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J&K government to install smart meters; to begin with Jammu, Srinagar
The installation process will begin from November 15; 20,000 meters will be installed in the first phase
The J&K government has decided to install smart meters and will begin with the winter capital of Jammu and the summer capital of Srinagar. The process of installation will begin from November 15.
Power development department principal secretary Rohit Kansal on Sunday convened a meeting to review the Centrally Sponsored Schemes and installation of smart meters.
“During the meeting, the Project Implementing Agency (PIA) informed that installation of smart meters shall be started in Srinagar and Jammu cities from November 15. In the first phase 20,000 meters would be installed and the process would continue in a phased manner till all of the 200,000 meters sanctioned under the Prime Minister’s Development Package (PMDP) are installed,” the official spokesman said.
Briefing the meeting, officers said that with smart meters, people will be able to know their electricity consumption pattern and bill on real-time basis, which will help them manage the load and also monitor their monthly bill.
The consumers will also know the status of power supply and load in use when away from home, they added.Smart meters will bring about transparency in metering, billing and collection which will eventually reduce power losses and will ensure quality and reliable power supply to consumers,” the principal secretary said.
Consumers can recharge their smart meters in the same manner as mobile phones, thus eliminating the requirement of manual meter reading and paper bill distribution.
“The meters will be read remotely at the data centre in Srinagar and data recovery centre in Jammu, which will also allow the distribution corporations to know the status of power supply at consumer’s end and take prompt action in case there is disruption in the service,” he said.
Out of 11 packages of independent power development scheme and PMDP- Urban schemes sanctioned at a cost of ₹1,590 crore, six packages will be completed in this year in December and four in March, and one in June, 2021, the officials said.
“Out of 19 packages of PMDP-Rural schemes, sanctioned at a cost of 1,777 crore, four packages will be completed in February 2021, and the remaining 15 in March, 2021. Out of the 28 town projects sanctioned at a cost of ₹1,665 crore, 12 towns will be completed in November this year, 11 in June, 2021 and the remaining five in December 2021,” the spokesman said.
