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State Electricity Regulators will order Discoms to deploy prepaid smart meters where power losses are more than 15 per cent, and in government buildings. The decision follows a meeting, chaired by Power Minister RK Singh, and heads of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission and State-level regulators.
It was decided that the smart prepaid meters will be deployed by December 2023 and the regulators will not need any permission from the State government or the distribution companies. The objective is to bring down electricity losses.
The Electricity Reguatory Commission has to release the orders to concern Discoms to implement on a priority basis.
‘No deadline extension’
“If any extension is given in implementing the smart prepaid meters, then the grants provided from the Central government will not be given.”
Following the meeting, Telangana State Electricity Regulatory Commission (TSERC) ordered installation of the smart prepaid meters in TSNPDCL and Sircilla areas where the losses are as high as 35-40 per cent.
Also read: Can smart meters turn around discoms?
It was also decided that all new connections would come with smart prepaid meters. .
The long-term objective is to switch to digital prepaid system. It will also help in implementation of the time-of-day tariff with more solar and other renewable energy sources.
So far 24 lakh smart prepaid meters have been installed. The feedback is good with higher collections ranging from ₹200 to ₹500 per meter per month.
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