25 Crore Electric Meters In India Will Be Made ‘Smart’; Rs 1.5 Lakh Crore Will Be Spent By Govt

India’s nationwide launch of smart power meters is aiming at supporting ailing utilities and bolstering reliable electricity supply. According to government estimates, it will cost about Rs 1.5 lakh crore.

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The Benefits of Smart Power Meters!

The prepaid meters are expected to help solve the most basic problems facing the country’s ailing distribution companies, known as discoms. These utilities are mostly controlled by their state governments. They lose money because of poor billing and theft of power, which often leads to them delaying payments to generators and depriving their customers of reliable supplies. These meters aim at improving billing and collection. 

A sigh of relief for the consumers as the disputes involving theft and billing issues will get resolved easily!

According to Sambitosh Mohapatra, partner for power and utilities at PricewaterhouseCoopers India, the systems will provide discoms with real-time data on consumption of each consumer, helping them spot thefts and losses, as well as plan power purchases better.

Additionally, Mohapatra said, “Smart meters have the potential to alter the landscape and operations of discoms across the metering, billing and collection cycle. They can drive energy efficiency, allow customers to manage consumption, help discoms plan their capital expenditure better and lead to their overall financial improvement, benefiting the whole sector value chain.”

The Smart Power Meter Installation Details!

According to Power Secretary Sanjiv Nandan Sahai, the price tag estimated for the smart meters includes hardware, installation and operations, such as the system integration and data analysis.

Sahai said in an interview in New Delhi, the government has planned 25 crore prepaid meters across the country. These will raise enough revenue to cover the costs and lead to some savings for state power distributors. The government will run an auction for the contract to install the meters, said Sahai, who called them a “game changer” for the sector.

The country has already installed 1 million smart meters across four states, the power ministry said in a statement Tuesday, February 25.