Smart Meters: Conversion into prepaid must not be forceful

While the residents across Kashmir are still witnessing frequent power cuts, the concerned authorities have continued to come up with the latest diktats that have pushed the consumers to the wall. The smart meters installed in the first phase in Srinagar are being converted into prepaid mode. However, the conversion from post-paid to prepaid should be purely the choice of the consumers, but unfortunately, it is being trusted upon them and even the residents have been warned that action will be taken against them in case they will not switch to the prepaid mode. It seems that the department concerned is reluctant to ensure adequate electricity and rather is focussed on income generation only that too by pushing the consumers to the wall. One cannot imagine better facilities by pushing the consumers to face hardships, it is better to have no facility instead of leaving them to lurch at large. However, it has been stated that the decision has been taken in wake of the consumers’ failure in paying their monthly tariff on time, but the other consumers, who have been paying their tariff on time, cannot be pushed to the wall. The action should be taken against the defaulters, and those who have been obeying the norms and paying their tariff on time should not face any harsh decision like forceful conversion of smart meters into prepaid mode from post-paid. There is a need to ensure action at the initial stage rather than pushing everyone to face hardships, which would help in bringing respite to the people, who have been paying their tariff on time.