10 lakh smart meters to be installed in 5 districts

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 25 

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has approved installation of 10 lakh smart meters in  Panipat, Karnal, Panchkula, Faridabad and Gurugram districts. A memorandum of understanding between Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) and Haryana power distribution utilities in this regard will be signed soon.

An official spokesman said that the Chief Minister took the decision to improve the financial condition of power distribution companies, encourage energy conservation and overcome the problems with regard to payment of electricity bills. In the first phase, EESL would replace old meters with smart meters in the five districts.

Under the Uday Scheme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, 10,000 old meters were replaced with smart meters  in Panipat district under a pilot project. Now, the scheme would be implemented in other districts as well. The smart meters are GPS equipped. Installation of the smart meters along with its associated GPS system would enable electricity distribution companies to collect real time data on usage.

He said that under the ‘Mhara Gaon Jagmag Gaon’ scheme initiated by the present government in 2015, 400 feeders in 2,310 villages in various districts, including in Panchkula, Ambala, Faridabad, Gurugram and Sirsa, are getting round the clock power supply. From July 1, rural domestic consumers in Fatehabad district would also get 24-hour power supply. Similarly, line losses have been reduced from 30 per cent to 20 per cent, which would further be reducd to 15 per cent by March 2019.

On the job 

• A private firm to replace old meters with smart meters in Panipat, Karnal, Panchkula, Faridabad and Gurugram districts
• Around 10,000 old meters have been replaced meters in Panipat district under a pilot project
• From July 1, rural domestic consumers in Fatehabad district would also get 24-hour power supply