Solar meter shortage to end as bids invited for 37L bidirectional meters

The State-owned utility has invited bids to procure 30 lakh single-phase meters and 7 lakh three-phase meters to meet the future demand for new service connection and also replace the faulty ones. 

According to Tangedco sources, the energy meters to be procured could be used as unidirectional (normal meters recording to energy consumption) and bidirectional (recording both the consumption and import of solar energy). “The procurement of the bidirectional meters would also end the shortage of solar meters. Now, the energy meters could be used for both the purpose of recording the export and the import of energy,” sources said.

A solar developer said on condition of anonymity that the State has always witnessed a shortage of the solar meters or bidirectional meters. “Without a bidirectional meter, if the excess domestic rooftop solar power generation was exported to the grid, it would be recorded as consumption in the normal unidirectional meters. Hence, any domestic consumers having rooftop solar plant would be paying for the solar energy sent to the grid as well,” the solar developer said, adding that the purchase of the bidirectional meter in large numbers is a welcome one. 

The shortage of single and three-phase meters, earlier this year, had resulted in domestic consumers being unable to get new electricity connections for more than a month early this year.