Nagpur: The plan to replace the existing meters of 2.41 crore electricity consumers in the state with prepaid smart meters has come to a halt. The work, which was slated to start by December 31, has been stalled due to the financial issues faced by the companies.
For the installation of meters, tenders worth a total of Rs 14,547 crore were floated. Four companies were given orders to start work by December 31 out of which three are set to miss the deadline. Now, the work is expected to start in the new year by March 31. Concerned officials have maintained silence on the matter.
Companies responsible for meter repair for 93 months
Despite opposition, Mahavitaran awarded the contract for the installation of 1.16 crore meters in Bhandup, Kalyan, Konkan, Baramati, and Pune to Adani Power. The company has already started replacing meters in this part of Mumbai that distributes electricity. Besides, the contract for installing 27.77 lakh new meters in Latur, Nanded, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar has been given to NCC. The same company will install 28.86 lakh meters in Nashik and Jalgaon. On the other hand, the company Genus has been given the work of replacing 21.76 lakh meters in the Amravati division and Monte Carlo company has been assigned the task of replacing 30.30 lakh meters in the Nagpur division.
Except for Adani, all these companies have failed to meet the December 31 deadline. They have been given 27 months to install the meters and 93 months to repair them.
So far, these companies have failed to develop the necessary infrastructure for meter replacement, such as data centers and GPS equipment. The companies are facing problems due to the high demand for smart meters all over the country. Besides, it is being said that they are facing a financial crisis. There are five days left for December 31 and Monte Carlo company has not been able to start the office so far.
52 lakh meters to be replaced in Vidarbha
A total of 52 lakh 6 thousand 982 smart meters will be replaced in Vidarbha region. This includes meters to be installed in transformers and feeders. The highest number of 9 lakh 45 thousand 623 meters will be installed in Nagpur city. In Nagpur rural, 3 lakh 44 thousand 225, Akola 3,83,525, Buldhana 4,67,283, Washim 1,92,151, Amravati 6,32,767, Yavatmal 5,00910, Chandrapur 4,14,667, Gadchiroli 3,25,675, Gondia 2,98,347, Bhandara 2,91,883 and Wardha 3,98,809 smart meters will be installed.