Kanpur: In Uttar Pradesh (UP), a campaign to improve electricity distribution and to provide better services to consumers is being run vigorously. An ambitious project has been started in this direction in Kanpur, under which smart meters are being installed at a cost of Rs 582 crore. Its purpose is not only to ban power theft, but also to make electricity bill transparent and accurate for consumers. However, the pace of this project has so far been slower than expected, so that notice has also been issued to the company concerned.

Smart Meter: A required step

The smart prepaid meter, as is evident from the name, is an advanced metering system, which allows consumers to assess the power used by them. These meters not only ensure billing at the right and time, but also provide real time data to the consumer according to its consumption, which makes it possible to control the electricity bill.

Apart from this, power theft can also be controlled through smart meters. The technical features of these meters, such as remote data transmission, ensure that the power distribution company can get the consumer's meter data without any physical inspection. This not only leads to the billing process transparent, but also can also control power theft and irregularities effectively.

Smart meter project in Kanpur

The work of installing smart meters in Kanpur is now being carried forward. Kesco (Kanpur Electricity Supply Company) aims to install smart meters in the homes of all 7 lakh consumers in the city by 2027. However, the progress of this project has so far been relatively slow. So far, smart meters have been installed in the homes of only 8000 consumers, while the Genus company was targeted to install about one thousand meters per day. Currently, smart meters are being installed in the homes of only 80 to 100 consumers, which reflects the slow pace of the company. On this, the government has issued a notice to the company and warned to progress quickly.

Government's order and role of employees

The Uttar Pradesh government has also ordered the installation of smart meters in the houses of officers and employees of the Electricity Department. This will not only take smart meters in the homes of departmental employees on time, but will also present an example and assure the consumers that the department is also applying smart meters on its own employees. The government has given this order to install smart meters in the homes of all officers and employees till 31 March.