India has installed 3.9 crore smart meters under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) as of December 31, 2025, a rollout the government said has helped bring down aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C) losses from 21.91 percent in FY2021 to 15.04 percent in FY2025. Overall, 5.28 crore smart meters have been deployed across the country under RDSS and various state initiatives, Minister of State for Power Shripad Naik informed the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.
Launched in July 2021, RDSS has sanctioned smart metering for 45 distribution utilities across 28 states and union territories, covering 19.79 crore consumer meters, 52.53 lakh distribution transformer meters and 2.05 lakh feeder meters. Maharashtra leads installations with 83.7 lakh meters, followed by Assam (47.3 lakh), Gujarat (35.7 lakh), Madhya Pradesh (31.4 lakh) and Chhattisgarh (33 lakh). Uttar Pradesh has installed 62.5 lakh meters against a sanctioned base of 2.85 crore, while Andhra Pradesh has completed 22.3 lakh. Punjab and Goa have not yet begun installations under RDSS, while Tamil Nadu has recorded 9,746 meters.
The government said prepaid smart meters enable advance revenue collection for discoms, lowering receivables and interest costs while improving cash flows. For consumers, the system offers near real-time usage visibility through mobile applications, digital recharge options, low-balance alerts and historical consumption graphs. A survey by nodal agencies REC Ltd and PFC Ltd showed that among 1.24 lakh consumers who downloaded the application, 54,321 were aware of real-time consumption features and 72,494 used the recharge or bill payment option.
On data security, the Standard Bidding Document for RDSS mandates secure communication infrastructure, cloud security, incident management protocols and compliance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act. The sectoral response team CSIRT-Power has been tasked with cyber incident handling and preparedness for utilities.
Installations have accelerated since December, with 4.05 crore meters under RDSS as of January 15, 2026, taking total deployments across schemes to 5.44 crore. The government said consumer outreach, including vernacular audio campaigns, workshops and social media engagement, is being expanded to address concerns around prepaid metering and drive adoption. Officials maintained that smart metering remains central to improving billing efficiency and reducing losses, key objectives of RDSS aimed at ensuring reliable and financially sustainable power supply.
