CHENNAI: Tender for the installation of smart meters will be floated next week, and Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) under the union government, which is providing funds as a loan, recently held discussions with Tangedco officials, Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji told TNIE.
“In a bid to improve energy accounting and auditing, installation of smart meters in all feeders and transformers with remote communication facilities apart from individual consumers has been proposed. All works must be done in TOTEX (combining capital and operational expenditure) mode, which means the contractor will install and maintain the meters till the end of the agreement period. Tangedco will not charge consumers for the meters,” Senthil Balaji said.
According to a senior official, the project will be carried out under the Centre’s revamped distribution sector scheme. As a pilot project, more than one lakh smart meters have been installed in T-Nagar, Chennai. “The standards of bid, including project cost, and terms and conditions, are ready. The power utility has formed a special official team to inspect the state to obtain the feasibility report.
Additionally, a private consultant submitted its report last year,” the official added. Another official said under the RDS scheme, the union government has allocated Rs 3,03,758 crore for 13 states and Rs 10,790 crore for Tamil Nadu. Tangedco expects the Centre to release 70% of the funds in the first phase.
The scheme includes loss reduction works and modernisation of distribution infrastructure. Loss of reduction works such as agriculture feeder segregation, the establishment of high voltage distribution systems, separation of double transfers, and metering works will be carried out.