bengal-govt-to-roll-out-prepaid-electric-meters-soon

Mamata Banerjee’s financially struggling government has decided to replace traditional electric meters with prepaid smart meters for state-run power distribution.

 

According to state officials, the decision aims to help the West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL) deal with the large unpaid bills from various government departments.

 

As of September 30, state government departments owed WBSEDCL Rs 1,511.83 crore. By the end of the 2023-24 financial year, the company's total debt had reached Rs 15,439.11 crore.

 

This move by Nabanna, the state secretariat, comes because WBSEDCL has struggled to collect payments from government offices.

 

“Local bodies like gram panchayats, panchayat samitis, and municipalities are some of the major defaulters,” said a finance department official. “They couldn't pay on time because their revenue dried up. They were unable to impose taxes, like the water tax, due to the state’s policy of removing taxes that put pressure on ordinary citizens."

 

The central government has been urging states to switch to prepaid meters for the last four years. However, the Trinamool Congress-led government resisted due to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's opposition to the concept.

 

“The WBSEDCL had a hard time recovering electricity payments from government offices, and the chief minister raised this issue several times recently. Installing prepaid meters will help resolve this,” the official said.

 

An order from the finance department on October 28 confirmed that state government offices will now be able to recharge their smart meters each month.

The move to replace the meters in government offices is seen as Bengal's first significant step toward implementing the Centre’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS).

 

“The Centre warned that Bengal would lose power sector grants if it did not adopt the scheme. That's why RDSS implementation is crucial for Bengal. The WBSEDCL plans to roll it out in two phases. First, prepaid meters will be installed in government offices and for commercial users. In the second phase, domestic smart meters will be introduced,” added another state official.