Tiruchi Corporation has planned to expedite the pilot project to install smart meters for non-domestic drinking water connections in select wards to calculate water charges based on actual consumption.
Earlier this year, the Corporation planned to install smart meters to assess the non-domestic drinking water connections and passed a resolution in February to implement it on a pilot basis in 13 wards in Zone V (Ko Abhishekapuram). The Corporation called for tenders to execute the pilot project in May and allocated a sum of ₹51 lakh from its general fund. A Salem-based engineering firm was roped in to fit smart meters.
A senior Corporation official says the firm will remove all conventional meters in non-domestic drinking water connections in Zone V and replace them with digital meters. The firm will also develop dedicated software and take care of maintenance of the smart meters for a year beyond the prescribed warranty period.
Periodic meetings have been organised with all stakeholders to review the implementation, and instructions given to expedite and complete the work soon. After completion of the pilot project, steps will be taken to extend it to all the zones in the next phase.
There are more than 1.2 lakh drinking water connections in the city for which the civic body levies water charges with different tariffs for domestic and non-domestic consumers. At present, water charges are calculated based on the readings taken manually by Corporation workers. The proposal to digitise water metering has been felt because of certain flaws in measuring the quantity of water consumed and the shortage of workforce involved in taking readings manually.
Digitising will help the civic body to monitor and regulate the consumption of drinking water through its Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) control room. This will also help the administration to levy water charges based on the actual consumption rather than charging a flat rate and is likely to increase its revenue.
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