India is replacing conventional electricity meters with smart prepaid meters under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme, launched by the Ministry of Power in July 2021. The programme targets roughly 25 crore meters and is the largest smart metering rollout in the world.
By early 2026, around 5.8 crore smart meters had been installed against a target of about 23 crore. Installations were running at more than 80,000 units a day. Projects had also been sanctioned for 45 distribution utilities across 28 states and union territories, covering nearly 20 crore consumers, more than 52 lakh distribution transformers and over 2 lakh feeders.
This creates a large, multi-year implementation opportunity across meter manufacturing, communications systems, software, installation, data management and grid services. The pace of execution, contract delivery and utility funding will remain central risks, but the scale and policy support give the programme strategic importance within India’s power infrastructure market.
A smart meter records electricity use every 15 to 30 minutes and sends the data directly to the distribution company. This removes the need for manual readings and reduces estimated bills, data-entry errors and long gaps between consumption and billing.
Consumers can monitor usage through a mobile application, receive low-balance alerts and recharge their accounts in prepaid mode. Distribution companies gain frequent information on consumption, payment behaviour and unusual activity across the network.
Metering at feeder and distribution transformer level adds another layer of control. Utilities can compare the amount of electricity entering a local network with the amount recorded by connected customer meters. Any unexplained gap can be narrowed to a specific area, reducing the cost and time required for investigation.
Prepaid operation limits the build-up of unpaid consumption because electricity is purchased before use. Remote connection and disconnection also reduce the need for field visits and give utilities tighter control over defaulting or illegal accounts.
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