Power Min to Introduce BeSMA for Tracking Prepaid Electricity Meters

Ministry of Power (India) is all set to introduce the mobile application to provide better tracking of electricity consumption through smart meters

Union Power Minister R K Singh has rolled out Bharat eSmart Mobile Application for the prepaid smart meters. This new application will help the user to make the electricity recharge, track the consumption, view the present balance (both in terms of electricity unit and money). The application was launched during the Review Planning & Monitoring (RPM) meeting. On Friday, the meeting was held with states and state power utilities chaired by Singh. 

The mobile app will collect real-time data from installed smart meters in the household. By collecting the data and converting it in readable form, the application will provide insight into broad information such as electricity consumption, remaining electricity, recharge history, and the option for further recharge. The app offers payment options through various modes such as UPI, net banking, credit/debit card, etc. 

However, the app will only integrate with smart meters, which provide the prepaid recharge option. The smart meters are being installed under many schemes of the Government of India and state utilities. The central government is funding the state government to implement Smart Metering under National Smart Metering Projects and Integrated Power Development Scheme. To date, around 37.33 lakh smart meters have already been installed. The government of India launched “Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS)” on 20th July 2021. Under the scheme, the government aims to install 25 crores smart prepaid meters for all domestic consumers till March 2025. 

The app’s vision is to give consumers better control over their electricity consumption behavior and take command of using electricity according to the need. The act will significantly help consumers in lowering their bills. 

The app will be available free of charge to all Distribution Utilities once they place a requirement to Ministry. Operations & Maintenance of the App will also be free for 10 years for all the DISCOM.