After days of public uproar across Assam, the State electricity board recently came out with a number of clarifications. Firstly, it
asserted that the conversion of metering equipment (from postpaid to prepaid) does not increase the energy loads for a consumer. Secondly,
the issue of higher charges against the electricity consumption by a household will be resolved within a few weeks. Thirdly, any complaint
from the consumers will be entertained promptly. The household consumers in various localities recently came to the streets drawing
attention of Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL), a division of the State-run electricity board, about their unusually
high (sometimes up to 50%) electricity bills which was observed after shifting to the
prepaid smart billing meters.
All Assam Engineer’s Association in a recent statement asserted that the process of changing conventional electro-mechanical meters (with a rotating aluminum disc) to electronic (digital/smart) meters with an LCD or LED display must not record more energy consumption (to
increase the monthly bills) at any condition. The forum of graduate engineers also appealed to the APDCL management to simplify the guidelines for household consumers and make people
aware of those rules. Lately the APDCL authority has revealed that the installed smart prepaid smart meters don’t lead to an increase in
electricity bills. The company through its official social media account stated, “In case of smart prepaid meters, no extra charge is
levied and existing tariff rates are applicable. However, in order to allay the concern of the consumers, we have made provision to install
check meters alongside the smart meter to compare consumption of both
meters.”
Insisting that the smart meters provide the consumers an insight on daily consumption which should help them use electricity judiciously
as per their needs. The consumers can now monitor their daily electricity consumption by installing the mobile app ‘myBijulee’ and
if necessary, they can send queries or complaints through the app, its website (www.apdcl.org) or even call at helpline number 1912.
State chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also responded to the public grievances and directed the APDCL to set up a control room for public
complaints. The smart prepayment meter, which has been used by a number of countries across the world, functions under a computer
program with international standards and it helps the management to
have accurate and reliable information for managing the electricity consumption and demands in its territory.
No doubt, the new technology also helps reduce a comprehensive energy loss. In India, one unit of electricity is calibrated with one kilowatt hour
(meaning energy consumed by the appliances totaling 1000 watts for one hour). Our country is the third largest producer of electricity in the
world, mostly dependent on fossil fuels (coal and gas). The government is now looking aggressively for alternate (renewable) energy sources
to feed the billion-plus nation. The country has witnessed a visible increase in per capita electricity consumption in recent years.
Even though the APDCL terms the prepaid method of collecting fees against the energy consumed in a household as very simple, it has not spared
the consumers from paying the monthly fixed charges. It argues that the charge is necessary to keep the electricity network connection
comprising a large number of poles with wires and transformers acr the State and the essential services in place. So even if a consumer
does not use a single unit of electricity for months, he/she has to pay the monthly fixed charge.
Now the question that arises here is, if the APDCL authority enjoys the power to restrict one’s electricity supply after non-payment of bills immediately, why not the consumer also gets the liberty to use the supply as and when needed? Should not it be irrational if the matter of essential household power connection in India is considered? Why doesn’t the authority evolve a formula to reduce the fixed charge (if possible, make it zero) for those families, who prefer installing rooftop solar energy units for their daily consumption of energy? While Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been consistently supporting the solar mission, why should the APDCL emerge as an agency to discourage those families in their initiative to adopt green energy!
