Union ministry notifies timeline to replace existing meters with smart prepaid meters. All you need to know
The ministry has proposed to install 10 crore prepaid smart meters by December 2023 in the first phase under the Revamped Reforms-Based Results-Linked Scheme.
hThe ministry of power on Wednesday released a gazetted notification to notify the timeline for replacing the existing meters with smart prepaid meters. All power consumers, besides the agricultural users, would be given access to electricity if they have these meters which comes with a prepayment feature.
Read the notification issued by the ministry below:
- All consumers, other than agricultural consumers, residing in areas with communication networks, will be supplied with smart meters working in pre-payment mode. All electrical divisions where more than 50% of the consumers live in urban areas with AT&C losses were more than 15% in the financial year 2019-20.
(i) Block level government offices and industrial and commercial consumers will be fitted with smart meters which will run on a prepayment basis by December 2023. “Provided that the State Regulatory Commission may, by notification, extend the said period of implementation, giving reasons to do so, only twice but not more than six months at a time, for a class or classes of consumers or for such areas as may be specified in that notification,” the gazetted notification read.
(ii) All other areas shall be metered with smart meters with prepayment mode by March 2025. Provided that in areas that do not have a communication network, installation of prepayment meters, conforming to relevant IS, may be allowed by the respective State Electricity Regulatory Commission.
(iii) All consumer connections having current-carrying capacity beyond that specified in relevant IS, may be provided with meters with smart meters having AMR facility.
2. All feeders and distribution transformers (DTS) shall be provided with meters having AMR facility or covered under AMI, as per the timelines specified below:
(i) All feeders shall be metered by December 2022.
(ii) All DTs in electrical divisions having more than 50% consumers in urban areas with AT&C losses more than 15% in financial year 2019-20, and in all other electrical divisions with AT&C losses more than 25% in financial year 2019-20, shall be metered by December 2023.
(iii) All DTs in areas other than those mentioned in (ii) above, shall be metered by March, 2025.
(iv) DTs and HVDS transformers having capacity less than 25 kVA may be excluded from the above timelines. This notification shall be effective from the date of publishing in the Gazette of India.
The ministry has proposed to install 10 crore prepaid smart meters by December 2023 in the first phase under the Revamped Reforms-Based Results-Linked Scheme.
