Soon, power consumers will be able to recharge their electricity meter just like a mobile phone. More than 57 lakh smart prepaid meters will be installed in the Nagpur region of Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) soon. The MSEDCL has started a tender process for the same. The smart meters will automatically cut off the power supply after the recharge amount is over, MSEDCL officials said.

The official said that the smart meters will be installed under the Central Government’s Revised Distribution Area Scheme (RDSS) in Nagpur, Pune, Aurangabad, and Konkan region of MSEDCL. The Nagpur region covers 11 districts of Vidarbha. A total of Rs 15,000 crore have been allocated by the Central Government for the same. For this, MSEDCL has floated tenders for the appointment of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) service providers. In the first phase of the scheme in the current year, smart and prepaid meters will be installed for customers with more than 15 per cent technical and commercial losses. In the second phase, smart meters will be installed in the areas where power losses are less than 15 per cent.

The smart meters are being installed under the ‘Smart Meter National Programme’ across the country. The official stated that such meters are already in use in foreign countries. The meter will be connected to the mobile application that would allow the user to check his power consumption online, he said. It will also reduce cases of pending power bills as the power will be automatically shut down after the recharge amount is over. The officials are also expecting growth in revenue collection and drop in power theft cases.