In next three years electricity metering will go smart prepaid, obviating the need for electricity bills reaching the consumer. So need of the hour is to scale up manufacturing of smart prepaid meters and to bring down their prices, according R K Singh, Minister of state (in-charge) for power and new & renewable energy. Singh was addressing a meeting of meter manufacturers called by the power ministry on June 7, 2018.
The power minister advised the manufacturers to scale up the manufacturing of smart prepaid meters as the demand would be huge in coming years. The minister also advised the officials of his ministry to consider making smart prepaid meters mandatory after a particular date, a government release said.
This will revolutionise the power sector by way of reduced AT&C losses, better health of discoms, incentivisation of energy conservation and ease of bill payments etc. Further, it will generate skilled employment for the youth.
The meeting discussed various aspects of smart meters e.g. BIS certification, compatibility with RF/GPRS, harmonisation with existing digital infrastructure etc. It was also agreed that all technical aspects will be further deliberated into in consultation with meter manufacturers, discoms and system integrators, the release added.
Featured photographed sourced from Siemens