Odisha Assembly Panel Recommends Smart Energy Meters & Prepaid Cards To Check Power Theft

Bhubaneswar: In order to check power theft and ensure convenience of the consumers, the Assembly Standing Committee of Energy department has decided to recommend to the state government to instal smart energy meters and issue smart energy cards.

Speaking to the media after attending a meeting of the standing committee on Tuesday, Assembly Speaker SN Patro said it was decided at the meeting to recommend to the government to instal smart pre-paid meters and issue smart energy cards to the consumers.

The power consumers can recharge their meters like mobile phone as per their requirement by making the payment through the smart cards. It is expected to check power theft in the state, Patro said.

He further said the panel also took the decision to recommend to do away with agencies for collection of electricity bills. Instead, women Self-Help Groups (SHGs) can be assigned the collection responsibility, he added.

Senior officials of the Tata Power and Energy department attended the meeting.