KUWAIT: (From left) Zain's Waleed Al-Khashti, Malek Al-Sabah, Minister of Electricity, Water, and Renewable Energy Dr Mishan Al-Otaibi and Zain Kuwait CEO Eaman Al-Roudhan.

KUWAIT: Zain, the leading digital service provider in Kuwait, took part in the special event held at Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Cultural Center (JACC) to officially launch the smart meters project. The event was held in the presence of Dr Mishan Al-Otaibi, Minister of Electricity, Water, and Renewable Energy, and Eaman Al-Roudhan, Chief Executive Officer of Zain Kuwait. Zain's participation came as part of its partnership with the ministry to manage electricity and water smart meter systems in Kuwait.

During her opening speech at the event, Roudhan said: "We are extremely proud to be a strategic partner to the government, represented by the Ministry of Electricity and Water, to support the successful launch of the smart meters project, which we started back in 2017. This initiative is one of the first real results of Kuwait's digital transformation journey, and we cannot be prouder to be a part of it."

Zain Kuwait CEO Eaman Al-Roudhan delivers her speech at the event.

Roudhan added: "The smart meters project is one of the biggest in our nation's energy and ICT sectors, as it highlights the government's solid vision towards adopting more digital applications and e-government tools. It also reflects the importance of benefitting from the private sector's expertise to present citizens and the whole community with an added value."

Roudhan explained that the project would introduce flexibility and ease into consumer transactions within the ministry, while also presenting more data related to consumption rates and more control over energy conservation practices. The new system will also add great value to the country, allowing officials to monitor and encourage bill settlement via online payment channels with extreme ease. This is especially true as the Kuwaiti market is already mature when it comes to adopting and using digital applications and online payment methods. Roudhan noted: "Today we are reaping the fruits of partnering with the public sector into taking the digital transformation journey we started together in 2017."

Roudhan continued by saying: "As part of our belief in the integral role played by the partnership between the public and private sectors in progressing the nation's digital transformation, we started to make our tech resources available to serve the government's digital transformation goals long ago. This is because we strongly believe that technology continues to have a growing role in all aspects of life."

Zain Kuwait CEO Eaman Al-Roudhan, Minister of Electricity, Water, and Renewable Energy Dr Mishan Al-Otaibi and MEW officials attend the event.

Roudhan added: "Being a leading provider of the latest digital services, we partnered with the public sector in many major projects across various sectors. Some of the top examples include our development of the 'Shlonik' platform to monitor home quarantine in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, offering safe cities solutions in partnership with local co-ops, as well as developing the unique Kuwait TV app in collaboration with the Ministry of Information. In addition, we supported the country's efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 by offering remote business solutions, and many other examples."

Roudhan further added: "I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the teams whom we worked with in the Ministry of Electricity and Water since the beginning of our partnership on this project. I would also like to stress that we will always be fully committed to make our expertise and human resources available to strengthen our partnership with the local community to serve the nation's wellbeing".

Roudhan concluded: "Zain is always ready to introduce the latest smart solutions that enable and empower the achievement of the country's developmental goals. We will surely play our role to raise the efficiency of the government's infrastructures and advance our country under the wise leadership of HH the Amir and HH the Crown Prince."

Zain's role in this project includes managing world-class smart meters, managing the meters' operating systems, as well as the development and management of a massive database specially developed for this project. Zain will also introduce a secure e-payment system through MEW's official website and through the free MEW mobile app for iOS and Android devices, where consumers can monitor their smart meter's readings in real-time and receive bill reminder notifications and more. Zain also innovated payment systems similar to those the company offers to its customers, where citizens and residents will be able to pay electricity and water bills through prepaid or postpaid plans that fit their unique needs.

The smart meters project aims to eliminate the requirement for a manual process to obtain meter readings, replaced instead by a state-of-the-art electronic platform that automatically collects meter readings, while also being able to inform MEW's support team of any failures within the system in real-time.

Zain continuously offers the latest and most advanced services and solutions to showcase its capabilities as an active partner in empowering a smart life, a safe community, and an efficient business sector. The company considers itself a main partner in the achievement of the country's developmental goals.