Most of the 3,000-odd transformer meters that were installed in Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam’s (JBVNL) Singhbhum electricity supply area barely six years ago to keep tabs on power distribution and consumption have gone defunct.
The problem came to the fore after the state power utility began examining its existing infrastructure ahead of peak summer to make optimum use of electricity and stem acute crisis.
A senior JBVNL engineer, posted in Jamshedpur circle, said the meters, each costing Rs 40,000, were installed in 2013. He said the key objective behind installing them was to check whether the revenue generated against supply of electricity to consumers was proportionate.
