Smart Prepaid Electricity Meters - A Consumer's Dilemma
Published on May 19, 2025
By EMN
- Life as a consumer of electricity provided by the Department
of Power, Nagaland has not been an easy one for me. The story begins in Dimapur
sometime in the 60s till June 2021 as a postpaid consumer, and as a prepaid
consumer from July 2021 till date.
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- There are numerous reasons that prompted me to migrate from
postpaid to prepaid system and they can be summed up in one simple word –
challenging. If visits to the DoPN office every other month to rectify
incorrect bills were not unpleasant enough, being viewed as a potential power
thief was the icing.
-
- Bear with me as I attempt to give a brief background about
postpaid woes. I have three (3) meters installed with a sanctioned load of
26.000KW (which BTW may not be relevant today because power consumption per
point has been drastically reduced, thanks to LEDs, etc.) and having noticed
discrepancies in my monthly bills, I began to record meter readings at every
visit of meter readers, and submit them whenever required. The department’s
stand that average billing based on sanctioned load is a point, I find no
reason to argue. However, when they try to justify exorbitant bills (sometimes
in the higher 5 figure domain) is when things turn sour. My average bill for a
family of three members used to come to around INR 3,000/- a month, and in
summer it even goes up to INR 4,500/- per month, which I pay without any fuss.
I believe there are consumers with several floors paying way less, at least
that’s what people tell me. Here is the interesting point. The department
officials contention was that if the meter reading comes to average then there
must be some form of tampering or defect so they removed the meters for testing
on several occasions. On each of these instances the MITC has returned the
meters certifying that they have been checked and found within the limit of
accuracy. Confronted by this reality, some staff even hinted that I have
connived with the MITC to certify in my favour. My straightforward contention
was that I will pay for the exact amount of electricity I consume as recorded
by the meters, nothing less, nothing more. It is the duty of the department to
ensure proper reading and accurate bills/meters. Besides, the power supply is
so irregular that it seldom allows many consumers to cross the threshold of
average billing.
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- Having come to my wits end with this back and forth and
facing undue harassment, I volunteered to migrate to prepaid meters in June
2021. And in order to minimise consumption and eliminate wasteful expenditure,
I got all my bulbs changed to LED (from existing CFL, etc.) and installed only
power saving appliances including star rated ACs, besides practicing usage
economy. After about a year, I found that I was paying an average amount of INR
7,000/- during summer months in spite of undertaking drastic power saving
measures.
-
- If the DoPN supplies stable power 24x7 (with minimum or no
load shedding), this amount, though already on the higher side, would
substantially increase.
-
- Now, consider the additional recurring expenditure of
investing in a standby power supply like Inverters or Generators. And further
consumption of electricity for charging the inverter batteries or fuel for
Generators, besides maintenance/replacement and other hidden costs, and you get
the picture how paying for electricity is starting to burden all consumers,
especially consumers in the lower income bracket.
-
- While electricity isn't explicitly listed as a fundamental
right in the Constitution of India, courts in India have increasingly
recognised it as an inherent right within the framework of Article 21, which
guarantees the right to life. This means access to electricity is seen as
crucial for a dignified life and is now considered a fundamental right.
-
- The Calcutta High Court and other high courts have ruled
that the right to electricity is integral to the right to life, meaning
individuals cannot be arbitrarily deprived of it.
-
- This judicial interpretation allows individuals whose access
to electricity is denied to seek constitutional remedies through writ petitions
in the Supreme Court (Article 32) or High Courts (Article 226).
-
- Electricity is considered a basic necessity for modern
living, enabling essential services like lighting, powering appliances, and
supporting economic activities.
-
- Sec. 29 of the Electricity Act says that the Regional Load
Despatch Centre has the authority to give orders and oversee the power system
in its region to make sure the electricity grid is stable and runs as economically
and efficiently as possible.
-
- While Italy is a pioneer in Smart meter technology and
implementation, the USA and France have stopped transition due to widespread
opposition citing government and corporate partnerships and financial
arrangements with these companies. In India, many states are attempting to
implement this scheme compulsorily, and are being met with resistance from
consumer societies and opposition parties. Smart meters are yet to be installed
in 12 states including some BJP-ruled states like Rajasthan, Goa and Manipur as
of November 2024. Kerala has installed only 805 smart meters as of 28 February
2025.
-
- Electricity, like healthcare, education, water supply,
transport and sanitation are all basic services, and should not be considered
as a means for profit, and the government is duty bound to provide these basic
services at an affordable rate. The very fact that the government is allowed to
levy taxes (indirect taxes are paid by all and forms a large chunk of the total
taxes collected) is to ensure that every citizen has a comfortable life, a
responsibility the government cannot surrender for the benefit of corporate
entities.
-
- Other than the objective of profiteering from already
heavily taxed citizens of the country, there is also the prospect of health
risks associated with continuous exposure to the emission of electromagnetic
radiation/RF-EMF from smart meters that can lead to number of illnesses,
including cancer, neurological conditions, and reproductive problems.
Furthermore privacy, data security, potential cost increases and perceived
limitations on consumer choice are some valid concerns raised by activists
across the nation.
-
- ToD tariff system is to begin from April 2025, which implies
we will be paying 10-20% more when we need it most (nighttime) and 10-20% less
when we don’t need it so much (daytime). There are a host of other user
concerns that are not addressed here for the sake of brevity.
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- Today, it is a matter of grave concern that domestic
consumers in Nagaland, particularly in Dimapur, are being threatened by the use
of force to adopt prepaid meters in place of existing postpaid ones, and denied
new connection other than with prepaid meters, and even upgrading of
transformers are being used as a leverage for installation of prepaid meters,
completely disregarding consumer choice. Voicing apprehensions about smart
meters on behalf of the public has also been made unlawful as can be
interpreted as such in the recent government order.
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- What is unlawful about public wanting transparency in the
Smart Prepaid Metering system? Or demanding upgrading of infrastructure? Is it
not a right for a consumer to know details about unit rates/tariff, consumption
patterns/records, and others? And if a consumer pays in advance, does he or she
not have a right to expect electricity 24x7? Or does the government have the
discretion to provide electricity at its own convenience even after getting
paid in advance, at the expense of the consumer?
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- Arep Changkija
- (This write-up has
been written with inputs from various sources and my own experience)
