New Delhi: A total of 3.46 crore smart electricity meters have been installed across India as of 30 June 2025 under various government schemes, Minister of State for Power Shripad Yesso Naik informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament. Of these, 2.27 crore smart meters were installed under the flagship Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), while the remaining were rolled out under earlier programmes. The minister said a total of 20.33 crore smart meters have been sanctioned under RDSS, with installations expected to be completed by March 2028, the end of the scheme period.
The RDSS, aimed at improving the operational and financial efficiency of discoms (distribution companies), has an outlay of Rs 3.03 lakh crore, with Rs 97,631 crore as Gross Budgetary Support from the Centre.
The minister said the scheme targets not only universal smart metering but also reduction of losses and strengthening of power distribution infrastructure. Projects worth Rs 1.51 lakh crore have been sanctioned specifically for reducing Aggregate Technical and Commercial (AT&C) losses, which include upgradation of substations, conductors, transformers, and feeder segregation.
Thanks to various reforms under RDSS and other government measures, the national average AT&C losses have dropped from 21.91 percent in FY21 to 16.12 percent in FY24, the minister stated. The losses represent the gap between electricity supplied and revenue realised, and include both technical inefficiencies and billing/collection issues.
To ensure accountability and performance, disbursement of central funds under RDSS is tied to compliance with parameters such as timely filing of tariff petitions, publishing financial statements, and clearing subsidy and departmental dues.
Other than RDSS, the government has introduced several policy measures to support discoms' financial viability. These include timely subsidy disbursal rules, norms for passing through fuel and power purchase costs, and performance-based additional borrowing limits for states. Prudential norms have also been issued to regulate lending to state utilities.
In a separate response, the ministry also reported a national peak power deficit of 0.3 percent in June 2025, reflecting improved supply adequacy in the power system.
