Consumers’ association expresses concern over vulnerability of APDCL smart meters

A CORRESPONDENT

LAKHIMPUR: In the wake of a news being circulated with a shocking revelation that the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) smart meters can be easily accessed by malicious hackers, the All Assam Electricity Consumers’ Association (AAECA) has expressed strong reaction over the issue.

In a press release, Assam State Committee conveners of the Association, Ajay Aacharya and Hillol Kumar Bhattacharya said that the All Assam Electricity Consumers’’ Association had been consecutively demanding the government to withdraw the prepaid smart meters by terming them to be ‘against the interest of the consumers’ and ‘friendly of the corporates only’.

“In support of the demand, our organization has even initiated consumers’ movement too. But the government is still silent over the issue. The silence on the part of the government over the frequent allegations of increased electricity bill showed by the smart meter has helped in looting the common people. The main reason for installing smart prepaid meter by spending crores of fund despite the usability of the digital meters is to pave the way for the entry of private sector companies into the power distribution system of the government,” Ajay Aacharya and Hillol Kumar Bhattacharya stated in the press release.

In the same press release, the conveners of the organization further said, “The Consumers’ Association had expressed apprehension before that the smart meters would cause critical anomalies regarding the electricity bills and burn a hole in the consumers’ pockets. The news, which says that the APDCL smart meters are hack-able, has established the base of the apprehension.”

Through the press release, the All Assam Electricity Consumers’ Association has demanded the government to withdraw the installation of the smart meters, which the organization has termed to be ‘against the interest of the consumers’. In this connection, the organization has also appealed to the public to initiate stir in support of the demand.

Notably, the smart meters installed by APDCL have been under the scanner for several technical glitches, including increased electricity bill. As on April 28, the APDCL has installed 5.79 lakh smart meters, as per information recorded in the National Smart Grid Mission dashboard.

Also Read: Smart meters: Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) officials interact with power consumers

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