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Electricity bills reaching homes will be a history soon as government is currently planning to revolutionise the entire billing system by making all meters smart prepaid in the next three years.

An official release reported citing R K Singh, Minister of State(IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy said, “In the next three years metering will go smart prepaid, and gone will be the days of bills reaching your house. So need of the hour is to scale up manufacturing of smart prepaid meters and to bring down their prices.” The minister also said that there is a need to scale up the manufacturing of these meters as the the coming few years will pose a huge demand for them. The smart prepaid meters should be made mandatory after a particular date, the minister also advised the officials of the power ministry. Besides, the plan of the government will reduce AT&C losses, ensure better health of DISCOMs, incentivise energy conservation and ease bill payments and also generate skilled employment for the youth.

Meanwhile, the government announced Rs. 1.4 lakh crore KUSUM (Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthaan Mahaabhiyan) scheme to promote the use of solar power among farmers to be implemented from next month. 4 crore families targeted under the SAUBHAGYA scheme would get electricity connections by December, ahead of the March 2019 deadline. Under the KUSUM farmers would be provided with solar water pumps and 27.5 lakh solar pumps (17.50 lakh standalone plus 10 Lakh Grid-connected).