Indore: Within the next fortnight Indore will become the first city in the country to have 1 lakh smart electric meters in residential and commercial buildings. So far, 97,000 smart electric meters have been installed in the city, and the remaining 3000 will be installed within the next 10 days, officials said.
This achievement is being seen as another feather in the cap of the city, which has already won the Cleanest City award thrice in a row.
The work of replacing old meters with smart meters equipped with radio frequency technology was started from Parmanu Nagar last year.
Initially, Madhya Pradesh Power Distribution Company had planned to install 70,000 smart meters that help in checking power pilferage.
The company first installed these smart meters in those parts of the city where electricity theft was rampant. The experiment turned out to be a major success as the smart meters helped in containing power pilferage, cutting the discom’s losses and increasing its revenue. Buoyed by the success, the company gradually undertook the process of bringing the entire city under the ambit of new meters.
According to West Disocm managing director Vikas Narwal they have installed as many 97000 smart meters in the city so far. “The total number of smart meters installed in the city will reach 1 lakh in the next seven to eight days,” he said.
At present, smart meter installation is going on at Shiv Vilas Palace adjoining Rajwada which comes under GPH zone. The work of installing smart meters is also going on in houses under Kali Mandir Feeder of Khajrana region and Kushwaha Nagar Feeder of Sangam Nagar Zone.
“The smart meter which will take count to one lakh will be installed in one of these feeders. With this, Indore will become first in the country to have most number of smart meters,” Narwal said.
Private power distribution companies of Delhi-Mumbai have also installed smart meters but their number is only in a few thousands.
Officials from 15 states see Indore model: Officials from 15 states visited the city to see the smart meter technology and saw how the new meters are making a difference in power distribution system. A team of four officials from Manipur was in the city on Friday to see the new technology.
Narwal along with discom superintendent engineer (city) Ashok Sharma explained the smart meter function to the visiting officers. The Manipur officials were told that the meter not only help in checking power theft but also help the company to cut connection of defiant consumer from feeder or transformer level.
Officials of agencies such as Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) and Power Finance Corporation (PFC) of the Central also visited the city viewing it as a model project.
