RK Singh, Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy announced the completion of the project to replace 50,000 conventional electricity meters with smart meters in the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) area here today. Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a Super Energy Service Company (ESCO) under Ministry of Power has implemented this project. With this, NDMC has become the first distribution company (DISCOM) in India to implement 100 per cent smart metering solution. The adoption of smart meters will enhance consumer convenience and rationalise electricity consumption.
Speaking on the occasion, Singh said, “India is making rapid strides in providing universal access to affordable power. The Government of India is accelerating the adoption of smart meters to ensure efficient management of electricity by checking data-entry errors, billing inefficiencies, and cutting the costs of manual meter reading through web-based monitoring system. Smart Meters will revolutionise the power sector through their vast cascade of benefits including reduced AT&C losses, better health of DISCOMs, incentivisation of energy conservation and ease of bill payments. Further, this move will generate skilled employment for the youth. I congratulate EESL on implementing the programme successfully.”
Hardeep Singh Puri, Union Minister of State (I/C) for Housing and Urban Affairs, Anil Baijal, Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Ajay Kumar Bhalla, Secretary, Ministry of Power, Govt. of India, and Naresh Kumar, Chairman, NDMC were also present at the inauguration.
EESL and NDMC also signed an MoU to install public e-charging stations. The initiative is undertaken to collaborate on promoting Electric Vehicles (including two wheelers) in the NDMC area.
The event also included the launch of smart meter feature on NDMC 311 mobile applicationenabling the consumers to access various services at the tap of a finger. The smart meter tab has been added to NDMC app’s home screen. Through this convenient and easy-to-use app, consumers can now get complete clarity on their energy habits and consumption through detailed and personalised insights.
Within a short duration, 50,000 smart meters have been installed and integrated with the NDMC IT legacy system. The adoption of Smart Meters will lead to total annual savings of Rs. 12.47 crores to NDMC which include revenue due to improvement in billing efficiency. The AT&C losses are estimated to be 12.63 percent (Source: DERC Tariff Order FY2018-19).
(With inputs from PIB)
