All meters to become Smart Pre-paid in 3 years : Minister

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy R K Singh on June 7, 2018, said here that in next three years metering will go smart prepaid, and gone will be the days of bills reaching consumers houses. “So the need of the hour is to scale up manufacturing of smart prepaid meters and to bring down their prices,”said Singh while addressing a meeting of meter manufacturers called by the Power Ministry here.

The Power Minister advised the manufacturers to scale up the manufacturing of smart prepaid meters as the demand would be huge in coming years. The Minister also advised the officials of the Ministry to consider making smart prepaid meters mandatory after a particular date, according to a PIB release.

This will revolutionise the power sector by way of reduced AT&C losses, better health of DISCOMs, incentivisation of energy conservation and ease of bill payments etc. Further, it will generate skilled employment for the youth.

The meeting discussed various aspects of smart meters e.g. BIS certification, compatibility with Radio Frequency (RF)/GPRS, harmonisation with existing digital infrastructure etc. It was also agreed that all technical aspects will be further deliberated in consultation with meter manufacturers, DISCOMs and system integrators.