Chief Secretary Directs Acceleration of Smart Meter Installation Under RDSS
Vijayanand noted that the DISCOMs have installed 17.96 lakh smart meters, covering about 45 per cent of the sanctioned target, with nearly 96 per cent of them successfully communicating with the central monitoring system
Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary K. Vijayanand has directed power utilities to expedite the installation of smart meters and achieve 100 per cent feeder and distribution transformer (DT) metering, ensuring reliable communication and data integration through the Head-End System and Meter Data Management System (MDMS).
At a review meeting held on Saturday with DISCOM CMDs L. Sivashankar, I. Prudhvi Tej, and P. Pulla Reddy, the Chief Secretary reviewed the progress of smart meter installation under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS). He instructed officials to accelerate implementation timelines, enhance field-level efficiency, and strengthen consumer engagement in the prepaid smart metering programme.
Vijayanand noted that the DISCOMs have installed 17.96 lakh smart meters, covering about 45 per cent of the sanctioned target, with nearly 96 per cent of them successfully communicating with the central monitoring system. Appreciating the progress, he urged utilities to maintain the momentum and aim for maximum rollout within the next quarter.
He reviewed the prepaid metering initiative, which has commenced with pilot installations in APEPDCL, and directed all utilities to extend prepaid operations to government departments using the Group Wallet mechanism to ensure timely clearance of arrears.
The Chief Secretary also emphasised the need to complete check meter installations, deploy Service Level Agreement (SLA) tools, and strengthen operations and maintenance (O&M) teams for prompt reconnection and consumer service. He instructed utilities to address cybersecurity concerns, ensure data integrity, and intensify consumer awareness campaigns to support the transition to prepaid metering.
Vijayanand observed that online monitoring of 11 kV feeders has reached 92.65 per cent across all DISCOMs — APSPDCL (98.07%), APCPDCL (93.88%), and APEPDCL (83.53%). He directed utilities to install smart meters for non-communicating or no-modem feeders by the end of November to achieve 100 per cent real-time visibility through the Real Time Governance System (RTGS).