A Brief Overview Of Prepaid Electricity Meter

Do you know how electricity consumption is calculated for your house? 

Well, in cases of prepaid electricity bills, it is measured using the prepaid electricity meter. 

It is a device that is used to measure the electricity or electric energy consumption amount that a building, electrically powered equipment, or any tenant space utilises. 

This energy meter measures electricity until the prepaid electricity bill amount ends. 

In the case of a prepaid electricity meter, an alert is sent to the customer in case they have a low balance in their accounts. 

This alert informs them that they need to recharge the meter. It can be done manually or automatically.

Generally, the calibrating of electricity bills takes place in kilowatt-hours (kWh). Electric billing depends upon the demand and the maximum use of power in some interval.

These meters play various roles other than measuring electricity usage. Electric meters help monitor the energy use of the building or other workplaces. 

If there is any issue at that place, the aid operators recognise it immediately. 

Another important use is that they can track electricity usage in real-time and provide continuous visibility into a property.

A few metropolitan cities in India use smart prepayment meters for electric energy billing. Are you aware of these prepayment meters? 

Do you want to learn more about a prepaid electricity meter aka smart prepayment meter? 

If yes, then this blog is for you!

What Is a Prepaid Electricity Meter?

Like the mobile phone recharge, you can get a recharge card and some energy units to utilise in return for the balance amounting. 

As you continue using energy, the recharge amounts decrease, just like in the prepaid recharge of mobile phones.

When you reach the limit of zero balance, your power supply will automatically cut off. 

But, according to the peak hours, you can control the energy consumption and amount deduction accordingly.

How to Read a Prepaid Electricity Meter Details?

A smart prepayment meter displays your current meter readings on the attached display screen. The steps with which you can read the meter details are:

Step 1: Start to read the meter reading on your meter display, moving from the left digit to the right one.

Step 2: Ignore the digits appearing in red colours. Also, disregard the decimal point or space shown.

How Does a Prepaid Electricity Meter Work?

A prepaid electricity meter uses electricity recharge coupons, cards, tokens, or vouchers. You can purchase a recharge card from a vending outlet and load the card on your smart prepayment meter.

You need to enter the voucher PIN by using the keypad given on the meter. If your coupon is valid, the energy amount gets credited to your account in kWh. 

With the passage of power consumption, your balance gets deducted. When the amount reaches zero value, you need to recharge it again. Otherwise, your power supply gets cut off.

As the energy supply stops when your credit is used up, you can say that a prepaid electricity meter has great control and drastically reduces tampering. 

As a result, your meter readings become more reliable and accurate. Also, they can manage connection and supply disconnection.

What Are the Merits of Using a Prepaid Electricity Meter?

As the name suggests, such a meter is an electricity meter that measures your energy usage according to the payment you paid in advance. 

You must recharge the account before getting a power supply when your balance is used up. Still, there are many merits of using a prepaid electricity meter.

• With the help of a smart prepayment meter, you will be more aware of how much you pay each month for your energy usage.
• You can decide when you want to top up your electricity balance.
• You will always have a scheme about the balance and do not need to worry about getting monthly electricity bills.
• A smart prepayment meter makes the electricity buying process more convenient and straightforward.
• In an emergency, you can use ‘Emergency credits’ provided by these electricity meters.

What Are the Challenges that a Prepaid Electricity Meter Faces?

The demerits of using a prepaid electricity meter over a postpaid electric meter or traditional electric meter are:

• The cost of the prepaid electricity meters is 4-5 times compared to conventional electric meters.
• When a smart prepayment meter is consumed and the supply gets turned off, you need to access the electric meter directly to restore the power supply, which can be difficult to access.
• When your smart prepayment meter runs out of your ‘Friendly hours’, and you have used all your ‘Emergency hours’ credits, your power supply will get cut off.

Conclusion

The prepaid electricity meter has several advantages over conventional electricity meters. It is being used in many countries, including India.

A prepaid electricity meter significantly reduces energy losses as its collection efficiency is 100%. Some states have already introduced smart prepayment meters in India’s commercial and domestic sectors.

FAQs

Q. Is the smart prepayment meter accurate and reliable?

A smart prepayment meter is operated via a computer program and is specially computed and tested to obey international standards. 

This technology has been used for a long time in many countries. It has been proved very effective, accurate, and reliable at managing electricity consumption and demands.

Q. What information does a prepaid electricity meter display?

Such a meter allows you to view the following information:

• LCD test
• Meter serial number
• Real date and time
• Days left based on the last seven days’ average consumption
• Credit balance in INR
• Cumulative active energy (forwarded-kWh)
• Present load cost in Rs/ kWh
• Consumption history of last month
• Instantaneous current (both neutral and phase), voltage, kW, etc
• Maximum demand along with time and date for current and last months
• Tamper count

Q. How to reset the prepaid electricity meter?

Turn on only those electric appliances that you need to use. Close other appliances that are wasting electricity, increasing your consumption demand. 

To reset these electricity meters, follow the below-listed steps.

Step 1: Press the I key and then press 008.

Step 2: Your meter will show you the number of days and energy consumption.

Step 3: Press the I key twice, and your number of days and energy consumption count will reset.