Shillong, March 13: Power Minister AT Mondal on Wednesday said that one of the factors affecting the commercial performance of Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Limited (MePDCL) is the outstanding dues of the consumers.

“The cumulative dues are to the tune of Rs 658.92 crore,” Mondal said while replying to a cut motion in the Assembly.

“The MePDCL is making all efforts to recover these dues which would ultimately lead to better fiscal health of the company,” he said.

Further, out of this amount Rs 186 crore is pending due to litigation issues which is an uncontrollable factor, he added.

In regards to smart metering, the minister informed that at present around 1,09,000 numbers of smart meters has been installed.

He said the MePCL is already implementing the smart meters across urban and rural areas to enhance the accuracy of energy billing, reduce human errors in meter reading, and empower consumers with real time usage data.

MePDCL, under various central and state schemes, has been installing smart meters across the state.

“This initiative helps in reducing billing disputes, improving revenue collection, and providing consumers with detailed insights into their power consumption. MePDCL is gradually phasing out the old/obsolete, faulty meters and replacing them with smart meters,” he said.

“At present around 1,09,000 smart meters have been installed. The introduction of smart meters has led to better load management, reduction in non-technical losses and greater transparency in the billing process,” he added further.

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