Awarding of smart meters by discoms to double to 222 mn

New Delhi: The awarding of smart meters by State distribution utilities is expected to more than double to 222 million in the near to medium term, according to Icra.

The smart metering installations are likely to surge over the next two years supported by the progress in tendering, the agency said in a report on Wednesday. “Icra anticipates the awarding of smart meters by state distribution utilities (discoms) to increase to 222 million over the near to medium term from 99 million so far,” it said.

The replacement of conventional meters with smart meters is a key initiative of the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) launched by the Centre in July 2021. It was launched with the objective of bringing down AT&C (aggregate technical & commercial) losses and reducing the gap between the cost of supply and tariff to zero for discoms.

Vikram V, Vice President and Co-Group Head - Corporate Ratings, Icra however said the progress in installations remains low, with only 8 million smart meters installed as of December 2023. Given the current pace of installations, the government’s target to replace 250 million conventional meters with smart meters by 2025 is unlikely to be met, he said. Nonetheless, Icra expects the pace of installations to witness a significant jump over the next two years.