All Electricity Meters will be replaced with Prepaid Smart Meters by this date

Ministry of Power has fixed the timeline for the installation of smart meters. The ministry has issued a deadline to replace existing electricity meters with smart meters with pre-payment facility. As per the government notification, all consumers, except agricultural consumers,

in areas with communication network, shall be supplied electricity with these meters. Prepaid smart meters will be installed across the country by March 2025.

Here is the Notification :-

1. All consumers (other than agricultural consumers) in areas with a communication network, shall be supplied electricity with smart meters working in prepayment mode, conforming to relevant IS, within the timelines specified below:

(i) All Union Territories, electrical divisions having more than 50% consumers in urban areas with AT&C losses more than 15% in financial year 2019-20, other electrical divisions with AT&C losses more than 25% in financial year 2019-20, all Government offices at Block level and above, and all industrial and commercial consumers, shall be metered with smart meters with prepayment mode 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.

(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:

(ii) 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.

(i) 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.

(ii) 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.

Smart meters in government offices 

The ministry of power has issued an advisory to all central ministries to direct organizations under it to switch to prepaid smart electricity meters.

"The ministry of power has issued an advisory to all central ministries of the government to direct organisations under their administrative control to ensure switch over to prepaid smart meters on priority," a power ministry statement said.

It said that prepaid smart metering in all government departments would not only bring DISCOMs back on the path of financial sustainability and promote energy efficiency but would also serve as a model for similar state department mechanisms to promote pre-payment of electricity.

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