Claiming that the smart meters to be installed by the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (MSEDCL) are inappropriate, the Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi (VBA) has opposed the decision to install them in the state. A VBA delegation submitted a memorandum to the MSEDCL superintending engineer at the Jubilee Park office recently.
The government has taken a decision to install 25 crore smart meters in the state next year. Earlier, such smart meters have been installed in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. The residents there have opposed these meters. In the smart meter system, consumers have to pay for electricity consumption in advance, and then they can use the electricity as per the balance available in their accounts. It is a prepaid system. Residents observed that they had to pay more than they used to under the old meter system. They strongly opposed the smart meter system and even ransacked electricity offices over the demand to cancel the smart meter system.
Considering the situation in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, the MSEDCL should not implement the smart meter scheme in Maharashtra. The government is planning to install the smart meter scheme in the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district. The process to install the server after the preliminary inspection is ongoing and the process to install meters will begin in the district, VBA activists claimed.
However, residents will have to bear double the present bills after the installation of the meters. Hence, this scheme should not be implemented, or VBA will launch a massive agitation in the district, the activists mentioned in the memorandum.
