UT to install prepaid electricity meters

Ramkrishan Upadhyay
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, October 19

In the next  two  years,  city residents will be able to get the  facility of prepaid electricity meters. The  service  will be similar  to recharging  of mobile  phones. Prepaid meters can be recharged as per the  requirement of the users. Recharge coupons  will be   available  from  as low as Rs 100 to  Rs  7,000.

After a delay of over two years, Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (RECL) has  allotted the work  of the smart  grid project   to M/s Analogics Limited on behalf  of the UT Administration.   

Under the  project  worth Rs 28 crore, 30,000 traditional meters  will be   replaced  with smart  meters  in the Industrial Area, Phase I and II, Ram Darbar, Sector 29,  31, 47 and 48, Raipur Kalan, Hallo Majra, Behlana and Daria.

An officer of the  department  said the smart meters would have the pre-paid  facility.

A control room  will be set up at the  UT Press   building  in Sector  18   to manage  the   supply to the  area online on a real-time basis. The smart meters will send tamper alerts immediately to the control room in case somebody tries to fiddle with these. These will also  have remote power shut-off capability.

Through the control  room, it will be possible to keep tabs on the daily individual consumption. If any consumer tries to tamper with the meter or draw electricity more that the sanctioned load, his connection will be snapped immediately. The new system   will not only improve the electricity supply, stop leakage and check theft, but will also help  in reducing transmission losses.

To check overloading, a system will be installed at the transformer, which will not allow consumers to draw more electricity than the sanctioned capacity.

Due to overloading, transformers get burnt at times during the summer. The new system will check this.  MP Singh, Superintending Engineer of the Electricity Department, said after completing the project  on a pilot basis in the Industrial Area, it will be replicated all over the city.

Similar to mobile recharging  

The service will be similar to recharging of mobile phones. Prepaid meters can be recharged as per the requirement of the users. Recharge coupons will be available from as low as Rs 100 to Rs 7,000. After a delay of over two years, Rural Electrification Corporation Limited has allotted the work of the smart grid project to M/s Analogics Limited on behalf of the UT Administration.