Min says smart meters free, but discom filings suggest otherwise

Bhopal: Power consumers in Madhya Pradesh are confused and unsure if the cost of installation of smart meters would reflect in their electricity tariff.While energy minister Pradyumn Singh Tomar told the assembly on February 27 that consumers were not being charged for the installation of smart meters, power distribution companies have factored hundreds of crores towards their rollout and have also sought a 10.19% tariff hike for 2026-27, raising questions over who ultimately foots the bill.Replying to a question by MLA Suresh Raje, the minister said while old single-phase and three-phase meters were installed as per the Schedule of Rates (SOR), no charge is being levied on consumers for replacing them with smart meters. "Old meters are being replaced with smart meters free of cost," Tomar said, adding that the question of double recovery does not arise.However, tariff filings before the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (MPERC) show that discoms built substantial smart meter-related expenditure into their Annual Revenue Requirement (ARR). In their 2026-27 petition, the 3 discoms projected over Rs 500 crore towards lease charges, upfront payments and maintenance of smart meters, as part of a total revenue gap of over Rs 6,000 crore, for which the 10.19% hike was sought.Earlier filings indicated Rs 513.62 crore under smart meter expenses, accounting for nearly 8.5% of the revenue gap, translating to roughly 1 percentage point of the proposed tariff increase. With installations expected to accelerate in the coming year, the outgo is projected to rise further.Energy expert Rajendra Agrawal, retired additional chief engineer of MP Genco and an advocate, termed the minister's statement as "misleading and paradoxical". He argued that while no upfront charge is levied, the entire cost of smart meters is recovered over 10 years through lease rentals and maintenance expenses loaded into tariffs. "If the expenditure forms part of ARR, it is ultimately borne by consumers," he said.Discoms maintained that smart meters provide real-time consumption data, curb losses and improve billing transparency. Yet, as the rollout gathers pace amid resistance in parts of the state, power consumers are grappling with the question: if not directly, are they paying indirectly for a meter billed as ‘free'?