Panaji: The electricity department is likely to start installing smart prepaid meters for private consumers after a month. It has already completed the replacement of conventional meters with smart meters at all its substations and completed the installation of smart meters in 50% of its transformers. “The department began the installation of smart meters for govt consumers. Next will be private consumers, beginning with industrial consumers. Commercial and domestic consumers will follow,” said Mayur Hede, superintending engineer and nodal officer for the project.The installation of 7.5 lakh smart meters is expected to be completed by Aug 2027. The smart meters, Hede said, will have more features and communicate data to consumers through a consumer-friendly app. “At the click of a button, consumers will be able to monitor their usage and find out how many units of power they are consuming during the day, in a week, month, quarter, etc,” he said.He said smart meters will reduce human interference and hence bring billing errors down to 0. The department too can monitor the load in transformers and voltage issues and better plan for infrastructure, he said. “During a power cut, restoration time too will be reduced as the system will directly show that a particular colony does not have any power. Consumers will not have to call the department to restore power,” he said.He said it is a myth that smart meters will bring about higher electricity bills. He said a smart meter, like the conventional meter, will record energy units and added that smart meters are being used around the world and are being installed across India, and are an established technology.The department launched a statewide consumer awareness initiative to inform citizens about the transition to smart meters across the state. A large-scale workshop was conducted for energy clubs, engaging students and teachers from more than 100 schools, informing them about the technology, its functioning, and its benefits before the installation begins in their areas.During the workshop, the students were introduced to how smart meters work and their technical capabilities, and how consumers are empowered by them. Informational guides and FAQs were also distributed to participating schools to promote awareness among households and communities.
