Government departments will have to get used to paying promptly for power supply with the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) pushing ahead with its plans to equip consumers with smart meters featuring the prepayment mode.
As things stand, government-run institutions rank among the top defaulters on the KSEB’s power bill arrear list. ‘Prepaid’ meters, which require consumers to make advance payments for supply, are being introduced under the Centrally aided, national-level Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS).
Government consumers in the State will be equipped with smart prepayment meters in Phase I, under the present schedule. This category will require 1,65,095 meters in all, show KSEB data. The Central government, in its latest notification on smart meter roll-out, has directed States to complete the first stage by December 2023.
