Smart meters won’t be installed in homes: BEST to MLA

The assurance came five days after HT published a report on the slow pace of installation of smart meters in residential areas owing to complaints of inflated bills

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) on Wednesday assured a delegation led by Congress leader and MLA Amin Patel that prepaid smart meters would not be installed in residential areas in the island city. The assurance came five days after HT published a report on the slow pace of installation of smart meters in residential areas owing to complaints of inflated bills.

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Patel, the Mumbadevi MLA, said he met the general manager of BEST Anil Diggikar on Wednesday to raise the issue of escalated power bills, installation of prepaid smart meters and high security deposits. “The general manager assured us that they will cease installing prepaid smart meters in residential areas. I raised the issue after many citizens had complained about the meters,” said Patel.

BEST has received multiple complaints of inflated electricity bills over the past few weeks following the installation of smart meters in the island city. Adani Energy Solutions Ltd (AESL), which bagged the contract to install smart meters for 10.50 lakh BEST consumers, has been installing only 250-300 meters per day although it has the capacity to install 1,000-1,200 meters per day.

Until now, close to three lakh electricity meters have been replaced with smart ones. “Smart meters are being installed for high-end consumers and commercial setups,” said an official from the BEST undertaking. Residential consumers comprise of almost 65-70% of its total consumer base.

BEST officials claimed that prepaid smart meters were more responsive and accurate even in case of small fluctuations, which made it seem like power bills were inflated. “Smart meters provide regulated readings, prevent theft, and notify authorities immediately in case of a power cut, reducing the need for long waiting calls and enabling us to work more efficiently for the people,” said an official.

AESL will bear responsibility of maintaining and replacing the smart meters for a period of 10 years, the official added.