A high-level committee appointed by the Kerala government has recommended that the TOTEX model be used for the rollout of ‘prepaid’ smart meters in the State’s power sector.
The committee, which presented its report to the Power Secretary on Friday, is also learnt to have advised against opting for the metering technology developed by the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) in the first phase of the rollout.
The committee, headed by Saji Gopinath, Vice Chancellor, Digital University Kerala, reportedly took into account the maturity level of the C-DAC technology and the requirement for large number of meters in Phase I.
The Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), which is implementing prepaid smart metering in the State at an estimated cost of ₹8174.96 crore, plans to install 37 lakh meters in the first phase.
Can be explored later
‘’Using the C-DAC technology can be explored in the subsequent phases depending on the circumstances prevailing then,’‘ a senior Power department official said. The committee has endorsed the use of the TOTEX (Capital Expenditure + Operational Expenditure) mode for the rollout.
Earlier, the KSEB had finalised plans to implement the smart metering on Design, Build, Fund, Own, Operate and Transfer (DBFOOT) basis in TOTEX mode. However, the employees unions in the KSEB had opposed the TOTEX mode and suggested that the KSEB implement the smart metering on its own using C-DAC technology.
Financial aid
The high-level committee is learnt to have objected to the KSEB striking out on its own on the grounds that it could jeopardise financial assistance from the Centre for smart metering. Also, the KSEB needs to award the work without delays to procure subsequent instalments of the aid.
The KSEB director board which met on Saturday decided to convey its comments on the committee’s report to the State government within a week. The KSEB has also extended the deadline for submitting bids for Phase I till the third week of April.
