SHILLONG, Dec 12: Recently, newly-anointed Power Minister, Prestone Tynsong gave a public statement that implementation of the smart meter project is in full swing in Meghalaya. This is the same minister who not so long ago had directed the much maligned Satnam Global to halt installation of smart meters during his very first review meeting of Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL). The reason for the U-turn and what transpired between then and now is anybody’s guess.
Several questions have been raised against this project from day one. First was the role of the Chinese partner. The then Chief Secretary, MS Rao had raised queries on the role of the Chinese partner. This was due to the restriction from Ministry of Power against the use of Chinese components in the sensitive power distribution sector and power installations. This is because it was found that Chinese hackers are using malwares to create havoc in the Indian electricity grid.
This is the prime reason why the central government had cancelled the tender for 20 lakh smart meters awarded to an Indonesia-based company — PT Hexing, owing to concern about its Chinese ownership. Uttar Pradesh had also done the same and several other states followed suit. Meghalaya is perhaps the only state in the country procuring smart meters made in China. The concern in Meghalaya is grave since the state shares a long international border. As per the documents this daily has managed to access, meters are procured from Chinese supplier and the meter software is written in Chinese.
Then comes the question of funding. The cash-strapped MeECL had secured a loan of USD 130 million (around Rs 1000 crore) from Asian Development Bank to implement power sector reforms including smart meters project which clearly goes against the reforms-based result-linked power distribution sector scheme announced by Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman.
Under the ADB project, full payment of Rs 200 crore is being made to Satnam Global, against the central government guidelines which state that smart meter being a new technology should be implemented on partial capex (capital expenditure where money is paid upfront) and partial opex (operational expenditure where payment is made over a period of time) model.
In the new scheme, payment is made to vendor over a period of 5-7 years from the additional revenue generated by the discom by way of smart meters. Had MeECL adopted the central government guidelines, then with the same amount they could have covered all six lakh meters in Meghalaya whereas Satnam Global is being paid a whopping Rs 200 crore for replacement of a mere 1.8 lakh meters at an astronomical price of Rs 10,000 per smart meter as against the market cost of only Rs 2000.
It is surprising to note that Meghalaya in general follows what Assam does in terms of policy or execution but this is not the case when it comes to the Power Department. Assam has adopted the new central government policy and awarded the smart meter contract on capex and opex model thereby making huge savings.
Meghalaya’s habit of going in for loans will plunge the state into a debt crisis, observers say.
On one hand Power Minister Prestone Tynsong says government is going for fresh loans to clear the Rs 2,000 crore liabilities but on the other hand “smart” financial decisions are not being made by those at the helm.
With Meghalaya going ahead with the ADB loan project, the MeECL will also not be eligible for the financial performance incentive under the new scheme.
A whistle blower Engineer in MeECL spilled the beans on how the project area was changed from ‘urban’ to ‘rural’ for installation of smart meters. Tender was floated on February 4, 2020, in which the project area mentioned was urban, as the same was duly approved by Central Electricity Authority (CEA) in the DPR, submitted by the Meghalaya Planning Department to the central government. But the then Chief Engineer, UN Madan whimsically changed the project area to rural along with the technical specifications so as to tailor them to the needs of Satnam Global.
It is common knowledge that revenue generation from rural areas is very low. Major revenue generation is from industries followed by urban towns. At the behest of industry bigwigs this was smart metering was exempted from industrial areas. Experts say implementation of smart meters in rural areas will have zero impact on revenue augmentation of MeECL. Later the same Chief Engineer, upon retirement, was given a plum post of OSD to then Power Minister, James Sangma. He continues to enjoy the patronage of the current incumbent.
It was announced with much fanfare that more than 15,000 (some say 25,000) smart meters have been installed in some areas of Meghalaya. But the fate of these meters is not known to the public. It is also not known whether remote capability is witnessed or whether these smart meters have improved service delivery and whether there is increase or decrease in the monthly power bills. So what actually is the outcome of installing the smart meters and what is the fate of meter readers in those areas?
Without assessing all this, the Power Department is going for a blanket replacement of old meters. Experts say ideally a small division could have been chosen for a pilot project since it is a completely new technology. It may be recalled that a few years ago MeECL had installed around 3000 pre-paid meters in government quarters. The results of that pilot project were encouraging and people were supportive; there was no resistance.
Considering the Meghalaya terrain and topography, where cellular outage is common even in Shillong, MeECL adopted the SIM card based smart meter, where consumers have to bear monthly internet charges along with one time cost of the SIM card. If MeECL decides to bear the charges then it will burn a big hole in the consumer’s pocket.
Due to change in technical specifications, former Chief Secretary, MS Rao wanted a fresh vetting of the technology by the CEA. The then Director Distribution, MK Chettri and the then Chief Engineer, SB Umdor buried the file and never brought it to the attention of higher authorities. Both have now retired. Umdor had even famously issued a false completion certificate to Satnam Global so as to make them qualify for similar tenders in other states. The Associations wanted him sacked but nothing happened.
Now MeECL engineers wonder if the current Chairman-cum-Managing Director, DP Wahlang will refer the matter to CEA and get its approval before going ahead with smart meters.
Then there is this question of the much talked about “independent” inquiry commission to go into the illegalities of MeECL since 2010. In this case handpicked members were chosen to give a clean chit to a contractor and minister. The outcome of this enquiry is expected to be a damp squib.
MeECL engineers and the association question whether the public of Meghalaya will remain silent on the smart meter project being given to a dubious firm like Satnam Global or whether they will opt for a reputed PSU like Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL).
