NEW DELHI: The Narendra Modi government’s Rs 3.3 lakh crore plan to replace all 25 crore traditional meters in the country with pre-paid meters in the next three years could by far be the smartest move till date to improve the financial health of discoms (distribution companies).
Preliminary results of implementation of the programme in Bihar and Union territory of Jammu & Kashmir, both traditionally considered as laggards, show a sharp uptick in all financial parameters of the respective discoms — from billing efficiency, recovery of arrears to actual consumption getting reflected.
According to a presentation made at a two-day brainstorming session of state power ministers at Udaipur last week, Bihar has taken the lead by achieving 92% penetration of pre-paid smart meters.
The presentation showed Ashiyana and Bankipur, the two distribution areas with high smart meter penetration taken as test case, smart meters improved collection efficiency from 94% to 115% and 92% to 105%, respectively. Recovery of arrears too stood at 100%.
This increased average monthly collection per customer by up to 65%. At the same time, the consumption figure per consumer also shot up by up to 42%, indicating the quantum of losses suffered by discoms earlier due to slippage – or simply theft.
The presentation showed similar results from Jammu and Kashmir regions, where the power distribution system was in tatters till a few years ago.
Smart meters work well for both discoms and consumers. Discoms benefit from reduced losses due to theft and better cash flow, which reduces the need for loans to meet operational expenses. This reduces their interest costs. Consumers benefit from pay-per-use and do not have to face disconnection or reconnection.
Though Bihar leads in penetration of pre-paid meters, UP has installed the highest number of smart meters (post-paid category) at more than 11.5 lakh. Bihar is a close second with 11 lakh smart meters installed, Rajasthan 5.5 lakh, Haryana 5.3 lakh, Assam 4.1 lakh and Delhi 2.5 lakh.
In the first phase, 10 crore meters are to be replaced in ‘priority areas’ (high loss, high value consumers) by December 2023. Meters in remaining areas will be replaced by March 2025.
The smart meter scheme aims at strengthening institutional capabilities for modernising discoms, reducing line losses to 12-15% by 2024-25 nationally and bringing the gap between the cost of supply and revenue realised to ‘nil’ by 2024-25.
Preliminary results of implementation of the programme in Bihar and Union territory of Jammu & Kashmir, both traditionally considered as laggards, show a sharp uptick in all financial parameters of the respective discoms — from billing efficiency, recovery of arrears to actual consumption getting reflected.
According to a presentation made at a two-day brainstorming session of state power ministers at Udaipur last week, Bihar has taken the lead by achieving 92% penetration of pre-paid smart meters.
The presentation showed Ashiyana and Bankipur, the two distribution areas with high smart meter penetration taken as test case, smart meters improved collection efficiency from 94% to 115% and 92% to 105%, respectively. Recovery of arrears too stood at 100%.
This increased average monthly collection per customer by up to 65%. At the same time, the consumption figure per consumer also shot up by up to 42%, indicating the quantum of losses suffered by discoms earlier due to slippage – or simply theft.
The presentation showed similar results from Jammu and Kashmir regions, where the power distribution system was in tatters till a few years ago.
Smart meters work well for both discoms and consumers. Discoms benefit from reduced losses due to theft and better cash flow, which reduces the need for loans to meet operational expenses. This reduces their interest costs. Consumers benefit from pay-per-use and do not have to face disconnection or reconnection.
Though Bihar leads in penetration of pre-paid meters, UP has installed the highest number of smart meters (post-paid category) at more than 11.5 lakh. Bihar is a close second with 11 lakh smart meters installed, Rajasthan 5.5 lakh, Haryana 5.3 lakh, Assam 4.1 lakh and Delhi 2.5 lakh.
In the first phase, 10 crore meters are to be replaced in ‘priority areas’ (high loss, high value consumers) by December 2023. Meters in remaining areas will be replaced by March 2025.
The smart meter scheme aims at strengthening institutional capabilities for modernising discoms, reducing line losses to 12-15% by 2024-25 nationally and bringing the gap between the cost of supply and revenue realised to ‘nil’ by 2024-25.
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