Smart Power Meters Not Overcharging, ‘Check Meters’ To Be Installed For Comparison: Gujarat Govt

Amid protests by citizens against prepaid smart electricity meters in some cities of Gujarat, the state government on Thursday said there was no substance in the claims that the devices are overcharging consumers.

State-owned power distribution companies (discoms) MGVCL, DGVCL, UGVCL and PGVCL have already installed over 47,000 smart meters across Gujarat, the government said in a release.

People have doubts about these meters due to the lack of knowledge about their functioning, the release said.

To clear the air regarding the new devices, the discoms will install “check meters” along with smart meters at residential units to enable consumers to compare their power consumption recorded by both meters, it said.

Since the calculation of daily power consumption is done as per various slabs and the calculation for tariff changes as per those slabs, a misunderstanding cropped up about the smart meters, the government said.

“Verification of all such claims by the power distribution firms has been done and it was found that in all cases, the tariff was calculated based on the actual power consumption. Hence there is no substance in the claims of overcharging from the customer. People raised doubts because of lack of information about calculation of tariff,” said the release.

It added that smart meter users can see daily consumption through a mobile application. Just like the present system, a monthly bill will be shared with the customer through the app and a grace period will be given as per the existing norms to pay the bill, it said.

Even if the smart meter holder's balance goes negative during the recharge month, his supply will not be disconnected, said the release.

Procedures followed in the normal meter connections will also be applicable if the smart meter holder fails to clear the bill in the stipulated time, it added.