Bihar

• 13 Jan 2022

A Law Will be Made for Smart Prepaid Meters

Why in News

• Recently, the Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission has taken the responsibility of making a new law for the smart prepaid meters being installed in Bihar and to protect the interests of the consumers.

Key Points

• On behalf of the power company, the Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission has been told that for making smart meter regulation in Bihar, the commission itself has to issue the draft of the regulation. After the draft is issued, public opinion will be taken on it. The company will also present its side on its behalf.
• The company has also submitted some more proposals before the commission regarding smart prepaid meters. If the consumer does not recharge the meter despite three messages on the mobile, then there will be a disconnection, that is, power failure. The company has requested the commission to fix a time, after how many days, the connection of the consumers will be temporarily disconnected. After this, if the consumer takes the connection again, then what should be charged from them.
• It is noteworthy that by the year 2025, the state government has started its scheme to install free smart prepaid meters for all electricity consumers. 11 thousand 100 crores will be spent on this item. This is the biggest plan of the power company so far.
• Bihar is the only state in the country which has started installing prepaid meters. So far more than three lakh meters have been installed and other states of the country are following Bihar.