The Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) will instal smart meters in over 4,000 houses in Malleswaram on a pilot basis. The project is likely to begin in about six months.
“The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission has suggested to Bescom to take up the smart meter project in different areas of the City on a pilot basis. Malleswaram is one such area identified and the remaining two localities will be selected soon.
Tenders have been floated to avail the assistance of a consultant to design, manufacture and install the meters,” P Manivannan, Managing Director, Bescom, said here on Saturday. He was speaking at a programme organised by the Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
Manivannan said Bescom plans to instal eight lakh smart meters across the City in a span of two years following the outcome of the pilot project in Malleswaram. He said Bescom has been sustaining a loss of Rs 600 crore every year due to inaccurate measurement of power consumption by the existing meters.
According to statistics, the City has over 76 lakh electrical meters (old model).
A smart meter is an electrical meter that records consumption of electrical energy in intervals of an hour or less and communicates the information regularly to the utility for monitoring and billing purposes.
According to Bescom, smart meters a long way in accurately assessing demand and supply, plugging power pilferage, preventing overdraw, etc. These meters enable both Bescom and the consumers to save money and conserve power as well, said a Bescom official.
Smart meters also enable two-way communication between the meter and the central system. They can gather data for remote reporting through advance metering infrastructure.
Detailing the advantages of smart meters, Manivannan said, they would even act as a remote control once the entire system was in place.
“For example, if you have left your home without switching off the air conditioner or any other electrical device, all you need to do is just send a text message (SMS) to Bescom requesting to cut power supply to your home till your return.
The Bescom staff can do it from the office itself. Also, if you want to switch on a light in your house at a particular hour during the day, that can also be done on request and with some nominal service charge,” he said.
Manivannan said that around 93 smart meters have been successfully tested at houses near Sita Circle and Girinagar in Banashankari and the results are encouraging.
“Smart meters are costlier than the existing metres by about Rs 4,000. But consumers stand to benefit from them in the long run. The cost and the installation charges will be recovered from consumers in monthly installments,” he added.