Punjab

Powercom makes smart meters mandatory for government connections

Punjabenews: The Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has announced the introduction of smart pre-paid meters for government connections with a contract demand of 45 KW with effect from March 1, 2023.

The aim is to encourage consumers to indulge in their electricity consumption patterns by making advance payments for future consumption. For advance payment, they will get a discount of 1 per cent on electricity consumption.
Sources said that there is an arrears of over Rs 2600 crore of PSPCL department on the government and with this new system they will need to make advance payment for pre-paid meters and appoint a nodal officer for each connection.
Existing consumers will be issued a 15-day notice to switch to prepaid meters, while new connections will be issued with prepaid meters as per the mandatory.
PSPCL will provide prepaid meters at its own cost and no cost will be charged from consumers for installation. The minimum recharge amount for government connections will be Rs 1,000.
Users will also be sent a message about the reduction in the amount in the account. Recharge will be done on various platforms such as through the website, mobile app and various digital payment methods.
The power supply will be automatically cut off once the recharge amount reaches zero and the supply will resume after the recharge.