EESL Operationalises Over 5 Lakh Smart Meters Across India

The meters will enhance consumer convenience and also rationalise electricity consumption.

Under Smart Meter National Programme (SMNP), government-backed Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) has successfully installed more than 5 lakh smart meters in Uttar Pradesh (UP), Delhi, Haryana, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh.

These meters will enhance consumer convenience and also rationalise electricity consumption.

Commenting on the achievement, EESL, Managing Director, Saurabh Kumar said, “as India makes rapid strides towards its vision of providing universal access to affordable power, it becomes important to eliminate the challenges faced by Discoms. To overcome challenges such as billing inefficiencies, unauthorised power consumption, and Discoms’ financial woes, the Government of India is accelerating the adoption of smart meters. We are pleased to support the Discoms in their pursuit of energy sustainability and accountability with the adoption of future-ready technologies like smart meters. Thrust on such efficient systems is critical for consumption and growth in a sustainable manner and enhancing consumer experience through improved service delivery.”

These smart meters are made with latest technology as well as certified and types tested by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) as per IS 16444 guidelines, and are installed in accordance with guidelines issued by the Central Electricity Authority.

Smart meters are part of the overall Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) solution that measures and records consumers’ electricity usage at different times of the day and sends this information to the energy supplier through GPRS technology.

This gives consumers better access to information and enables them to make more informed decisions on the use of electricity in their homes. This can immediately control AT&C losses, due to power pilferage, bypassing meters, defective meters, or errors in meter reading.

Thus, every kilowatt of power drawn from the grid is thus accounted for – and billed, thereby reviving discom revenues.

The company said in a statement that, smart meter technology is critical to the country’s ongoing power sector reforms. SMNP that aims to retrofit 25 crore conventional meters with smart variants will lead to 80-100 percent improvement in billing efficiency.