Smart metering installations to surge over next two years, supported by progress in tendering, says ICRA

The awarding of smart meters by the state distribution utilities (discoms) is expected to increase to 222 million over the near to medium term from ~99 million so far, said a report by ICRA. The replacement of conventional meters with smart meters is a key initiative of the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) launched by the Government of India (GoI) in July 2021 with the objective of bringing down AT&C (aggregate technical & commercial) losses and reducing the gap between the cost of supply and tariff to zero for the state distribution utilities (discoms).