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Sheila calls for reliable metering

NEW DELHI: Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Monday called for “reliable metering” that will help erase power consumers’ suspicions over the prevalent metering system in the Capital. Her comment came in the wake of a huge public uproar over inflated power bills generated by the discom BSES recently.

Inaugurating a three-day conference on “Metering, Billing/CRM India Conference and Exhibition” here, Ms. Dikshit said there was a need to make consumers aware about the necessity of the metering system. She pointed to the reforms that have been ushered in by bringing more people into the billing net and preventing power theft, which results in huge revenue losses and deprives consumers of uninterrupted power supply.

Ms. Dikshit also emphasised the need for consumer reforms. She said in Delhi power distribution companies have succeeded to a large extent in curbing theft and preventing losses. “Consumers are interested in reliable meters as getting electricity is a right like getting water and air in a civilised society,” she added.

Referring to reduction in the aggregate technical and commercial losses, Ms. Dikshit said a lot of effort from the discoms has gone into stemming the losses. The discoms’ efforts to achieve 100 per cent metering has helped bring down AT&C losses from 50 per cent in 2002 to 20 per cent in 2008-09, she added.

Load-shedding, she said, had come down from 2.5 per cent to 0.6 per cent of the total energy supplied. Losses due to un-metered consumers in jhuggi-jhonpri clusters have been minimised by bringing them under the billing net. The Chief Minister said a number of door-to-door drives were organised to make consumers aware of the benefits of a metered connection. She also urged consumers to curb wastage of power.

The three-day conference being hosted by BSES in association with other national and international manufacturers of electricity meters and other grid appliances will offer a platform for utilities and hi-tech suppliers to find solutions to the challenges of the Government’s campaign to provide power for all by 2010. An exhibition displaying the latest metering technologies apart from other related appliances was also inaugurated. “The theme is transforming the power utility with smart meter and grid technologies. It will concentrate on selecting the right metering technology for local needs and making the right decisions to move a utility towards the smart grid, ” said an official.

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