Imagine a future where your electricity meter becomes your adviser on all things electricity. It tells you about your electricity use during different times of the day, months and seasons. It notifies you about changes in power tariffs so that you plan your activities during low-tariff periods. It points you to appliances that are using more electricity than they should, and suggests options to replace them with new, efficient ones. It even allows you to trade solar power directly with your peers. All this on a mobile app.
India is witnessing the future unfold now. More than 5.5 million smart meters have been installed in India, and over 100 million sanctioned. The target is to replace 250 million conventional electric meters with prepaid smart meters by 2025-26. India is supporting this initiative through a results-linked grant-cum-financing to help power distribution companies (discoms) become financially sound and efficient to deliver better services to consumers. However, there are also on-ground challenges.
