All electricity meters to be smart prepaid in 3 yrs: R K Singh

Power Minister R K Singh today said all electricity meters in the country will be smart prepaid meters in the next three years.

"In the next 3 years, metering will go smart...and gone will be the days of bills reaching your house. So need of the hour is to scale up manufacturing of smart prepaid meters and to bring down their prices." Singh said.

He was addressing a meeting with meter manufacturers here.

The minister advised them to scale up the manufacturing of smart prepaid meters as the demand would go up in the coming years.

Singh also advised the officials of the ministry to consider making such meters mandatory after a particular date.

This will revolutionise the power sector by way of reduced AT&C (aggregate technical and commercial) losses, better health of discoms, incentivisation of energy conservation and ease of bill payments etc.

Further, it will generate employment for skilled youth, a statement from the ministry said.

The meeting discussed various aspects of smart meters like BIS certification, compatibility with RF/GPRS, harmonisation with existing digital infrastructure.

Power Secretary A K Bhalla and Additional Power Secretary Sanjiv Nandan Sahai were among other officials present in the meeting.