The Kerala government’s decision to reject the central plan and set up its Smart Meter is a setback for ordinary people. Keralites will have additional liability after the state government has foiled the scheme provided by the Central Government.
When Kerala rejects the central plan and installs its smart meter, the additional responsibility will be on the shoulders of the public. Hereafter, Keralites will have to pay extra electricity bills.
The central government has promised to provide Rs 8,205 crore to assist the state. However, the state informed the centre that this was unnecessary and that they would install Smart meters independently.
The state would have received a 15 per cent subsidy if the central scheme were implemented. Due to the non-implementation of the central scheme, the people of Kerala stand to lose a subsidy of Rs 1,226 crore. This means that ultimately, Keralites will have to pay this amount along with their electricity bills.
In the first phase, smart meters will be installed in government institutions and large industrial establishments. About three lakh connections will have to be provided in this way. In the first phase, these entities must bear the subsidy cost and stand to lose Rs 277 crores.
Domestic customers will get the connection in the second phase. Until then, customers must pay a lump sum for the first phase. The smart meter project will be implemented across Bharat by December 31 next year.
In the central scheme, the contracting company bears the cost of the meter, the coordinating software and maintenance for five years. Only the price of the meter after deducting the central subsidy is to be paid by the consumers in instalments.
The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) plans to implement the scheme by taking loans. This amount plus interest will be brought before the Regulatory Commission in the Board’s cost estimate. That will increase the tariff. Ordinary people and large industries will have to bear the burden of installing smart meters.
Even when implementing the KSEB model of Capex (Capital Expenditure), the meter must be procured from private institutions. Smart meters are manufactured by 35 private companies, including Larsen & Toubro (L&T). The price of the L&T smart meter is Rs 2,922 per meter, while Polaris charges an exorbitant Rs 9,300 per meter.
KSEB plans to purchase the meter from one company and the software from another company. The pitfalls caused by this discrepancy are not trivial. In the central scheme, both these are managed by one company.
This subsidy worth crores of rupees will allegedly go to a few shady leaders, bureaucrats and corporate companies.
Dynamic Transformer Rating (DTR) meters
Interestingly, KSEB installed sophisticated, intelligent meters in 2017. They were integrated into the distribution grid to monitor the instantaneous load sensing of transformers and high-tension feeders. It was implemented under the Integrated Power Development Scheme of the Central Govt.
Thousands of Dynamic Transformer Rating (DTR) meters were fixed to transformers under the Accelerated Power Development and Reform Programme (AP DRP) scheme. This technology notified load details in KSEB Section Offices.
Of the 20,015 meters installed under the scheme, only 317 are operational. The Scheme Portal (https://ws.kseb.in/mdas-dash/) revealed this gross incompetence.
These DTR meters were operational only for a few months. Now, 99% of installed meters do not work, and authorities did not bother.
This technology would have helped KSEB engineers locate overloaded transformers and resolve the issue efficiently. They now undertake the overwhelming task of manually checking each transformer to note the load readings. Also, they might not visit when the transformer load is at its peak. In the case of automatic reading, the possibility of error is significantly less.
The project stopped working due to lack of proper maintenance. What authorities did to review/rectify such failures in the instantaneous load system remains unverified.
Citizens are worried that the new smart meter will suffer the same fate.
KSEB
KSEB is a wholly owned corporate company registered under the Indian Companies Act, 1956, in January 2011 by the Government of Kerala. The Company is managed at the corporate level by the Board of Directors, headed by the Chairman and Managing Director. They all report to the Minister for Electricity.
KSEC enjoys a monopoly over generating, transmitting, and distributing electricity across Kerala. The board employs cronies and comrades irrespective of the political outfits in power.
Last June, a Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) report stated that KSEB’s extravagance in the name of salary revision is causing periodic rises in energy tariffs in the state. It was alleged that the electricity department was negligent in preventing this and that the government should intervene.
The CAG assessment came as KSEB raised rates every six months. Although the board made profits, they cited a lack of funds to cover accrued losses. According to state policy, salaries cannot be revised when institutions lose money. KSEB has an accumulated loss of around Rs 6,500 crore.
However, in 2016 and 2021, the government increased the compensation significantly without approval. Salary expenses rose from 36.01% to 46.5%. Even though KSEB is losing money, employees are paid more than those in the government. KSEB incurred an additional liability of 543 crores through this salary hike.
The remuneration for a light motor driver in the government service is Rs 63,700, but it is Rs 76,400 at KSEB. The situation is similar in other KSEB jobs and departments. The CAG called this extravagance.
When higher-ups reported to the government that this was illegal, no action was taken, and they were transferred. These top officials, too, benefitted from the squandering of public money.
KSEB is also the entity that opposes privatisation at any cost for obvious reasons. The ordinary citizen has to suffer to support their generosity, inefficiency, abuse and mishandling.
