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If Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) has its way, power consumers in the City can soon opt for prepaid meters.

Bescom Managing Director P Manivannan will soon present the case before the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) seeking to go in for prepaid meter system by April 2012.

Addressing the media here on Wednesday, Bescom officials presented the prepaid metering technology, which they claim will be revolutionary in the field of power, allowing both the power utility and its customers to save at least 15 per cent of the power.

The concept works on the lines of prepaid mobile phone sim cards. In the case of power, the user can pay an amount to an online or offline Bescom counter or BangaloreOne centre and have power till that amount is exhausted. Manivannan also mentioned that if the KERC gives the green signal, top up power cards with specific amounts will be supplied through various shops and counters.

While the project in its pilot phase has 702 installations in Hyderabad and around 10,000 in New Delhi, Bescom plans to start with the technology only for industries and commercial entities. However, if KERC asks Bescom to go ahead with prepaid meters for residents and government offices also, the company would be more than willing, said the MD.

Remote prepaid metering will allow load limiting, remote connect, disconnect options and TOU (time of use) data. All these will help Bescom analyse peak load profiles to improve response. “Currently, we are working with three vendors, but once the project is approved, we shall go for open tenders,” said Manivannan.

However, Bescom is yet to finalise modalities of refunds in case a user does not use the full prepaid amount. “Many points are yet to be finalised and will be ready once KERC approves the project. The decision on refunds will be taken by then. Also if users pay an entire year’s amount in advance, we plan to provide rebates to them,” said Manivannan.

Smart metering records consumption of power at hourly intervals and transmits the information using its communication modem to the utility for billing purposes.

According to S A Satish Kumar, General Manager (Ele), Commercial, if the technology is initiated by Bescom, the trend will soon catch up with other agencies such as BWSSB also.

“This technology works for various purposes and not just electricity. We can save water, power and many more things in the near future,” he added.