45 Firms Now Manufacture Smart Electricity Meters For India, Reveals CEA

45 Firms Now Manufacture Smart Electricity Meters For India, Reveals CEA

The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has now issued a list of smart meter and net meter providers in the country. CEA is a constituent body of the Ministry of Power.

The CEA list indicated that a total of 45 companies provide smart electricity meters for India. On the other hand a total of 12 companies provide the services of static net meters for the country. Net meters are used in households mandatorily when it uses grid-connected rooftop solar systems. The net meters allow calculation of the quantum of solar power exported from the households to the grid and the quantum of grid power utilised by the households.

These net-meters facilitate the monthly electricity bill calculations for these prosumers. As per the list, there are 12 companies in India currently giving the services of static net meters along with smart meters. These include—Secure Meters, HPL Electric & Power Ltd, Avon Meters, Genys Power, Linkwell Tele Systems, Sinhal Udyog, Capital Power Systems, Iskraemeco India, Bentec India, Schneider Electric India, Allied Engineering and Eppeltone. All these 12 companies also provide the services of smart meters besides allowing the facilities of net-metering, the CEA list indicated.

On the other hand, there are 45 such smart meter makers (including these 12 firms) which give the services of smart electricity meters. Smart electricity meters are generally digital meters that can remotely send information to the power utilities on the consumption of power. This allows doing away with the need for physical visits to take down the details of the power consumption for the calculation of monthly power bills. It also empowers the users to track their power consumption patterns.

The Ministry of Power is also spearheading a mission to convert conventional electricity bills with smart meters under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS). The scheme aims to boost the financials of the power distribution companies and reduce their Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses. The ministry has planned to bring down the AT&C losses below 13 percent with this scheme.