30 lakh smart power meters to be installed in Hry by 2024: Power Minister Ranjit Singh

Haryana's Power Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala on Saturday said 30 lakh smart meters would be installed in homes and other installations of electricity consumers in the state by the year 2024.

These smart power meters can be monitored even by consumers’ mobile phones, said Chautala, adding these meters are of both pre-paid and post-paid varieties and can be recharged like mobile phones as and when needed.

In the first phase, the work of installing 10 lakh smart meters is going on, said Chautala, adding 1.5 lakh of them have already been installed in Gurgaon.

Similarly, a target has been set to install 20 lakh smart meters in the second phase, he added.

“Around 10 lakh smart metres will be installed in the state in the first phase, for which the Central Government will give an assistance of Rs 780 crore to Haryana. The state will have to spend the balance Rs 820 crore,” he said.

Chautala had raised the issue of installing smart meters in the state during a video conference with Union Minister of Power R K Singh on Friday. Chief ministers of three states and power ministers of remaining states too were present in the meeting.

The Union minister of power had lauded Haryana for reducing the transmission loss from 30.2 percent to 17.4 percent, according to a state government release here, About the smart meters, Chautala said these are hi-tech gadgets, equipped with the latest technology.

He said the control of each metre will remain with the power corporations and added that these metres cannot be tampered with.