Smart Meters Spark Trouble, APDCL Allows Digital Postpaid Alternative

In a move that reflects deep cracks in Assam’s transition to smart electricity infrastructure, the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) has effectively backtracked on its earlier push for prepaid smart meters. The utility’s latest decision, conveyed through an internal order and now publicly acknowledged, allows the installation of conventional postpaid digital meters with Maximum Demand Indicator (MDI) — if requested by consumers — for new Jeevan Dhara and Domestic-A category rural service connections with connected load up to 2 kW.

Though framed as a temporary measure, this policy shift is anything but minor. It underscores a larger reckoning: the state’s aggressive digital metering drive may have overlooked the consumer on the other end of the wire.

The Core of the Rollback

The decision, ratified via Board of Directors’ Resolution No. 63 dated June 17, 2025, allows for the use of older, postpaid digital meters — once considered outdated — for certain new connections. While the rollback currently applies only to rural low-load categories, its broader implications cannot be ignored. This is not merely a technical decision; it is a response to growing consumer backlash and operational failures that have plagued the prepaid smart meter system since its inception.

The order cites Clause 6.2.1 of the AERC (Electricity Supply Code) (Seventh Amendment) Regulations, 2024 — a regulation that allows consumer choice in metering. But the real drivers of this course correction are far more grounded: persistent recharge issues, unexpected disconnections, poor mobile network availability, and opaque billing mechanisms.

What Went Wrong with Smart Meters?

The idea behind smart meters was futuristic: real-time monitoring, prepaid energy use, reduced theft, and lower operational costs. However, the ground reality tells a different story. Many users — especially in rural areas — faced repeated disconnections due to low balance, often without adequate alerts or recourse. Recharge failures due to server or network issues further eroded trust, with consumers reporting electricity being cut off despite having paid.

In essence, instead of empowering users with more control, smart meters began to feel like a punitive system for the poor.

Billing clarity also became a major concern. Unlike traditional meters where consumption and billing were tangible, prepaid smart meters left consumers grappling with unfamiliar units, non-intuitive apps, and a complete dependency on digital literacy and connectivity — luxuries not uniformly available across Assam.

A Welcome Course Correction?

To its credit, APDCL seems to have taken the feedback seriously. The new directive is a tacit admission that technology rollout cannot outpace ground preparedness and consumer trust.

The most striking aspect of this move is that it empowers the consumer with choice — a right often denied in public utility systems. By allowing people to opt for a postpaid digital meter instead of being forced onto prepaid systems, APDCL has opened the door to a more inclusive, responsive model of governance.

That said, the option remains limited to certain consumer categories, mainly rural households with smaller loads. But the writing on the wall is clear: any attempt to expand the smart meter programme further will now require not just infrastructure but credibility.

What It Means for the Broader Digital India Push

Assam was among the early movers in the national smart metering drive under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), aligned with the Centre’s Digital India vision. But this rollback puts a spotlight on a recurring blind spot in such top-down reforms — implementation without grassroots readiness.

Digital infrastructure, when thrust upon rural consumers without training, affordability, or alternative options, becomes exclusionary. As states race to meet digital targets, they often forget that electricity is not just a utility — it is a lifeline. Disconnecting someone because of a failed recharge or app glitch is not just an inconvenience — it’s a denial of basic rights.

This rollback could serve as a case study for other states. It reveals that digital transformation in essential services must be calibrated, not coerced.

The Road Ahead

This is a pause, not a permanent policy reversal. The APDCL has clarified that the arrangement is temporary, pending further orders. Smart meters are not being scrapped — only their mandatory imposition has been relaxed for now.

The question is whether this moment will be used to introspect and rebuild a smarter system — one where both digital and conventional models co-exist based on informed consumer choice. If not, Assam risks repeating the same mistake in a new form, once the storm settles.

Final Word

The APDCL’s rollback is not just about meters. It is about governance, accountability, and the pace of public-sector innovation. It highlights a truth often overlooked in policy-making — that technology is not a silver bullet. At best, it is a tool. At worst, it is a burden.

For now, Assam’s electricity consumers — particularly its rural poor — have been given a reprieve from a system they did not ask for and could not navigate. Whether that reprieve becomes reform depends on what APDCL does next.

Also Read: Why Assam Still Struggles With Power Cuts While Urban India Moves on