10 lakh smart metres to be installed in Haryana

To solve the various complications faced by the power distribution sector, the Haryana government today said 10 lakh smart meters will be installed in the state.
The announcement was made by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in the presence of Japanese Minister Keniko Sen after he inaugurated the India-Japan Smart Grid Pilot Project in Panipat, said an official release.
It said that five lakh meters would be installed this year and five lakh next year.
Sen said that the project had been initiated under intensive relations between Japan and India and the Prime Minister's Make in India Programme.
The Smart Grid Pilot Project, being set up with the assistance of Japan, would ensure uninterrupted power supply to domestic as well as industrial consumers of the city, the release said.

"No one would have to visit houses for meter reading. If a meter or power supply is shut, the complaint would be resolved by the smart grid," Khattar said.

Under this system, about 10,000 meters have already been installed in the district which would have complete data of the power consumed by a unit.
The chief minister said that a rebate of 15 per cent in power tariff would be given on power consumption between 10 PM and 5 AM.
On the urban pattern, all rural areas of Panchkula, Ambala, Faridabad and Gurugram, are being provided 24-hour power supply. Under the scheme, Sirsa, the fifth district, is also being added on the occasion of Republic Day, he said.

The chief minister said that 471 more villages would be provided with power supply on urban pattern.
Power companies incurring losses is a matter of concern for the state government. To deal with this, the state government under the Uday Yojana has borne a loan of Rs 25,950 cr out of the total loan of Rs 34,600 cr, Khattar said.
Out of the loan borne by the state government, Rs 15,570 cr has been converted into grant and bonds have been issued for the remaining loan of Rs 10, 380 cr, he said.
Khattar said that with this, the annual interest rate of 11 per cent on power distribution companies has been reduced to 8 per cent.

The losses of power companies were reduced by 4.4 per cent last year and by 3.68 per cent in the current financial year (till November), he said.
The state government would invest Rs 2,784 crore on surveillance and distribution system in the next financial year, the release said.
He also inaugurated and laid foundation stones of projects worth about Rs 38 crore.