No More Tampering! Smart & Prepaid Electric Meters In Odisha Soon

Bhubaneswar: In a major initiative of the State government to prevent electricity theft by consumers, Odisha will soon use 'Smart' and 'Prepaid' electric meters as part of a pilot project, informed State Energy Minister Dibya Shankar Mishra today.

In the first phase, a total of 4500 Prepaid meters would be installed in Sambalpur while Smart meters will be introduced in Rourkela, Mishra said.

The energy minister stated, "The main motive of introducing Smart meters is it's 'tamper proof'.  No one can tamper with the meter, by slowing down the meter using magnets or other methods. As part of the pilot project, Smart meters will be set up in Rourkela. It can detect anyone tampering with the meters. This apart, if a consumer fails to pay the bill, we can shut off electricity supply to that household directly.

On the other hand, digital cards will be fixed with Prepaid smart meters, wherein consumers can recharge their cards as and when required, depending upon the usage. In the first phase, around 4500 such meters would be installed in Sambalpur.

"We hope this will bring system improvement apart from helping in revenue generation. If the project gets successful and people accept such meters, we will implement it in other places as well," added Mishra.

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