Jorhat, May 17: The problems of smart meters are far from being over and soaring electricity bills have become the new burden for people in remote areas.
Several villagers in Meleng village under Jorhat district has witnessed rising electricity bills since last few months.
“My monthly bill rarely crossed Rs.800, even with my shop’s single, sputtering refrigerator keeping the cold drinks chilled. He had loaded Rs. 1,000 into the new prepaid account just two weeks ago. Where had it gone?,” said Bhaben Das who has recharged his prepaid smart meter only earlier this month.
Das wasn’t alone. Several people in and Meleng have been having the similar problem in the past few months. They have also approached the nearby APDCL office seeking to install the old meter.
The crisis in Meleng wasn’t just the cost; it was the isolation that the technology imposed. The smart meter relied on a cellular network to communicate with the central server and to register recharges. But in rural Jorhat, mobile network connectivity often remains poor.
Panic rippled through Bhaben. He opened the official power distribution app on his phone. The loading wheel spun endlessly.
It may be mentioned here that smart meters installed by different companies have been a major concern in most of the rural areas in Assam.
Earlier this year, the All Assam Electricity Consumers’ Association (AAECA) has also criticised the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) over its proposed tariff structure and alleged neglect of consumer rights.
“The petty domestic consumers who could take a new power connection of one or two kilowatt by depositing only around Rs. 3,000 earlier, are forced to bear more than Rs.10,000 now for the same connection. Now these prospective consumers need to pay around Ra. 9000 for the so-called smart meter alone,” the AAECA said.