Maha launches prepaid electric meters

Mumbai: With the launch of new prepaid electricity meters, shops and homes in selected areas of Maharashtra will soon need to pay beforehand for the use of electricity.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar formally launched the scheme at Mantralaya today.

The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission has approved introducing prepaid electricity meters on a pilot basis.

In the first phase, the state electricity distribution company will install 25,000 prepaid meters at Pune, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Pen, Kalyan, Kolhapur, Mahabaleshwar, Matheran and Chikhaldara.

Customers using such meters would need to buy electricity using a card. Customers will get five per cent discount and can avail the online recharge option.

The meters will be installed free of cost in shops and residences where electricity usage is comparatively low.

Ajoy Mehta, managing director of Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited and energy secretary Subrat Ratho were present on the occasion.