The Power department has decided to explore whether the Centrally-assisted Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), under which smart meters with prepayment mode are to be rolled out, can be modified to suit the specific requirements of Kerala.
The Principal Secretary (Power) and the Chairman and Managing Director, Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), have been directed to examine the possibility of making ‘‘structural changes’‘ to RDSS and whether the State should approach the Centre in this regard, Minister for Electricity K. Krishnankutty said on Friday.
The move, apparently, comes in the wake of the CPI(M)-led officers’ and workers’ organisations in the KSEB objecting to the roll-out plans for ‘prepaid’ smart meters. They had petitioned Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Mr. Krishnankutty, saying the methodology suggested for the implementation would open the gates for private players in the power distribution sector, to which the State is strongly opposed.
