Back in 2019, EESL installed around 1000 smart prepaid meters in Kanti.
Thereafter, the installation process was paused for some reason.
The installation process is now going to be resumed again from December this year.
EESL and EDF have been given the tender to install these smart prepaid meters whereas Larsen & Toubro has been given the tender to provide it.
Both of these companies will install these smart prepaid meters in around 8 lakh houses in Muzaffarpur.
The installation process is planned to be completed in four phases.
In the first phase, the installation process starts from Bhagwanpur Panchayat, Musahri which will then proceed to other blocks of the district.
The four-phase installation process is expected to be completed by June 2022.
The electricity department is installing the smart prepaid meters first in small districts and blocks of the state.
In addition to Muzaffarpur, the smart prepaid meters are being installed in other districts as well. For example, Darbhanga, Gaya, and Bhagalpur.
How Smart Prepaid Meters Will work?
As its name suggests, it is a prepaid service. That means, to use it you have to pay for it at first.
Just like you recharge your mobile phone, in which, once you consumed the prepaid balance, you can’t use its service.
The smart prepaid meter works on the same model.
To get electricity in your house, you have to recharge at first.
It differs from the mobile prepaid recharge service in only one aspect. That is, In smart prepaid meters, there isn’t any time limitation to exhaust your prepaid recharge balance.
However, once the prepaid balance exhausts, the electricity will cut after 3 days.
Similar to mobile prepaid recharge, consumers will be notified about the same on their mobile phone.
If anyone try to interpret the meter, it will stop working and the electricity department will be notified about the same. This way smart prepaid meter will stop the electricity theft till some extent.
Also, currently, due to the postpaid model, users freely consume the electricity, and they find it difficult to track their monthly electricity expenses. However, it is expected the prepaid model will cease the same.
The electricity department will not charge any fee to install smart prepaid meters as the state government has decided to bear the cost.