Bihar becomes the First Indian State to Deploy 10 Lakh Smart Meters
Bihar has successfully completed the installation of over 1 million (10 lakh) pre-paid electric smart meters, as per a tweet by the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) on 25th August 2022.
Out of these over 10 lakh installed smart prepaid meters, North Bihar Power Distribution Company Ltd (NBPDCL) has installed about 4.2 lakh smart meters, while South Bihar Power Distribution Company Ltd (SBPDCL) has installed about 5.8 lakh smart meters. Private DISCOMS like India Power Corporation and Bhagalpur Electricity Distribution Company have also installed 17,100 and 1,000 meters in Bodhgaya region and Bhagalpur region of Bihar respectively.
Smart Metering in Bihar falls in the Smart Metering National Programme (SMNP), which is being executed by EESL. Genus Power Infrastructures Ltd. has supplied most of these meters in Bihar, while Électricité de France S.A. (EdF) offered system integration services for the smart metering process.
As per National Smart Grid Mission (NGSM), currently, the total number of installed smart meters in the country stands at 48,57,138. India has set a target to install 25 crore smart pre-paid meters by 2025 across the country under SMNP.
