Tripura Electricity Consumers Association (TECA) firmly oppose introduction of smart metres and demand withdrawal

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, July 11, 2025

The Tripura Electricity Consumers Association (TECA) has firmly opposed the policy of introducing smart metres and demanded withdrawal of metres already installed . In a statement the TECA has attributed the installation of smart metres to the policy of central government to benefiting the big industrial houses like the Ambanis, Adanis and Torrents . “The TSECL is installing so-called smart metres in household, taking advantage of the absence of house-owners or on the sly by threatening people with cutting off power lines” said the TECA statement.

It said that in the face of opposition from the public various state governments have suspended the task of installing smart metres as in West Bengal where installing smart metres has been suspended. “The TSEL has already assigned the task of supplying power to people in various subdivisions, repairing work , emergency service , transformer repairing and replacement and billing works to private agencies with disastrous effects . “Similarly smart metres are being sought to be fitted in the interest of private agencies in lieu of illegal gratification” the statement said.

Giving a background picture the TECA statement said that till the year 2019 the TSECL had been a profit-making organization but due to management inefficiency this organization has become a loss-making body from the year 2019-2020. Besides , non-recruitment of personnel in the vacant posts of metre reader and linemen has created huge vacancies and their tasks have been given away to unscrupulous private parties who fail to provide the required service and exploit people monetarily. In the year 2022 TSECL figured a low of 33 among 53 government run electricity corporations in the country. “The installation of smart metre is only the latest among the series of steps taken by the TSECL and power department to cover up their failure and to benefit the private agencies in lieu of gratifications” said the TECA statement. It said that the move of the TSECL to install smart metres will be resisted at all costs.

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