The government has requested the makers of smart meters to reduce the cost and make the device more affordable.
According to Alok Kumar, Power Secretary, the key parameters for smart meters manufacturing should be safety, quality and design.
“I urge the manufacturers to think of innovative ways to reduce the price of the meters to half without compromising on quality. We have improved the loss reduction aspect and are working on the expansion of RDSS scheme and smart distribution,” Kumar said while addressing industry body IEEMA’s ‘9th Metering India 2022’ event here.
Besides, IEEMA should focus on capacity building of the utilities and finding opportunities to change conventional meters into smart meters with sustainable disposing option, he said.
According to industry estimates, a smart meter costs around USD 5 which includes manufacturing and installation charges.
By 2025, around 25 crore smart prepaid metres will be installed under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) at an outlay of Rs 3.3 lakh crore.
Amit Kumar, Chairman of IEEMA Meter Division and Vice President of Schneider Electric India, said the combined annual production capacity of the Indian meter industry is more than 100 million smart meters which is sufficient to meet the 2025 target.
“These new age smart meters help reduce the operation and maintenance cost, and enhance the quality of service. Metering is an important infrastructure for the country.” Jitendra K Agarwal, Joint MD of Genus Power and Chairman Elecrama 2022, said.
