By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, March 27: The state government is optimistic about addressing concerns related to the smart meter project but there are uncertainties over its ability to meet the target of improving bill efficiency and reducing power theft.
Recently, Power Minister, James Sangma said the project would help increase bill efficiency from 73 per cent to 100 per cent. He said the move would help improve bill collection and thereby, revenue generation.
The project is expected to reduce theft of electricity by sending alerts to the department. The total project cost is Rs 232.96 crore. The price of each meter will be Rs 3,750. Some two lakh smart meters will be installed in rural areas.
Earlier, James said due to the negligence of previous governments, the loss of power, caused due to weak or broken wiring, is about 32-34 per cent, which is the highest in the country.
“To compensate for these losses, the MeECL (Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited) has to pay a higher amount of money to acquire the required power so it can adequately distribute it to the consumers. The problems were created by the previous governments and it is really frustrating because ultimately no power distribution company can function in the long-term with such massive problems,” James said.
He said Meghalaya is fortunate to receive grants of Rs 893 crore from the ADB for the introduction of smart meters, improvement of broken wiring and the setting up of more efficient distribution systems. The amount is not a loan but grant and hence, the state government does not have the obligation to pay back, he said.
“Through this grant, we plan to reduce the loss of power to 12 per cent,” the Minister added.