Lok Sabha Question No. 3306 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-12
Subject: Smart Meter Scheme
Ministry: POWER
Asked by: Shri Rajkumar Roat

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF POWER

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3306 ANSWERED ON 12.03.2026

## SMART METER SCHEME

## †3306.   SHRI RAJKUMAR ROAT:

Will the Minister of POWER be pleased to state:

- (a) the States in which Smart Meter Scheme is currently operational in the country;
- (b) the number of smart meters installed including the details of expenditure incurred thereon, State-wise and district-wise particularly in Rajasthan;
- (c) whether it is mandatory for every consumer to have a smart meter installed;
- (d) if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether any grievances have been received regarding these smart meters; and
- (f) if so, the details thereof and the number of such grievances including the process of redressal including Rajasthan, district-wise?

## A N S W E R

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF POWER

## (SHRI SHRIPAD NAIK)

(a) to (d) : Smart Metering is being implemented across the country under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) as well as other schemes including State plans. Under RDSS, smart metering works for 19.79 crore consumers, 2.11 lakh feeders and 52.53 lakh distribution  transformers  (DT),  totaling  20.33  Cr  smart  meters,  have  been  sanctioned based on the request for proposals submitted by the States/ distribution utilities and 4.55 crore smart meters have been installed. A total of 5.97 crore smart meters have been installed across the country. State wise details including for Rajasthan are enclosed at Annexure I and II.

Smart meters provide the following benefits to DISCOMs and consumers:

-  Accurate billing based on actual consumption.
-  Improved transparency and elimination of manual meter reading errors;
-  Better energy accounting and improved collection efficiency for DISCOMs;
-  Mobile-app based monitoring of consumption enabling consumers to manage their electricity usage; and
-  Enabling advanced grid management and energy transition measures.

Installation of smart meters is being implemented in a phased manner, prioritizing installation in Government establishments, commercial, industrial and high-load consumers,  and  subsequently  in  other  consumer  categories  based  on  successful demonstration of benefits. (e)  &  (f)  :  Initially,  some  concerns  were  raised  by  consumers  regarding  smart  meters mainly  due  to  limited  awareness  about  their  benefits.  To  address  these  concerns  and enhance consumer confidence, the following advisories and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for implementation in all States including Rajasthan, have been issued by the Ministry:

-  Advisory to incentivize consumers for installation of prepaid smart meters through rebates;
-  Advisory regarding no levy of penalty on consumers based on maximum demand recorded by smart meters;
-  Advisory to ensure provisions for recovery of past arrears in easy installments;
-  Advisory for installation of check meters in minimum 5 % of total smart meters installed and in cases related to excess billing, to enhance confidence in meter accuracy
-  Consumer  awareness  programs  through  utilities,  nodal  agencies  and  Advance Metering Infrastructure (AMI) service providers.

Further,  the  Electricity  (Rights  of  Consumers)  Rules,  2020  provide  a  robust consumer  grievance  redressal  framework.  Consumers  may  first  approach  the  internal grievance redressal mechanism of the distribution utility and, if dissatisfied, approach the Consumer Grievance Redressal Forum (CGRF) and subsequently the Electricity Ombudsman for resolution of grievances.

**************

ANNEXURE-I ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3306 ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON 12.03.2026

*************

## Details of Smart Metering works sanctioned under RDSS

In Rs Crore

| Sl. No. State /UT   | Sanctioned Cost   | Sanctioned GBS   |
|---------------------|-------------------|------------------|
| 1 Andaman & Nicobar | 54                | 12               |
| 2 Andhra Pradesh    | 4,128             | 815              |
| 3 Arunachal Pradesh | 184               | 54               |
| 4 Assam             | 4,050             | 1,052            |
| 5 Bihar             | 2,021             | 412              |
| 6 Chhattisgarh      | 4,105             | 804              |
| 7 Delhi             | 13                | 2                |
| 8 Goa               | 469               | 95               |
| 9 Gujarat           | 10,642            | 1,885            |
| 10 Himachal Pradesh | 1,788             | 466              |
| 11 Jammu & Kashmir  | 1,064             | 272              |
| 12 Jharkhand        | 858               | 191              |
| 13 Kerala           | 8,231             | 1,413            |
| 14 Madhya Pradesh   | 8,911             | 1,504            |
| 15 Maharashtra      | 15,215            | 2,840            |
| 16 Manipur          | 121               | 38               |
| 17 Meghalaya        | 310               | 86               |
| 18 Mizoram          | 182               | 61               |
| 19 Nagaland         | 208               | 60               |
| 20 Puducherry       | 251               | 56               |
| 21 Punjab           | 5,769             | 960              |
| 22 Rajasthan        | 9,715             | 1,686            |
| 23 Sikkim           | 97                | 30               |
| 24 Tamil Nadu       | 19,235            | 3,398            |
| 25 Tripura          | 319               | 80               |
| 26 Uttar Pradesh    | 18,956            | 3,501            |
| 27 Uttarakhand      | 1,106             | 310              |
| 28 West Bengal      | 12,670            | 2,089            |
| Total               | 1,30,671          | 24,173           |

*************

ANNEXURE-II

## ANNEXURE REFERRED IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3306 ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON 12.03.2026

*************

## Details of Smart Meters installed under various schemes as on 28.02.2026

| S No. State/         | No. of Smart meters installed   |
|----------------------|---------------------------------|
| 1 Andaman & Nicobar  | 7,52,00                         |
| 2 Andhra Pradesh     | 26,03,414                       |
| 3 Arunachal Pradesh  | 63,151                          |
| 4 Assam              | 55,78,084                       |
| 5 Bihar              | 89,27,853                       |
| 6 Chandigarh         | 24,214                          |
| 7 Chhattisgarh       | 36,31,325                       |
| 8 Delhi              | 2,60,000                        |
| 9 Goa                | 2,775                           |
| 10 Gujarat           | 41,30,630                       |
| 11 Haryana           | 8,47,467                        |
| 12 Himachal Pradesh  | 9,88,078                        |
| 13 Jammu and Kashmir | 13,13,433                       |
| 14 Jharkhand         | 11,74,016                       |
| 15 Kerala            | 1,77,462                        |
| 16 Ladakh            | 57,509                          |
| 17 Madhya Pradesh    | 39,79,244                       |
| 18 Maharashtra       | 95,31,245                       |
| 19 Manipur           | 40,304                          |
| 20 Meghalaya         | 0                               |
| 21 Mizoram           | 31,643                          |
| 22 Nagaland          | 37,231                          |
| 23 Odisha            | 4,500                           |
| 24 Puducherry        | 26,258                          |
| 25 Punjab            | 20,88,774                       |
| 26 Rajasthan         | 35,64,314                       |
| 27 Sikkim            | 88,900                          |
| 28 Tamil Nadu        | 1,40,725                        |
| 29 Telangana         | 8,882                           |
| 30 Tripura           | 2,05,380                        |
| 31 Uttar Pradesh     | 90,29,894                       |
| 32 Uttarakhand       | 4,86,541                        |
| 33 West Bengal       | 6,44,255                        |
| Total                | 5,97,62,701                     |

***************