New Delhi: Minister for Power Manohar Lal Khattar asked Karnataka to expedite the rollout of smart meters in the state and saturate prepaid smart meters across all government establishments, including local bodies and colonies, by August 2025. During a review meeting on Friday, the minister congratulated the state for its increasing share of renewable energy in the power mix. He emphasised that the visit was aimed at a better understanding of the ground-level issues and exploring new initiatives to strengthen power supply in the state.
The minister urged the state to take steps to reduce annual financial losses of its power utilities and work towards implementing cost-reflective tariffs. He underlined the importance of timely clearance of dues and subsidies related to government departments and advised the state to saturate prepaid smart meters across all government establishments by August 2025. He also emphasised the need for a centralised payment mechanism for efficient management of government electricity dues.
Khattar further directed the state to expedite the rollout of smart metering for commercial, industrial, and other consumer categories in a time-bound manner. He advised early resolution of RoW issues impeding transmission infrastructure and called for the adoption of the compensation mechanism issued by the government.
The minister assured continued support from the government for strengthening the power sector in Karnataka and reaffirmed the Centre’s commitment to the welfare and development of the state and its people.
The meeting covered a comprehensive review of the power sector in the state of Karnataka and was held in Bengaluru on Friday, said the Ministry of Power. The review meeting was attended by Shripad Naik, Union Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy, KJ George, Minister for Energy, Karnataka, and senior officials from the government, the state government, and REC Ltd.
During the meeting, the state government made a detailed presentation on the current status of power generation, transmission, and distribution in Karnataka. Issues such as the generation mix, challenges in Right of Way (RoW) for transmission infrastructure, and the need for support in improving distribution infrastructure were discussed.