‘It will enable people to track power consumption in real time’
Panaji: Despite people’s opposition to the Rs 890-crore smart electricity meter project in the state, officials of the Electricity Department on Tuesday said they will soon launch the smart meter app to enable power consumers to track their electricity consumption in real time.
“The app is under testing and will be launched in 7-10 days,” said superintending engineer and nodal officer of the smart meter project Mayur Hede.
He said the app will be user friendly and “easy for the consumer to understand”. Consumers are also free to approach the department if they have difficulty in using it, he said.
Hede spoke after a High Court hearing on Tuesday of a suo moto petition on the project. The petition took cognisance of people’s opposition to the project and their distress over the government thrusting it on them.
The Electricity Department objecting to the petition said that only three-four individuals participated in the hearing despite the state
having 7.5 lakh consumers. The next hearing is on June 26.
Hede said the app will not crash, and that it will not be easy to hack.
“The app is a professionally handled project,” he said.
From earlier stating that the smart meter project will be introduced with people’s consent, the department has now said smart meters are mandatory for all power consumers. The meters will be prepaid and accessible through an app.
Smart electricity meters are being opposed by power consumers on several grounds, including exposure to radioactive waves, data breach, fears of higher billing and abrupt discontinuation of supply.
The rollout is in phases with some installations in government buildings as well as private buildings. In Panaji city, about 20,000 meters have been installed in some housing complexes, of which few residents have also received electricity bills through the new meters. The target is to install one lakh meters soon. However, residents of several housing complexes have denied permission for the installation of the device.
