Lok Sabha Question No. 541 (STARRED), answered on 2026-04-02
Subject: Provisions of Electricity Act, 2003
Ministry: POWER
Asked by: Shri Hanuman Beniwal, Adv. Chandra Shekhar

THE MINISTER OF POWER

(SHRI MANOHAR LAL)

(a) to (e) : A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF POWER

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.541 ANSWERED ON 02.04.2026

PROVISIONS OF ELECTRICITY ACT, 2003

†*541. ADV. CHANDRA SHEKHAR: SHRI HANUMAN BENIWAL:

Will the Minister of POWER be pleased to state:

(a) whether any instructions have been issued by the Government through a notification  in  2021  for  installation  of  smart  meters  in  prepaid  mode  for  all electricity consumers across the country and if so, the details thereof, State-wise along  with  the  provisions  of  the  Electricity  Act,  2003  under  which  the  said notification was issued;

(b) whether under Section 47(5) of the said Act, consumers have been provided the option to choose prepaid meters and if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether making prepaid mode mandatory without the consent of consumers is contrary to the basic objective of the said Act and if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether the Government proposes to keep the option of postpaid open for the consumers who do not opt for the prepaid option or to issue explicit guidelines in this regard; and

(e) if so, the details thereof along with the time by which it is likely to be done and if not, the reasons therefor?

## A N S W E R

STATEMENT

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) IN RESPECT OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 541 FOR REPLY ON 02.04.2026 REGARDING PROVISIONS OF ELECTRICITY ACT, 2003 ASKED BY ADV. CHANDRA SHEKHAR AND SHRI HANUMAN BENIWAL *********** (a)  to  (e):    (i)  Section  47(5)  of  the  Electricity  Act,  2003  provides  that  where  a consumer so requests, the distribution licensee shall provide the consumer with a pre-payment meter and  no security shall be required for the same. (ii) Further, Government has issued the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020, which mandate that new connections shall be provided only with smart prepayment meters or pre-payment meters and any exception to the smart meter or prepayment  meter  shall  have  to  be  duly  approved  by  the  State  Electricity Regulatory Commission. (iii) As per the Central Electricity Authority (Installation and Operation of Meters) (Amendment)  Regulations,  2022,  as  amended,  all  consumers  in  areas  with communication  network shall be supplied electricity with Smart Meters conforming to relevant Indian Standards (IS), within the timelines as provided by the Central Government. It also provides that all Advanced Metering Infrastructure shall include prepayment functionality and shall be interoperable in accordance with guidelines issued by the Central Electricity Authority. (iv) The Government of India launched the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) in July 2021 with the objective of improving the quality and reliability of power  supply  to  consumers.  One  of  the  key  interventions  under  RDSS  is  the installation of smart meters for consumers, Distribution Transformers (DTs) and feeders. It is envisaged that the smart meters deployed should have prepayment functionality and the approach of the Government is to incentivise consumers for adoption of prepaid smart meters based on the benefits offered by these meters. (v) Post paid service has traditionally been the default mode for installed smart meters.  However,  considering  the  benefits  offered  to  both  consumers  and distribution utilities, deployment of smart prepaid meters has been undertaken under  the  Revamped  Distribution  Sector  Scheme  (RDSS)  and  State  schemes. Under RDSS, smart metering works covering 19.79 Cr consumer meters in prepaid mode, 52.53 lakh Distribution Transformers (DTs) and 2.05 lakh feeders have been sanctioned based on the proposals submitted by States/UTs and 4.69 Cr smart meters have been installed.  Smart meters have also been installed under other schemes including State schemes.  A total of 6.13 Cr smart meters have been installed across the country under various schemes of which 2.25 cr are working in prepaid mode.

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(vi)  The  following  benefits  of  prepaid  smart  meters  have  been  envisaged  for consumers:

- i. Convenience of recharge with small recharges
- ii. Emergency credit in meter to avoid disconnection on zero balance
- iii. Tracking of consumption
- iv. Error free billing

Besides the consumers, prepaid smart metering helps improve the billing and collection efficiency of the Distribution Utility while providing benefits like Automatic Energy accounting, improved Load forecasting, use of data analytics for demand side management and facilitates an enabling ecosystem for energy transition.  The  benefits,  accruing  to  the  distribution  utilities,  eventually  gets passed on to the consumers in the form of better services and lower costs.

(vii)  Initially,  there  were  some  challenges  in  the  implementation  of  smart metering works due to inadequate consumer awareness regarding the benefits of smart meters. To improve consumer engagement and enhance confidence, the Ministry  has  issued  various  advisories/Standard  operating  Procedures  (SoPs). These include:

-  Prioritizing installation of prepaid smart meters in Government Establishments, Commercial and Industrial consumers and subsequently for other consumers based on demonstration of benefits.
-  Incentivizing  consumers for prepaid meter installation through rebate in bill;
-  No penalty on consumer based on maximum demand recorded by smart meter;
-  Mechanism for recovery of past arrears in easy instalments;
-  Installation of check meters for enhancing confidence in accuracy of smart meters.
-  Smart meter mobile apps are being  made  available  to allow  for  regular tracking of consumption of electricity and for easy recharge;
-  Advance alerts for balance and emergency credit to consumers

The sunset date of the scheme is 31 st March, 2028.

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