Ludhiana: 3 years on, only 14% covered under smart meter project

According to PSPCL chief engineer Jagdev Singh Hans lack of consumer interest is a major roadblock; for now, smart meters are being issued for new connections and damage cases, he says.

PSPCL’s smart meter installation drive, launched to tighten the noose on power theft, fix electricity irregularities and ensure accurate billing, is struggling to gain traction even after four years into the project. Despite being part of the Union ministry of power’s plan to convert all electricity meters into smart ones by 2022, the initiative has fallen significantly behind schedule. More than three years past the initial deadline, only 14.6% of the city’s consumers have been covered, highlighting the sluggish progress of the project.

Resistance by consumers, mainly farmer unions, shortage of workers behind the delay, say officials. (HT photo)

According to data, only 2,09,000 smart meters have been installed out of the total 14.3 lakh connections in Ludhiana. In urban areas, where there are 7.6 lakh electricity connections, just 1,23,813 smart meters have been installed, marking a completion rate of only 16.29%. The situation is even worse in rural areas, where out of 6.76 lakh connections, only 85,712 smart meters have been installed, with a completion rate of just 12.68%.

The highest number of smart meters have been installed in the west division, which includes areas like Estate, Model Town, Janta Nagar and Aggar Nagar, with a total of 71,287 meters out of 4.4 lakh connections.

Meanwhile, suburban areas such as Lalton Kalan, Jagraon, Adda Dakha, Raikot and Ahmedgarh have recorded the lowest installations, with only 33,390 smart meters installed out of 3.3 lakh connections.

PSPCL officials have attributed the slow progress to multiple factors, including a severe shortage of skilled workers, procurement issues due to the limited availability of vendors and resistance from consumers.

The issue is particularly severe in rural areas where farmer unions have fiercely opposed the installation of smart meters, fearing inflated electricity bills. In some cases, their protests have escalated to violence against PSPCL staff and vandalism of installed meters, officials said.

The unions argue that the prepaid feature of these meters will enable the power utility to cut off supply as soon they exhaust their paid balance, officials added.

“To address these concerns, we have installed smart meters alongside traditional meters to demonstrate that there is no significant difference in readings, still skepticism remains high,” said a senior PSPCL official from the central zone.

Officials further explained that smart meters are engineered to reduce human intervention in metering, billing and collection processes. They also help curb electricity theft by identifying loss pockets and offer real-time energy usage data through a two-way communication network. However, despite these advantages, consumer resistance and implementation challenges continue to hinder progress.

Chief engineer Jagdev Singh Hans acknowledged lack of consumer interest in replacing old meters as a major roadblock. “For now, we are installing smart meters for new connections and replacing burnt or damaged meters with smart ones. However, widespread adoption remains slow,” he said.