If prepaid Sim cards can work out superbly well in India’s telecom
sector, then why not introduce prepaid metering in power distribution?
Customers, even those at the lower end of the spectrum, may not have a
problem paying as long as power supply is better and assured.
An innovative prepaid metering scheme could provide clues to tide
over power sector losses mounting to a whopping Rs 1,40,000 crore.
World Bank country director Onno Ruhl on Tuesday told media that as a
model to stem losses in the power sector, it has worked. At the launch
of the bank report entitled “More power in India: The challenge of
distribution”, he said that introduction of prepaid metering in Nigeria
has proved to be successful in reducing losses despite being priced
higher as consumers are willing to pay more for better and assured power
supply.
The Rs 1,40,000 crore accumulated losses calculated till 2011, works
out to be $25 billion. They are overwhelmingly concentrated among
distribution companies (discoms), bundled utilities, state electricity
boards and state power departments.
Citing the example of telecom sector where 90 per cent of mobile
phones use prepaid Sim cards, Ruhl suggested the model could be worth
trying out in India’s power distribution sector.
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