Solar engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) firm SEPC has received a letter of intent from Telecommunications Consultants India to implement a ₹3.14 billion (~$34.66 million) smart prepaid metering project for Punjab State Power Corporation at the state’s central zone in partnership with Adya Smart Metering.

The smart meter project will be undertaken under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) on a design, build, finance, own, operate, and transfer basis.

SPEC’s project scope will entail the design, deployment, integration, commissioning, and long-term operation and maintenance of the advanced metering infrastructure.

The Ministry of Power reported that 47.6 million smart meters were installed across the country under various programs as of November 15, 2025, while 203.3 million meters have been approved under RDSS based on proposals submitted by the states. Punjab installed over 1.8 million smart meters during this period.

Bihar, with 8,237,246 smart meters, Maharashtra (7,398,415), and Uttar Pradesh (6,506,420) were the top three states with the most smart meters installed.

The government had set a goal to install 250 million electricity consumer smart meters by the end of the financial year 2026. However, the National Smart Grid Mission had noted the slow speed of smart meter installations by early 2025.

Additionally, a December 2024 parliamentary standing committee on energy report stated, “Considering the present pace of installation of Smart Meters, the target of installation of 250 million smart meters by the year 2025-26 seems to be a difficult task.”

According to an analysis by the Ministry of Power, installing smart meters has positively impacted the utilities of Assam and Bihar. About 44% of consumers in Assam saved roughly 50 units per month through consumption tracking and accurate billing.

Last September, the Ministry of Power constituted a steering committee and a sub-working group of domain experts to standardize training modules and create standard operating procedures/guidelines for data utilization, the adoption of a standards-based regime, and cybersecurity practices for smart meter data analytics for DISCOMs.