Team Herald
PANJIM: Power Minster Pandurang Madkaikar on Tuesday informed that the tender for procuring smart electricity meters under the smart city initiative will be floated in the next 15 days.
Speaking to Herald, Madkaikar said “We are in process of finalising the tendering documents along with its specifications and in the next 15 days, the government will be in a position to float the tender for procuring smart electricity meters under the smart city initiative for the city of Panjim on a pilot basis”
“There were multiple companies which came up with the latest technology in digital meters and we wanted the best and the latest technology and that is the reason the floating of tender was delayed” he said
He further said that approximately 70,000 smart electricity meters will be installed in Panjim and the entire Division I for an estimated cost of Rs 60-70 crore.
“These meters will be read by a computer automatically every hour and will also tell if the meter has gone wrong. The bill will be automatically generated by the computer and consumer will be notified through SMS and email” he added.
Stating that the smart electricity meters will be accurate in reading and errors will be zero, the minister said these smart meters will reduce inaccuracies in billing and customers will get proper monthly bills. Meter readers in Division I will be put to different work and none will lose their jobs.
Meanwhile, the power department has said that once these meters are fitted, it will allow customers to shut their meters by remote to avoid any problems and if successful, the same model shall be replicated in other towns.
