Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has proposed to amend regulations relating to smart meters. To this effect, CEA is seeking objections and suggestions from the public.
The amendments are being proposed to the official regulations known as “Central Electricity Authority (Installation and Operation of Meters) Regulations, 2006,” and suggestions/objections from the public are expected to reach CEA within 30 days from the date on which the draft regulations were made available to the public – February 23, 2026.
The main amendment relates to the type of meters, the gist of which is presented below:
- All consumers in areas with communication network, shall be supplied electricity with smart meters conforming to relevant IS, within the timelines as provided by the Central Government:
- All consumer connections having current carrying capacity beyond that specified in relevant IS, shall be provided with meters having automatic remote meter reading facility or smart meters as per relevant IS
- Areas which are not covered with communication network, installation of prepayment meters, conforming to relevant IS, shall be allowed by the respective State Electricity Regulatory Commission
- All the Advanced Metering Infrastructure shall include the prepayment functionality and shall be interoperable in accordance with the guidelines issued by CEA
The proposed amendment will replace the following clauses present in the extant regulations:
- All consumers in areas with communication network, shall be supplied electricity with smart meters working in prepayment mode, conforming to relevant IS, within the timelines as specified by the Central Government
- All consumer connections having current carrying capacity beyond that specified in relevant IS, shall be provided with meters having automatic remote meter reading facility or smart meters as per relevant IS.
- Areas which do not have communication network, installation of prepayment meters, conforming to relevant IS, shall be allowed by the respective State Electricity Regulatory Commission.
As can be observed, the proposed amendment will do away with the mandatory requirement of prepaid meters.
Fifth amendment
The proposed amendment will be the fifth amendment to the original regulations issued in 2006. So far, four amendments were made, one each in 2010, 2014, 2019 and 2022.
Also read: CEA stresses on deployment of standardized transformers, calls for strict compliance of regulations
Featured photograph (source: IntelliSmart) is for representation only