SHILLONG:
The Association of Power Engineers, Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL), has urged the government not to make installing of smart meters mandatory in the state saying it will have unfavourable financial repercussions on the rural folk.
“Installation of smart meters cannot be made mandatory as even the Government of India has not made it mandatory. Please think about the rural folk. When a villager, whose bill is only Rs 120 every month on average, won’t be able to afford a smart meter as there is a cost factor to it and we’re doubtful whether they would be able to pay that extra cost,” said president of the association Arju Dkhar.
Dkhar also asked the government not to implement the installation project in a piecemeal. “Suppose you installed a smart meter but when checked by a meter reader, it turned out to be a regular one. Is that not that a fraudulent act? The customer too needs to be aware of this,” warned Dkhar.
He, however, said that personally, he will go ahead and install a smart meter in his house because it is useful in checking power consumption and bills, among other things. “It is up to the consumers whether they want to install smart meters or not but please ask whether it is mandatory or not; let them notify that first,” he said.
Lauding the government’s decision to segregate the post of chairman and managing director of the MeECL, the president of the association said that having a professional CMD in generation, transmission and distribution is a “welcome step”.
“With a power minister as a chairman of MeECL, he will act as a bridge between his cabinet colleagues, the government, the MeECL and its subsidiaries. This is a positive step,” he said.