99.51 L Smart Meters Installed Under RDSS: Power Minister

smart-meter

The Minister of State (MoS) For Power Shripad Naik claimed that 99.51 lakh smart meters have been installed in the country under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS). The scheme aims to augment the capacity of the power distribution companies in the country and reduce their losses.

The minister, while sharing a written reply before the Parliament, said, “Out of the total target of 20.33 crore smart meters sanctioned under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), approximately 99.51 lakh (4.89%) smart meters have been installed in the country.” The government has also issued advisories to install check meters for up to 5% of the smart meters installed, and mandatorily in case of complaints related to smart meters.

He also elaborated, “The Ministry of Power is regularly monitoring the progress of smart meter installations by various distribution utilities and is taking action to resolve implementation issues between the Advanced Metering Infrastructure Service Provider (AMISP) and the distribution utilities.”

When asked about the reasons for the slow pace of installation and whether the timelines for achieving full implementation have been revised, Shripad Naik said, “The installation of smart meters has been affected due to the following reasons:

• As smart meters are a new concept, there were delays in issuing tenders and establishing a direct debit facility.
• Collection and validation of data for consumer indexing.
• Delays in testing and approvals, such as field installation and integration tests, factory acceptance tests, and others.

The installation of smart meters is expected to be completed by the end of the scheme period, i.e., March 31, 2026.”

Smart Metering Installed

When questioned about the sharing of data from states which are lagging behind, he said shared the data revealing that out of the total 20,33,88,298 smart meters sanctioned under the RDSS scheme, 11,90,16,969 smart meters were awarded, and 99,51,387 smart meters were installed.

According to the shared data, North East states like Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Tripura also didn’t see any installations. Other states like Kerala, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Goa, and the Union territory Andaman and Nicobar also failed to gain traction under the scheme till March 2025.

smart-metering

Measures Taken for Smart Meters

The minister also outlined the following measures were undertaken to expedite the installation of sanctioned smart meters:

• Regular follow-ups with states and distribution utilities through coordination meetings, conferences, etc., on the progress of tendering, awarding, and physical progress of smart meter installations. This is being carried out by the Ministry of Power.
• Issuance of smart meter advisories and Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) prioritizing installation in government establishments, government colonies, and industrial and commercial consumer categories, as well as other high-load consumers. Based on successful implementation in these categories, smart meter installation may be rolled out for other consumers.
• The SoP also prescribes regular consumer engagement initiatives to inform consumers about smart meters and their benefits, thereby building consumer confidence.