BENGALURU: If the recent 36-paise per unit surcharge in the electricity bill is not bad enough, there are more taxes in the pipeline.
According to Energy Department officials, consumers taking new or temporary connections have to pay for the smart meter and service charges. Further, all existing consumers have to contribute to service charges of smart meters installed for new consumers, in their electricity bills. This amount will only increase over time, as the number of meters will keep going up.
The recently introduced surcharge - said to be the government’s contribution towards the pension and gratuity of the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited and Escoms employees - will reflect in power bills in May.
As the energy department prepares to replace all existing electro-static meters (ESM) with smart meters in sync with Central government schemes and rules, experts have strongly opposed the financial burden on consumers. These additional charges are being imposed even before the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) announces a hike in power tariff.
KPCL Managing Director Pankaj Kumar Pandey told the media on Monday that directions for installation of smart meters were issued by the Central government. Barring Karnataka and Telangana, it is being done in bulk in 28 states.
“As per KERC directions, smart meters have been introduced for new and temporary consumers. These meters are essential for bringing in transparency. As we are working to introduce separate day and night time tariffs, smart meters are essential,” he said, adding that there is an annual growth of 2 to 3 per cent of new consumers. He said a committee comprising IIIT and IISc experts has been formed to review progress and performance from April 1 on the implementation of smart meters. Three committees have also been formed under Bescom Director and Additional Chief Secretary Gaurav Gupta and Pandey, to review the work done so far.
While an ESM costs Rs 1,000, the smart meter costs Rs 4,998. Apart from this, an additional Rs 75 is charged per meter per month for Advanced Metering Infrastructure Service Provider (AMISP) and other service charges; this Rs 75 is distributed to all consumers across the state, irrespective of their type of meter, Pandey said.
Explaining the cost, Gupta said consumers are not forced to pay for the meter in one shot. The amount is collected in a time-bound manner. Consumers have to buy the meter just like other electrical equipment. The charges have been derived after detailed discussions; the market price of a smart meter varies from Rs 4,500 to Rs 6,000.
FKCCI energy committee member MG Prabhakar said: “As per the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, a meter is owned by the licencee. Consumers should not be asked to pay for it.
They can be asked to pay security deposit which must be returned during cancellation/shifting. The energy department is violating the Commission’s orders. Asking consumers to pay for meter services is impermissible.” Muralidhar Rao, civic and energy expert, said Karnataka should learn from Delhi, where smart meters have been installed, but consumers have not been financially burdened.