Hyderabad: Despite stiff opposition from some quarters, power supply utilities have been vigorous in replacing the existing digital meters with infrared port meters which are seen as a remedy to end power pilferage. However, even the IR port meters are being tampered with, albeit less in number.

According to officials in the Southern Power Distribution Company nearly eight to nine percent of IR port meters are being tampered with. “IR port is a facility to the existing digital ones where infrared rays transmit the data between the devices. Since it is not possible for the field staff to know about it, we told them, suspicious cases should be looked into. If they find any glaring discrepancy, the consumer will be under the scanner,” Suresh Kumar, Super-intending Engineer, in charge of change of meters, said.

To a question as to why IR ports are being fitted in place of digital ones when they are also not tamper proof, he said, the quantum of tampering is significantly less.

“Once meddling is done, the IR port facility will be lost. It is for the manufacturing company which should ensure that the meter is tamper-proof. In India, most of the companies manufacture tamper-prone meters only,” Srinivasa Rao Nyayapathi, a retired official who worked in APCPDCL said.

In TSSPDCL limits alone, nearly 35 lakh of a total of 61 lakh meters were replaced with IR port meters. “All the new houses will be fitted with IR port meters and wherever we get complaints or repairs, we are replacing them with the IR port meters only,” Narayana Reddy, Chief General Manager (Finance), TSPDCL, said. The discom is opting for IR ports primarily for two reasons: one to end the malpractices resorted to by its own billing staff and two to curb power theft by consumers. Several instances of staff recording wrong readings to earn illegally have been reported.