Bid to address inflated bills, incorrect readings: ‘Smart meters’ to boost Delhi Jal Board's operations; what are they?

Ever since water minister Parvesh Verma announced that the Delhi government will launch a “major bill waiver scheme,” water bills have been in the spotlight. Now, the Times of India reported, citing sources, that Chief Minister Rekha Gupta's government of the Union Territory plans to revamp the city's water distribution and billing systems soon through the installation of “smart meters” across the city.

Minister Parvesh Verma directed Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to promptly overhaul the billing system. However, the company responsible for DJB's billing reportedly will not take up any further government projects, and the water minister intends to engage a new company after the system is upgraded.

Several measures are being taken to improve Delhi Jal Board's operations to address financial inefficiencies and issues such as inflated bills and incorrect and outdated readings. According to officials, the current practice of meter readers has proven ineffective. Across 41 Delhi Jal Board zones, nearly 1,000 meter readers manage nearly 26.5 lakh water consumers.

What is a ‘smart meter’?

A game-changer in the field of water management, a smart meter refers to a technologically advanced metering infrastructure used to measure and record water usage accurately and in real-time. In contrast to traditional water meters, where manual reading is required and is prone to human error, smart meters provide automated readings. These readings are transmitted to utility companies for billing and analysis purposes.

When will this new system be implemented?

As per the report, the new system would be in place once the proposed scheme to address the issue of inflated water bills through a bill waiver is implemented. The scheme aims to reduce pending “domestic bills by up to 90 per cent”.

Currently, water consumption up to 20,000 litres a month per household is free, a subsidy continued by the BJP government, which was introduced by the previous AAP government.

Benefits of smart meters

Through this new metering system, the role of support agents will be eliminated along with touts who allegedly accept bribes to clear bills. Furthermore, the payment process will be made easier for consumers.

Currently, the billing system does not show the breakup of old bills, which will be included with the implementation of the smart meter.

“The billing system is also going to be updated, software for this is being developed, and there are some technical issues that are being worked out,” Hindustan Times quoted Parvesh Verma as saying when the BJP completed its first 100 days in power in Delhi.