Panaji: Smart electricity meters will soon offer consumers the option of switching to prepaid mode.“Just like a mobile connection, consumers will be able to choose whether they want a prepaid or postpaid connection,” electricity department superintending engineer and nodal officer in charge of the project Mayur Hede told TOI.Around 15,000 digital meters have been replaced with smart meters in Goa, the electricity department has said.“These include both govt and private consumers. Meters at all the department substations have been replaced with smart meters. Currently, installation is taking place at Bambolim, Taleigao and Panaji,” he said.“Electricity bills are also being generated after these meters were installed. The bills are the same; only the meters have changed. Consumers can see the name of the changed meter in the new bill,” he said.The consumer-friendly app connected to the smart meter, where consumers will be able to check their hourly, weekly, fortnightly consumption patterns, is ready but not yet opened to the public.Once ready, the app will facilitate payments, including prepaid payments.“We are yet to incorporate features like accepting payments in the app. Approvals for this are under process. It is likely to be opened for the public in another 20 days,” Hede said.Once ready, consumers will also be given the option of switching to prepaid mode and will be able to recharge via the app, he said.“All payments features will be ready in the app before we give consumers the option of prepaid mode,” the superintending engineer said.The department is looking at replacing 7.5 lakh meters by Aug 2027.Power minister Ramkrishna Sudin Dhavalikar, in a written reply in the legislative assembly, said that the total cost of the project is over Rs 890 crore, of which Rs 820 crore will be borne by state govt and Rs 70 crore by central govt through gross budgetary supportFormer bureaucrat Elvis Gomes, who is opposing the installation of smart meters, said several consumers have written to the dept against replacement of their meter.“Section 47 of the Electricity Act 2002 allows consumers to opt for prepaid meters voluntarily rather than compulsory installation. Replacing meters that are already functioning with smart meters is a huge financial burden on the State exchequer. There are several other issues that haven’t been addressed, like the privacy of consumers data that will be in the hands of a private party. We also don’t know what will happen to meter readers.“The dept, however, maintains that the meter replacement is not voluntary.“Change of meters is the prerogative of the department. It is a techno-commercial decision and is part of a larger, nation-wide initiative under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) to modernise infrastructure. There will not be a rise in bills as the exising meters are digital meters and smart meters are also digital meters. There are many benefits of smart meters to both consumers and the department. The app supports remote comnection and disconnection, time of day metering and helps the dept monitor any voltage fluctuation and power failure,” he said.
