MADURAI: Even as the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) continues to advise consumers to shift to digital meters, over 16,000 consumers in Madurai city are still using old electromagnetic meters.
According to official records, there are 6,66,795 electricity consumers in Madurai city. Of these, 2,69,696 are from Madurai North, 1,69,732 from Madurai South, and 2,27,367 from Madurai West. Among them, 5,47,424 consumers have already switched to digital meters, while the remaining still use either electromagnetic or high-quality glass-frame electric meters. A total of 1,03,017 consumers in the city are using glass-frame meters, including 30,780 in Madurai North, 18,879 in Madurai South, and 53,358 in Madurai West. However, 16,354 consumers still continue to rely on old electromagnetic meters.
A senior Tangedco official (Madurai) said that while the glass-frame electric meters are reliable for accurate readings, electromagnetic meters are outdated and inefficient. "Digital meters are highly precise and sensitive, and though we have mandated their use, the implementation hasn't been aggressive. Most of the old meters are in households belonging to economically weaker sections. These families typically consume less than 100 free units using just a fan and few tube lights, often with single-phase connections," the official said.
He added that these low-consumption households are spread across all three divisions of the city, but staff have shown little urgency in replacing their meters.
Speaking to TNIE, P Arivazhagan, secretary of the CITU-Tangedco Employees Union, explained that electromagnetic meters can handle only up to 4 kilowatts of load, whereas glass-frame meters can support up to 25 kilowatts, and digital meters can handle up to 50 kilowatts. He further said that though there were oral orders to replace the old meters, the enforcement was weak after higher officials in Tangedco's Chennai office began planning a citywide upgrade to smart meters. "When all meters are set to be replaced shortly with digital meters, why replace just a few thousand old ones now with digital meters?" he questioned. This, he said, is why old meters have been allowed to remain in use.