Srinagar, April 18: The government is all set to kick start a much-hyped project of installation of prepaid electricity meters to reduce transmission and distribution (T&D) losses and provide 24 hours power supply in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Chief Engineer Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL), Ajaz Ahmad Dar said that in the first phase around 60,000 smart meters would be installed in the Srinagar city.
“Initially, we will be targeting the civil areas of the city. It will be the areas where people are already paying their bills as per the meter charges,” Dar said.
Dar said the process of purchasing pre-paid smart meters has already started.
In August 2018, the government had outsourced the smart meter project to Rural Electricity Corporation Power Distribution Company Limited (RECPDCL).
As part of the agreement, the company would procure and install 9.25 lakh electronic prepaid meters in the rural and urban areas of the UT, sanctioned under various schemes at an estimated cost of Rs 282.15 crore.
However, the project got delayed for the past three years. In the new pre-paid meters, the usage of electricity is directly proportional to the amount recharged.
Dar said the department aims to cover the entire city in one and a half years.
“The introduction of pre-paid meters is aimed to streamline power consumption in the region and to check pilferage. It will help us to provide regular power supply in the area,” Dar said.
Earlier, the PDD had started the process of e-meters to control pilferage in 2005. But the department was only able to meter only 42 per cent of the 9.65 lakh consumers in Kashmir.
According to PDD official, of 9.65 lakh registered consumers in Kashmir, only 3.99 lakh are metered.
As per the agreement, RECPDCL would undertake operation and maintenance services for the meters in rural and urban areas, at an estimated cost of Rs 44.53 crore.
The company would also manage meter reading and bill generation in rural and urban areas at an estimated cost of Rs 61.32 crore.
