The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) has started the installation of “smart prepaid electricity meters” on a war-footing and has so far installed 75,000 meters in Nagpur district. MSEDCL aims to install approximately 12 lakh smart meters in households by October 2026. It is worth mentioning that MSEDCL installed Gateways, a communication device on electric poles, at the end of 2024 and is now installing the meters at a rapid pace. An MSEDCL official stated that 75,000 meters have been installed, which accounts for 6.25 per cent of the set target. A staggering 6,84,00,000 electricity consumers in Maharashtra, including 57,95,865 in the Vidarbha region alone, are set to benefit from the introduction of these smart meters. Among them, approximately 9,45,623 consumers in Nagpur city will have these meters installed.

 

It is noteworthy that the Central Government has allocated a substantial sum of Rs 15,000 crore for this initiative, and MSEDCL has initiated the tender process for the appointment of Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) service providers. In the initial phase, scheduled for the current year, smart prepaid meters will be installed for customers experiencing over 15 per cent technical and commercial losses. In the second phase, smart meters will be deployed in areas where power losses are below 15 per cent.

 

The price of a smart meter stands at Rs11,000 per unit. This deployment falls under the ‘Smart Meter National Programme’, which spans the entire country. Officials have emphasised that such meters are already in operation in other countries. Moreover, these meters will be linked to a mobile application, enabling users to monitor their power consumption online. This measure is expected to reduce instances of pending power bills, as the power supply will be automatically cut off once the recharge amount is exhausted. Officials anticipate an increase in revenue collection and a decline in power theft cases with the introduction of these smart meters.

 

The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has approved the Time of Day (ToD) billing system for residential consumers, which will be available to those with smart meters. The ToD metering system divides the day into periods with higher tariff rates during peak load hours and lower rates during off-peak hours. An MSEDCL official stated that the electricity tariff from 9 am to 5 pm would be lower compared to the rest of the day. This means that, due to higher demand during peak hours, consumers using more electricity will incur higher costs. 

 

In recent days, MSEDCL has intensified its disconnection of power for consumers with pending electricity bills. Sources suggest that this aggressive action is linked to the installation of smart power meters. They noted that MSEDCL has been cutting off power for consumers with small outstanding amounts, which was not the case earlier. By doing so, MSEDCL appears to be accelerating the process of installing smart meters in households.