In 2019, India began an ambitious smart meter rollout. Within just three years, all electric customers on the subcontinent were supposed to be on smart meters. The big switch would deliver many benefits, its proponents promised. Here’s how the undertaking was described in a fluffy article from 2019:
“This initiative by the ministry of power (MoP) is expected to reduce the aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses, improve the financial health of distribution companies, incentivize energy conservation, and make bill payments hassle free and environmentally friendly by doing away with paper copies.Â
This move is also likely to help low income consumers as they would not need to pay the entire month’s bill at a time.Â
Many state governments have begun installing smart meters under the NDA government’s Smart Cities Mission. This program aims at urban renewal with the mission to develop 100 cities across the country that are energy efficient, citizen friendly, and sustainable.”
Four years later, and rollout seems far from finished. What’s more, in some parts of the country, smart meters have stoked controversy. Check out this report out of the Punjab yesterday:
“The leaders in their respective addresses warned the government against replacing the electric meters with chip-meters (prepaid). They demanded the transferring of the land they tilled over the decades in their names. Other demands of the farmers too were raised in the dharnas.”
A quick google search unveils a lot of similar protests in different parts of the country over the past few years. The articles, unfortunately, are short and don’t provide much context. Still, I think it’s important to follow the grid digitization of what will soon be the world’s biggest country. Any insights from community members with more knowledge than me on India’s power landscape would be appreciated.