An
official press statement released on 7 June stated that during a meeting, the Government of
India encouraged electricity meter manufacturers to step up production in
India, as it plans to replace all post-paid electricity bills with smart
prepaid meters over the next three years.
In the meeting
for meter manufactures held by the Ministry of Power and New & Renewable
Energy, the
Minister, Mr Raj Kumar Singh said that in next three years metering
will go smart prepaid and will make post-paid paper and electronic bills obsolete.
He added that it is becoming increasingly important to manufacture more smart
prepaid meters and to bring down prices.
Taking this
step will increase the efficiency of government facilities; the plan is to reduce
transmission and distribution (T&D) losses to 15% from the current 22% by
2019, according to the Central Electricity
Authority has said
that T&D losses in India are high compared to international standards.
During the
meeting, the press release stated that Mr Raj Kumar Singh urged the
manufacturers to increase production as demand is likely to go up over the next
three years, he also advised Ministry officials to consider making smart
prepaid meters mandatory after a particular date.
According to
the release, this move will revolutionise the power sector by reducing Aggregate
Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses, which is the sum total of technical
and commercial losses and shortage due to failure to account for a billed amount.
Furthermore, the Ministry intends to better heath of electricity distribution
companies (DISCOMs), incentivise energy conservation, and make bill payment easier
through the plan. The initiative also aims to generate employment for the
country’s youth.
Several factors
regarding the manufacturing and implementation of smart meters were discussed, such
as, attainment of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification,
compatibility with GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), and whether the
initiative will be able to integrate successfully with existing digital
infrastructure.
The Power Secretary Mr Ajay Kumar
Bhalla and the Additional Power Secretary Mr Sanjiv
Nandan Sahai were among other officials present in the meeting.
