Around 50 lakh smart meters installed in India; highest in UP, Bihar: Govt data

Approx 50 lakh conventional electricity meters have been replaced with the smart new-age prepaid meters across the country, according to official figures.

New Delhi: Around 50 lakh conventional electricity meters have been replaced with the smart new-age prepaid meters across the country, according to official figures. At 11,56,855 lakh, the highest number of smart meters were installed in Uttar Pradesh (UP), followed by Bihar with 11,08,703, Rajasthan (5,55,958), Haryana (5,38,293), Assam (4,15,063), Delhi (2,59,094), Madhya Pradesh (2,43,313), Himachal Pradesh (1,47,104), Tamil Nadu (1,23,945) and J&K (1,13,857) , as per the latest data of the power ministry.

The government launched the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) on July 20, 2021, under which deployment of 25 crore smart prepaid meters for all domestic consumers have been envisaged till March 2025 at an outlay of Rs 3.3 lakh crore. The smart meters are being installed under various schemes of the Centre as well as by the state utilities.

While 10 crore meters are to be installed in priority areas by 2022-23 fiscal, the remaining will be installed by FY25-end. Smart meters will reduce AT&C (aggregate technical and commercial) losses to 12-15 per cent & ACS-ARR (average cost of power- average revenue realised) gap to zero by FY25.

As part of the roll-out plan, 17.85 crore consumer and system meters have been sanctioned and 35 per cent of them are at various stages of tendering and award stage. "The smart meter roll-out in Bihar has shown phenomenal results. Pre-paid functionality of smart meters has ensured 100 per cent recovery of arrears in divisions with high penetration of smart meters as well as a deposit of around Rs 25 crore as advance in both discoms (NBBDCL and SBPDCL)," it said. (PTI)