73 lakh smart prepaid meters installed nationwide till Nov: Minister

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu):  As many as 73 lakh smart prepaid meters have been installed in various states till the end of November this year under the Centre's Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), the Parliament was informed. While 19.79 crore smart meters have been sanctioned, 72.97 lakh devices have been installed in various states as on November 29 as several state governments are lagging behind in meeting the financial targets fixed for Discoms under the scheme, Minister of State for Power Shripad Naik informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday.

As per the data shared by the minister, smart meter installations were 'nil' in states like Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Rajasthan and Punjab against the sanctioned number of devices in these states at 3 crore, 5.47 lakh, 1.42 crore and 87.84 lakh, respectively. According to the figures, 83,573 smart meters have been sanctioned for the Andaman & Nicobar Islands and 4.03 lakh for Puducherry. The Union Government launched the RDSS with an outlay of Rs 3,03,758 crore and estimated Government Budgetary Support (GBS) from the Central Government of Rs 97,631 crore for five years i.e. from (FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26).

The scheme aims to reduce the Aggregate Technical & Commercial (AT&C) losses to pan-India levels of 12-15 per cent and the Average Cost of Supply (ACS)-Average Revenue Realised (ARR) gap to zero by 2024-25.

The scheme has two major components: Part 'A' - Financial support for Prepaid Smart Metering & System Metering and upgradation of the Distribution Infrastructure and Part 'B' - Training & Capacity Building and other Enabling & Supporting Activities. Financial assistance to DISCOMs is provided for the upgradation of the Distribution Infrastructure and Prepaid Smart Consumer Metering & System Metering based on meeting pre-qualifying criteria and achieving the basic minimum benchmark in reforms.

Schemes of Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS), Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) along with Prime Minister's Development Package (PMDP)-2015 for Jammu & Kashmir are being subsumed in this scheme to be implemented as per their extant guidelines and under their existing terms & conditions.