Editor,
The report in The Shillong Times (ST Oct 11, 2021) “Power minister directs Satnam to stop smart meters project,” came like a bolt from the blue, taking into account the change of guard in the Power Department. It sounded as if the new minister was from the Opposition!
Why I am writing this is because I am unable to understand where Mr Prestone Tynsong’s conscience was during those tumultuous times when the MePDCL circles of Shillong and adjoining areas and Jowai were sold to RECPDCL. That finally snowballed into a crisis and controversy leading to the removal of two IAS officers and leaving matters to be handled by the then Additional Chief Secretary, Ms Rebecca Suchiang, presently the Chief Secretary.
Let readers know that for the manufacturing of smart meters in our country, three top world renowned companies are among the ten selected. They are (1) Siemens (2) Schneider (both of Germany) and (3) Genus Infra Power Structure (South India). The Satnam Infra Global Pvt. Enterprise may be at the bottom of the list. There are problems with acquiring land, even M/s Satnam is hired.
At the outset let us study what a smart meter is. The smart meter will allow the power company to distribute power through smart phones. This energy coming to our homes or factories is no longer measured in kilowatts. It is going to be in kilo-volt ampere. To the lay person this means the energy supplied plus the power loss incurred during the transmission. For example, if you boil tea using a kilowatt heater for one hour, in our old meter, be it electric or electronics your bill will be for 1 KW/hr and if Rs 4 is per unit, you need to pay Rs 4. With smart meters you have to pay Rs. 4.40 paise (more or less). 40 paisa is the loss incurred for your boiling tea (which we never had to pay till date) and the cost of messaging on your Wi-Fi. Hence for every unit used, you have to pay 40 paisa. So for one month you could calculate how much that comes to.
In other countries with adequate power, this meter may work as the smart meter needs steady voltage (230 v in European countries), but in our power-starved country India where even at peak time, the voltage is as low as 160 volts, this smart meter is going to shoot your bill to three-fold. Current consumption increases quite a lot, compounded with the efficiency of our electric appliances (best at 220v in India). The voltage thus drops drastically. This is the reason why Schneider got a special prayer for advice from our Power Departments, including from the Union Power Ministry to please tune their meters at par with the health of power in our country. Whether Schneider could accede to the request remains to be seen. This is the result of opting for modernization of the power sector in a power starved scenario! Its like aiming for the skies.
The message to consumers therefore is that they need to have smart phones to be informed of the balance remaining and date and hour of the power supply cut. In Khasi and Jaintia Hills, the two districts in the pipeline to be fitted with the smart meters, the percentage of consumers with smartphones and who could afford WiFi is a mere 7% only. Even these would face problems of connectivity. And to be informed of the smart meter bills one might have to climb trees or stay uphill.
So, dear readers, the smart meter would make life problematic for all. Yes when the new Power Minister talks tough on Satnam, I could see NGOs taking credit which is not right. For many months, no NGO complained, though time and again the worry was expressed in local newspapers. On the contrary, few officers acquainted with power scenarios in their countries of service advertised this smart meter to the unmindful people here.
The worst news in the above news report is the very wrong certification of readiness of 25,000 smart meters by Mr SB Umdor and the Power Department. He ought to know that out of the 251 million households meant to be connected by smart meters, only 1.6 million are connected. It comes to only 0.6 percent (6 households per thousand). This news shows that we have a long, long way to go until the whole country is smart metered. And let the readers be informed that in the UK there are many who refuse being connected to these smart meters.
Our meter readers are going to lose their jobs but the rich and powerful never think of unemployment in our country although it is a serious issue. It is no different from our AIs robbing the jobs of drivers. In this world ,there are two AIs. One with brains and a heart for humanity. The other is of course with the same brain but no human heart. And the saddest part is that the latter dominates Mother Earth.
Be that as it may we need to thank Mr Tynsong for giving us a respite from smart meters at least for now. And experience and history tell us we may not be smart meter connected.
Yours etc.,
James Kharmih,
Shilling-1