Pre-paid power supply to be introduced by March
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, February 21 2012:
In a move to curtail wastage of power and also to make the consumers pay for whatever they use, the Electricity Department of Manipur is all set to introduce Pre-paid power supply meters for the first time in the state from March next.
For the first phase of the project, Pre-paid power supply meters would be introduced in Paona Bazaar.
According to highly reliable source, the installation of pre-paid electronic meters for power supply has already started in Paona Bazaar.
The initial plan is to install 1,042 pre-paid electronic meter in Paona Bazaar area.
The meters would be installed in houses or shops.
After the installation of the electronic meters in Paona Bazaar is completed, the project would be extended to cover Thangal Bazaar area where the Electricity Department is planning to install around 2,058 meters.
The installation in other parts of Imphal would be carried out in a phase-wise manner after having covered Paona hazaar, Thangal bazaar and Khuyathong area.
Altogether there are around 2828 consumers in these areas, added the source.
The source further revealed that the consumers under the pre-paid meter system can deposit an amount ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 7000 in their respective accounts.
They can enjoy uninterrupted power supply as long as there is balance in their accounts.
When the balance is nil, the power supply would be cut off automatically.
However, if the balance becomes nil on a holiday, the consumer can still avail power supply for the day.
A consumer can also deposit money in his balance in advance.
Moreover, consumers would be able to check the balance in their accounts through pre-paid meters installed in their homes or shops.
The pre-paid electronic meter was initially brought to Imphal last year and the process of installation commenced this year only, the source added.
The source further revealed that the initiation of pre-paid electronic meter was taken up primarily to put an end to illegal power connections and also to increase the revenue of the Power Department.