At 87.6L, Maha ranks first in installing smart power meters

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) on Tuesday said the state has stood first in the country by installing 87.6 lakh state-of-the-art smart meters."In terms of installation of smart meters, Maharashtra ranks first in the country as per the latest data till Feb 10. Maharashtra is followed by Bihar (86.4 lakh) and Uttar Pradesh (82.8 lakh) in second and third positions respectively," an official release quoting Lokesh Chandra, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of MSEDCL said.Stating that chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the portfolio of the energy department, is leading the transformation of the energy sector in Maharashtra, Chandra appealed to the remaining consumers to switch to smart meters free of cost. "After installation of smart meters, MSEDCL sought permission to reduce power tariffs through a petition filed with the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission for fixing the five-year electricity tariff. It is clear that consumers will not only get smart meters free of cost, but will also not bear any indirect burden," Chandra said.