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Tele-meters fail, JSEB claims no loss

Jamshedpur, Nov. 17: Introduced almost a year ago, tele-meters were aimed at giving quick data on meter-reading and also checking power theft. Though the mechanism failed to record power consumption, the board claims to have made no losses.

The tele-meters have failed to bring desired results from as many as 100 industrial units in Adityapur. The latest technology uses SIM cards that are fixed on industrial meters. This helps officials at the Jharkhand State Electricity Board (JSEB) head-quarters in Ranchi to monitor electricity consumption and meter-reading.

But the mechanism has not been foolproof. Sources said the tele-metering system was tampered with by a section of officials posted in the metering system. Certain officials had not activated the SIM in the industrial meters. Due to this, officials posted at metering department had no option but to rely on the conventional system of meter-reading.

The system had failed a year ago but the flaw was only detected recently. Thus, some sources feel certain officials are responsible for the failure of the tele-metering system.

S.N. Pandey, the superintending engineer at Jamshedpur circle, admitted that the tele-metering system failed to work in as many as 100 industrial units. “There were some anomalies in the SIM card fixed in the industrial meters. As a result, officials concerned in the JSEB headquarters did not receive any data,” said Pandey.

While speaking to The Telegraph, the superintending engineer also accepted that the system was not working in these units for over a year but efforts were on to mend the defect as soon as possible. “So far, we have mended 40 industrial meters by changing the SIM cards. We will mend 60 more industrial meters soon,” he said.

Pandey had nothing to say when asked why the authorities failed to take notice of the problem. With the meters not functioning for over a year, it is certain that the board must have incurred heavy losses.

“The Jamshedpur circle is the highest revenue-generating circle. On an average Rs 110 crore is generated from the entire state with Jamshedpur contributing Rs 20 crore alone,” said the superintending engineer.

But Pandey confirmed that the power board had incurred no losses as the conventional system was also working simultaneously. This raises questions on the implementation of the tele-metering system itself.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1081118/jsp/jharkhand/story_10124918.jsp


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