Dehradun: Smart meters will be installed at the homes of all ministers, MLAs and officials in Uttarakhand. Chief Minister Dhami gave instructions in this regard. Principal Secretary Energy gave information in this regard. So far smart meters have been installed at the homes of 24 thousand consumers.
At the same time, the political current on smart electricity meters has increased so much that a war of words has broken out between the Congress and the BJP. When the Congress MLA of Kichha expressed his opposition by breaking the smart meter, many Congress leaders came out in his support. On the other hand, the BJP also hit back at the Congress. The party said that the anti-smart meter attitude of the Congress is becoming an obstacle in stopping electricity theft. Whereas smart electricity meters have also been installed in Congress-ruled states including Himachal.
The party’s state media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan said that smart meters are necessary for the economy of both the consumer and the state. He termed the allegations of the opposition as motivated by misleading propaganda. Said, with smart meters, consumers will get many options for easy payment including online availability of information related to electricity consumption, moment-to-moment electricity usage information, messages of all important information, comparison of electricity usage, etc. About 20 crore smart meters have been approved to be installed across the country and more than 55 lakh smart connections have been installed.
