Amid ongoing installations of smart meters in the state capital, the Joint Secretary of the Union Ministry of Power, Shashank Mishra, visited the homes of electricity consumers in the Kolar Road localities of Danish Kunj and Virasha Heights on Sunday.

The top central government official gathered first hand information from the consumers and reviewed the new metering initiative that promises to bring a considerable curb in electricity pricing by arresting power thefts.

During the review, Mishra observed the smart metering work being carried out by the Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitran Company Limited (MKVVCL) Central Region Power Distribution Company, as well as the consumer surveys and installation processes conducted prior to smart metering.

Electricity consumers were also provided with information on the benefits of smart metering, and a smart metering app was installed on their mobile devices to provide real-time information on their household electricity consumption.

This event was attended by all officials, including Sudhir Kumar Srivastava, Director (Commerce) of the Central Region Power Distribution Company, and BBS Parihar, General Manager of Bhopal city.

MKVVCL stated that approximately 35,000 smart meters have been installed in its area of operations, and work for the new metering initiative is expanding to achieve targets.The central region power distributor has also listed several consumer benefits for the installation of the new meters, which automatically record power consumption and seamlessly forward it to the company.

The meters are equipped with advanced technology that automatically detects power downtimes, allows users to check real-time consumption, and overcomes human error issues in electricity readings.