SRINAGAR: The Union Government has said that more than 4.93 crore smart meters have been installed across the country so far, including 1.6 crore operating in prepaid mode, marking one of the largest technological shifts in the power distribution sector.
According to a written reply in the Lok Sabha, the Ministry of Power said that under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme, smart metering works for 19.79 crore prepaid consumers, 2.11 lakh feeders and 52.53 lakh distribution transformers have been sanctioned. Of these, 3.58 crore smart meters have already been installed, while the rest have been implemented by States through their own schemes.
The Ministry said that although postpaid service has traditionally been the default model, prepaid smart meters are being prioritised for Government establishments, commercial units, industrial consumers and high-load domestic users. The wider rollout will follow after demonstrating tangible benefits.
Officials said the prepaid system offers several advantages to consumers, including small-value recharges, emergency credit to avoid disconnection, error-free billing and the ability to track electricity consumption in real time. The Centre argued that improved billing and collection efficiency for distribution utilities will ultimately translate into better services and lower costs for households.
The Government acknowledged that early challenges stemmed from inadequate consumer awareness. To address this, the Ministry has issued instructions to all utilities, including offering rebates to consumers opting for prepaid meters, ensuring no penalties based on maximum demand recorded by smart meters, allowing arrear payments in instalments, installing check meters to build confidence, and enabling mobile applications for consumption tracking and easy recharge. Advance alerts for low balance and emergency credit have also been made mandatory. -(KL)
