At a time when the Covid-19 pandemic has imprisoned commoners and rulers alike in their homes, the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited’s (MeECL) determination to proceed with the installation of the controversial smart meters is causing consternation all round.
The smart meter project has been under a cloud, with civil society, pressure groups, opposition parties and even allies within the government balking at the cost. A look at the contract suggests that each smart meter costs Rs 9,444, though Power Minister James Sangma has insisted that the real cost is around Rs 3,500.
The MeECL has been urging the public through advertisements to open up their homes to the ‘designated personnel’ for installation of the new meters.
Senior Congress leader and MLA of East Shillong, Ampareen Lyngdoh, has described all this effort during the lockdown as “ridiculous” and demanded an immediate halt to the project.
“The Power Department should prioritise its schedule of work during the pandemic. An advertisement in the newspapers at this point of time sends the wrong signal to the public and creates unnecessary apprehension in our minds. As the state reels under an unprecedented crisis over increased spread and deaths due to Covid-19, the MeECL should attend to ensuring uninterrupted power supply to all regions,” she told Highland Post.
The legislator said that power failures have become a regular occurrence even in the district headquarters. She said that this has disadvantaged the public, who can no longer rely on shops to provide them with candles and alternative means to light their homes with supply chains disrupted by the second wave.
Lyngdoh also said that hospitals and lesser health centres cannot function if they are subjected to frequent power cuts but, of late, there have been reports of blackouts in these life-saving institutions. All these affect the functioning of vital oxygen links to patient beds, which depend on regular power supply.
“The plans for installation of smart meters in the state should be immediately put on hold and valuable manpower should be designated to ensure a steady, constant and continuous power supply to the public at large,” she emphasised.
