VIJAYAWADA: In a few weeks, a new system of power supply—prepaid smart meters—is going to be introduced in government offices and AMRUT Cities in Andhra Pradesh. Customers consuming 300 units and above will also be covered.
The new system is being introduced as part of RDSS (Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme) of Distribution companies in the State. It is already being introduced in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra. Discoms have written a letter to the Special Chief Secretary explaining the benefits of the scheme and seeking permission to invite tenders for installation of prepaid smart meters.
A senior official in the Energy Department told TNIE that there are around 12 lakh connections under APCPDCL, where prepaid smart meters need to be installed. In the rest of the State, another 6-7 lakh connections are there that fall under this bracket. The reason for the APCPDCL having more connections qualified for smart meters is that a majority of the government offices are located in the region. Already different schemes under the RDSS are being implemented, which include smart meters for agriculture, loss reduction measures, underground cabling for coastal areas, he said.
In fact, when the RDSS was launched in July 2021, it was envisaged to install 25 crore smart meters for consumers by March, 2025. Union Minister for Power RK Singh, in reply to a question in the Lok Sabha in February this year, had defined the prepaid smart meters as a system of metering that minimises inefficiencies in collection, while the smart feature in the prepaid smart metering allows a near real time identification of loss pockets, which also gives consumers the freedom to plan their electricity usage as per their needs and resources.
This helps in reduction of Aggregate, Technical & Commercial losses and at the same time addresses the problems of consumers regarding wrong billing, getting reconnected after disconnection due to non-payment of bill and unauthorised use of power.