Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation (TNPDCL) will privatise electricity meter reading from October, using contracted staff and a mobile application to address billing discrepancies caused by a severe shortage of field assessors across the state. The change will affect about 3.5 crore low-tension electricity connections, including 2.5 crore domestic consumers.
TNPDCL has sanctioned 7,565 assessor posts to record consumption every two months and generate electricity bills. However, only 3,063 assessors are currently working, leaving 4,502 positions vacant, or nearly 60% of the sanctioned strength. The distribution utility has so far used retired TNEB personnel to conduct meter assessments at consumers’ premises.
Under the new arrangement, TNPDCL executive engineers can float limited tenders for six months to hire additional manpower. The tenders will be vetted by superintendent engineers. Contract workers must hold at least a degree or diploma and will be required to cover a minimum of 250 services a day in the Chennai Corporation region and 220 services a day in other municipal corporations.
A circular issued by TNPDCL headquarters to field engineers states that contractors must record the actual meter reading at the consumer’s premises through a mobile application. The application will use either an optical probe or a Bluetooth transmitter. Workers must also select the correct service connection in the application and complete the assessment within the prescribed billing cycle.
The move is intended to reduce delayed or inaccurate assessments that can result in sudden increases in recorded consumption and higher electricity bills. When meter readings are not taken on schedule, consumption can be assessed through other methods, including what consumers and industry representatives refer to as “table reading”. The new system is designed to create a digital record of the reading and connect it to the relevant service number.
Retired staff currently engaged for the work receive an honorarium of ₹5 per assessment. TNPDCL has said these personnel will be relieved if their performance is unsatisfactory, while the workload of regular assessors will also be reviewed. The circular does not specify the total number of contract workers to be appointed or the total value of the tenders.
Consumer activist T Sadagopan welcomed the decision, saying it could reduce table reading and prevent consumption from moving into higher slabs when assessments are delayed. He said contract workers would need to be monitored by TNPDCL to ensure that readings are taken at consumer premises and recorded correctly.
The TNPDCL assessors’ association has opposed the privatisation plan. Its president Kannan said contract workers might record readings without visiting premises or under-assess consumption to benefit particular consumers. He also alleged that officials had not consulted unions before issuing the directive and said the association would oppose the move.
The immediate implementation challenge will be ensuring that the mobile-based process produces accurate readings across millions of connections while closing the assessor shortage. TNPDCL’s six-month contracts, field-level tender approvals and monitoring of assessments will determine how the new arrangement operates from October.
