalising the new equipment.
Beyond billing accuracy, ENDE said the rollout of prepaid meters is expected to improve collection efficiency, reduce commercial losses and increase revenue generation in the province.
Bié province currently has a total of 44,137 registered electricity consumers. Of these, 6,662 are already on prepaid arrangements, while the remaining 37,475 remain on post-paid billing — the segment the new meters are primarily targeting.
Bié has been connected to Angola’s national electricity grid since 2019 via the Laúca hydropower dam, one of the country’s largest generation assets.
Grid-supplied power currently reaches four of the province’s 19 municipalities: Cuito, Chipeta, Catabola and Camacupa.
The provincial network is also fed by a solar photovoltaic plant in Cuito, inaugurated in August 2025 with a capacity of 14.6 megawatts, and the Camacupa dam, which was inaugurated in 2024 and has a generation capacity of 1.8 megawatts.
In the remaining municipalities not yet connected to the grid, electricity supply continues to be provided through diesel generator sets.
Source: ANGOP
