BERC allows recovery of service cable costs during smart meter rollout

The Bihar Electricity Regulatory Commission (BERC), with Chairman Amir Subhani and Members A.K. Sinha and P.S. Yadav presiding, issued an order on 29 December 2025 approving a framework under which distribution licensees can charge consumers for supplying and installing new service cables during the rollout of smart prepayment meters.

Background and petition

The petition was filed by South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited and North Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited. During the replacement of conventional meters with smart prepayment meters, many existing service cables were found to be damaged, old, or undersized for present load conditions. The DISCOMs argued that reliable service cables are essential for connectivity and data accuracy of smart metering systems. They sought approval to recover the cost of supplying and installing new cables from affected consumers in ten equal monthly installments.

Commission’s analysis

The Commission referred to Section 46 of the Electricity Act, 2003, which allows licensees to recover expenses incurred in providing electric lines. It also noted the central mandate for smart prepayment metering under the Electricity (Right of Consumers) Rules, 2020.

The Commission agreed that healthy service cables are technically necessary for smart metering performance. However, it rejected any blanket replacement proposal or reliance only on field discretion. It held that each case must be technically justified and assessed individually, since universal replacement is not needed in all scenarios.

The order

The Commission approved per-connection charges for different service cable specifications, such as Rs 980.56 for 2C × 6 sq. mm cable, to be recovered in ten monthly installments. It also directed both DISCOMs to prepare a Standard Operating Procedure defining technical checks, conditions, and processes for deciding cable replacement. The SoP must be approved by the Commission before being issued to field officers.

The petition was disposed of in line with these directions.

The featured photograph is for representation only.