Smart meters: govt. offices all set to shift to prepaid billing, says KSEB

State government offices in Kerala are all set to shift to pre-billing under smart metering, the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) said on Monday.

Around 1.3 lakh consumers including offices under the State government departments and public sector units will move to pre-paid billing in this phase, according to the KSEB. Central government offices in the State will continue in post-paid billing mode, although they too have been equipped with smart meters. These offices also will gradually shift to prepaid billing. Smart metering is being implemented under the Centre’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS).

That government offices put on smart metering in the first phase of the programme is a requirement under RDSS. In its detailed project report for the Phase I implementation, the KSEB too has noted that “government consumers are one of the major defaulters of KSEB. The annual due from various government consumers comes to around ₹400 crore. So if pre-paid smart meter is installed in these offices we can at least expect a revenue return increase of ₹150 crore annually,” the DPR notes. It goes on to add that if at least ₹ 150 crore of government dues can be realised through prepaid smart metering, it will be huge return for the KSEB.

In the first phase, KSEB is planning to install 3 lakh prepaid meters in all. In addition to government offices, systems meters of the KSEB and high-tension (HT)consumers also are being shifted to smart metering. So far, 1.72 lakh connections have been shifted to smart meters.

The power utility has also created the web portal http://cportal.kseb.in where consumers under smart metering can check their balance. A mobile app ‘KSEB Smart+’ also will be launched soon.