Bengaluru: The govt’s move to install smart meters for new electricity connections across the state has snowballed into a major administrative challenge, caught in the fallout of confusion surrounding the Supreme Court’s order on mandatory occupancy certificates (OC).Smart meters are expected to reduce transmission losses, improve billing efficiency and enable real-time monitoring of electricity consumption. But the SCs decision, aimed at enforcing building compliance norms, inadvertently slowed a push towards modernising the power sector.Launched nearly a year ago, the programme was initially introduced for all new and temporary electricity connections in Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) and Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Company (Cescom) jurisdictions, before being expanded to the other three Escoms.But official data accessed by TOI shows only 2.9 lakh smart meters were installed as of April 2026 — far below initial projections.The court mandated that electricity connections for new buildings could only be issued upon submission of valid OCs. Energy department officials said uncertainty over implementation of the order led to confusion among consumers, builders and even field-level Escom engineers.Escoms reacted by putting lakhs of applications for new power connections on hold — especially in urban areas where several apartment complexes and residential layouts were awaiting OC approvals. Karnataka State Licensed Electrical Contractors Association (KSLECA) estimates some 15-16 lakh applications were stalled.“Yes, lakhs of households were initially affected but the state cabinet’s decision to intervene and relax implementation procedures provided major relief. Over the past six months we’ve installed nearly three lakh smart meters,” an energy department official said. The official said the initiative would gain momentum in the coming weeks since Escoms have now resumed processing new applications aggressively, especially in Bengaluru and other urban centres.Of the five Escoms, Bescom recorded the highest number of installations with 1.8 lakh smart meters, followed by Hescom (Hubballi -55,078) and Cesc (Mysuru – 43,105). Mescom (Mangaluru) installed 11,698 meters, while Gescom (Kalaburagi) recorded the lowest at 1,426.However, most of these installations — 97,958 — were temporary prepaid connections, while 1.9 lakh permanent postpaid smart meters were installed. Permanent prepaid smart meter adoption remained low at just 4,174 connections statewide.“Most prepaid connections were for under-construction buildings,” an official said. “These will eventually be converted to smart meters after completion of work and issuance of OCs by municipalities and corporations.”C Ramesh, president, KSLECA, said: “Had the govt intervened earlier, the roll out would have been faster. The govt only eased rules for properties on 30×40 plots. Of the 15-16 lakh properties awaiting smart meters, 30-40% would have benefited, but many others are still awaiting new connections, and the state govt must act proactively to resolve the confusion. It is losing revenue in the meantime.”
