Less Smart Meters installed in Gujarat

Trailing behind the likes of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Gujarat has fallen extremely short of implementing the centre's plan to install smart meters for electricity consumers. The state, which won the Power Sector Planning Award, has installed a mere 27,630 smart meters and is pushed to the tenth position in terms of installation.

‘Ornamentally Shining Gujarat’

Gujarat’s power distribution companies have bagged four awards in terms of delivering good performance. But the lapse in the number of smart meters installed illustrates a different picture. The Ministry of Power of the Union Government has directed the power distribution companies in Gujarat in 2021 to install smart meters for all of its 1.3 cr electricity consumers by Dec 2024. But the number of electricity consumers who will have a smart meter installed by Mar 2023 stands at 27,630. The Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission (GERC) has also not reprimanded the power distribution companies of the Gujarat Government regarding the implementation of this plan.

Drawing comparisons put authority back on the drawing board

Gujarat has lagged behind the likes of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in installing smart meters. Uttar Pradesh has managed to install 18.54 lakh, while Bihar installed 11.79 lakh meters in the same amount of time, while Gujarat only managed 27,630 smart meters. Even territories like Jammu-Kashmir, which have a mere 22 lakh electricity consumers, have installed more than 2.8 lakh smart meters.

How can smart meters benefit consumers?

- Consumers will get two types of smart meters prepaid and postpaid. And as the names suggest, they will be priced before or after the tenure.

- The details of how much electricity has been consumed by the industrial unit or by a house right up until that moment can be known on that very spot. As a result, its wastage can be decreased as one can track their increasing electricity bill.

- For those with solar power connections, smart meters can be used for net metering, i.e., how many power units generated by their solar panels have been consumed by them and how many units have gone to their grid can be known.

- Electricity rates during the day and night, and even peak hours, can be known. How much electricity has been consumed in that period can also be obtained through smart meters. Peak-hour and non-peak-hour consumption data can be obtained separately as well. Electricity rates during the day and night, and even peak hours, can be known. How much electricity has been consumed in that period can also be obtained through smart meters. Peak-hour and non-peak-hour consumption data can be obtained separately as well.

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