Bengaluru: A day after N Shiva Shankara, MD, Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom), dismissed allegations of wrongdoing in the tender process, former deputy chief minister and BJP legislator CN Ashwath Narayan Tuesday raised concerns over the pricing, claiming smart meter costs in Karnataka are exorbitantly higher than those in Congress-governed Himachal Pradesh and Telangana besides Kerala.
However, Bescom insisted it did no wrong and that the price was determined “scientifically”, based on KERC guidelines.
Narayan, through a PowerPoint presentation, detailed the cost breakdown, stating, “In Karnataka, installing a smart meter costs over Rs 17,000, whereas in other states, it is Rs 7,740 per meter — Rs 9,260 less.”
He said that while the base cost of a smart meter in Karnataka is Rs 4,998 — as stated by the govt — the monthly service fee for 10 years amounts to Rs 9,000 and additional charges, including installation, add up to Rs 400. He said costs include a hidden charge of Rs 3,000 imposed by Escoms.
“The way installations are being rolled out, the state will lose approximately Rs 15,568 crore over the next 10 years due to additional financial burdens on Escoms and the public,” he said.
Narayan alleged that the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements Act was violated at every stage of the tendering process, favouring a company with no prior experience in installing smart meters and one that was previously blacklisted in Uttar Pradesh. “It is a massive scam. Escoms must adhere to Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) rules, which do not mandate smart meters. Smart meters can only be made mandatory for temporary connections, not for permanent or new customers,” he said.
Supporting BJP’s claims, Karnataka State Licensed Electrical Contractors Association (KSLECA) had protested on March 4, arguing that the price of smart meters was significantly higher in Karnataka than in other states.
