Nearly two crore electricity consumers in West Bengal will be covered by the next phase of the smart meter programme, informed Union Power Minister Manohar Lal. To be started in July, the phase-I will focus on government offices and campuses. Subsequently, it will be rolled out to cover large consumers and eventually include domestic users, he added.
“Under the programme, the central government will provide a subsidy of ₹900 per smart meter, while consumers will contribute approximately ₹100 per month towards the installation cost,” the ministry statement said.
The consumers in the state will have an option to select between a prepaid and postpaid service. According to Lal, transmission and distribution losses currently stand at around 12 percent, and that smart meters improve billing efficiency, reduce losses, and ensure a reliable, transparent power supply.
As per the statement, a comprehensive source allocation plan will be prepared within the next two months to strengthen the sector. The government, it added, is also working on a revised tariff framework and measures to address pending liabilities.
The union minister also said that subsidy support and outstanding dues of about ₹800 crore will be recovered. Besides, plans are being drawn up to manage accumulated losses estimated at around ₹15,000 crore over the past years.
This development is aligned with national ambition to reduce aggregate technical and commercial (AT&T) losses, improve billing efficiency and strengthen revenue collection. Notably, India plans to install 25 crore smart meters under Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) and roughly 97 percent of the sanctioned smart meters are mandated to operate in prepaid mode
