Soon, Shimla to have

smart power meters

1K already installed | Control room
to monitor all devices

Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 11

Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board

Limited (HPSEBL) would install 1.26 lakh
smart meters in Shimla and 28,000 in
Dharamsala under the Shimla Smart City
project. “We have already replaced around
1,000 meters in Shimla and the work in
Dharamsala is also expected to start
soon,” said HPSEBL joint director Anurag
Parashar.

Accurate bills

The smart meters are very sensitive

and will address the complaints of
overbilling for once and all. A
consumer will know the exact details of
his power consumption, and he will get
accurate bills. Anurag Parashar,
HPSEBL Joint Director

“Also, the construction of a smart control

room from where all these meters and its
data will be monitored is under
construction. It will become functional
once around 20,000 smart meters are
installed in the city. A person sitting in the
control room would be able to see the
statistical data of each and every smart
meter,” Parashar said.

Once the smart meters are installed, these

would help check transmission and
distribution losses and pilferage too. “Also,
there would be no need for anyone to visit
any premises to gather data to generate
bills. It will be available on the click of a
button, sitting in the control room,” he
maintained.

The meters would be of equal benefit to

the consumers too. “The smart meters are
very sensitive and will address the
complaints of overbilling for once and all.
A consumer will know the exact details of
his consumption, and he will get accurate
bills,” the HPSEBL official stated.

Another advantage was that the meters

would have a pre-paid facility, much like
the one offered by telecom service
providers. “One could pay up in advance
and need not bother until the amount is
exhausted. The consumer will start getting
messages when the amount is about to be
exhausted, and he can recharge his
account,” he said.

Parashar said the data provided by the

meters would help in future planning and
power forecasting. “We can track every
unit of power distributed through these
meters, know the exact load and
consumption. The data would help in
better planning, even for the long term,”
he added. Shimla Smart City has approved
Rs 10 crore for the project.

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