GUWAHATI, May 9 - Bidyut Grahak Manch, a forum of the electricity consumers, has appealed to the Assam Electricity Regulatory Commission (AERC) to ensure that the prepaid energy meters are not made obligatory, foisting financial burden on the consumers.
In its letter to the chairman of the AERC, the Manch stated that the move to make such meters mandatory for the electricity consumers of the State has been made apparently to ensure a budgetary control on electricity consumption by individual consumers, which is unnecessary in the context of electricity consumers� interest.
A huge quantity of such meters is proposed to be purchased by the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) as part of its meter replacement drive.
�In the past also, a huge quantity of digital energy meters was purchased by the APDCL under the ADB finance and the cost was passed on to the consumers for reducing the transmission and distribution losses and to ensure accuracy of meter reading. However, a huge quantity of such meters are still lying unused in the company�s store,� Subodh Sharma, secretary of the Bidyut Grahak Manch, told The Assam Tribune.
Supporting its demand with the argument that the load security deposit made by the consumers is in itself an advance payment made to the APDCL on account of energy purchase made by the consumers for three months, Manch stated that there was little justification in foisting prepaid meters on the consumers, over and above the prevalent condition of keeping a permanent load security deposit with the APDCL.
�The meter recharge would entail a service cost component, to be borne by the consumers,� Sharma added.
The Manch suggested that if at all the APDCL wanted to introduce prepaid meters, it could have been introduced as optional service for the willing consumers, but only after a proper market study and procurement of the same as per necessity.
The AERC was also requested to make public the outcome of the Accelerated Power Distribution and Reform Programme (APDRP) and Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reforms Programme (RAPDRP), taken up for energy auditing to quantify the actual position of the technical losses suffered by the PSUs.
�Though the schemes had the potential to hasten the revenue collection process through higher bill collection efficiency, the facts like quantity of meters bought and installed under the schemes and the number of inventory lying unused in stores must be made public,� he added.