THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Contract companies are making a move to secure electricity smart meter contracts at higher rates than other states. In other places, the average price per meter is Rs 6000, while the tender given by the companies here is Rs 9500. The customer has to bear the burden of this as well, apart from the bill amount.
KSEB asked to reduce the amount but the three companies that participated in the tender did not relent. The contract was invited for 37 lakh meters. For this, the minimum amount quoted by a company is 3475.16 crores which is Rs 9500 per meter.
Genus Power Solutions Limited, Smart Electricity Distribution Private Limited, and Polaris Smart Metering Private Limited participated in the tender. All these companies quoted almost the same amount. As there was strong opposition to the plan, including from unions, many companies did not come forward.
The smart meter will be installed by the contracted company under the project. They will recover this amount from seven years of operation. If it is installed for Rs 9500, the customer will have to pay Rs 120 in monthly installments. This is more than other states. There will be a slight reduction due to the central subsidy. In other states, the meter price is Rs 80 per month on an average of Rs 6000. If Central Subsidy is considered then it is less than Rs.50.
The tender has been invited since KSEB cannot carry out the project directly as it will incur a huge financial burden. Unions are interested in PSUs like C-DAC but they also did not come forward. In order to consolidate the general credit limit of the state, the implementation of power sector reform is mandatory. Therefore, the project has to be implemented.
Central intervention will be required
KSEB alone cannot take the decision if the tender amount is 10 percent higher than the specified amount. State Government may sanction up to 25% but companies have quoted an additional 45 percent. Since it is a central scheme, the state government will have to take the final decision in consultation with the centre. Otherwise, this tender will not be executed.