Transition towards Prepaid Smart Metering in India-Framework for Uninterrupted Operations in Active Distribution Systems

Scheme (RDSS), marks a strategic shift from conventional billing systems to prepaid smart metering enabled by Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) for millions of consumers across the country. Apart from being a significant technological upgrade, the scheme is also a foundational reform that supports the transformation of passive distribution networks into active, data-driven operational ecosystems.

The shift towards prepaid from the existing postpaid scheme, in many places of India, has faced challenges regarding its acceptance in the general public. As consumers are the most important stakeholder in any such reform, gaining their trust and acceptance is essential for the success of

RDSS Scheme. As such, the onus is on distribution utilities to extract the maximum advantages of large-scale Smart Meter deployment scheme for the benefit of consumers at large.

Leveraging the implementation experience of large-scale projects comprising of more than 2 million Smart Prepaid Meters, this paper outlines a comprehensive framework for rolling out prepaid smart meters across Distribution Companies (DISCOMs) and leveraging its full benefits leading to consumer satisfaction and ultimately acceptance of Smart Meters in India. The Smart Metering infrastructure allows for near real-time data acquisition, automated billing, and enhanced operational visibility. Consumer indexing via GIS-based apps, automated meter inventory management, integration with legacy billing/CRM systems, and robust cybersecurity are the key pillars of this deployment. A robust IT back end with availability of granular data, therefore, opens up unique opportunities which can be exploited towards enabling consumer benefits and ultimately consumer acceptance.

Parallel to the RDSS Scheme, India’s push towards green energy and aligned policy-making such as PM-Surya Ghar scheme has resulted in unprecedented growth of renewables including rooftop solar installations at the consumer premises. As on date of writing this paper, approx. 2 million consumers have installed rooftop solar installations in their premises. However, due to considerations of Voltage rise in the distribution grid, many distribution companies have resorted to limiting the allowable capacity in rooftop installations at the domestic premises.

Such restrictions limit the green energy ambitions of 500 GW by 2030 and prevents consumers from availing the incentives designed towards benefitting them.

In the case of Active Distribution Networks with high Distributed Energy Resource (DER) penetration—particularly rooftop solar in the Indian context—the smart metering ecosystem enables a significant operational advancement. By providing granular, phase-wise voltage and consumption data, smart meters serve as critical sensing nodes that inform system operators about dynamic load-generation balances, grid stress points, and voltage anomalies. The integration of prepaid systems with net-metering functionality for solar consumers ensures accurate tracking of generation and consumption, allowing DISCOMs to manage reverse power flows and voltage rise challenges inherent in solar-rich feeders.

Moreover, the deployment is scalable and secure. The cloud-based, API-integrated architecture ensures interoperability with future smart grid applications, while the cybersecurity framework—including end-to-end encryption and role-based access control—protects consumer data and grid integrity.

This paper discusses how AMI infrastructure acts both as a revenue assurance tool and plays a crucial role in Distribution System Operations in the emerging context of growing DER penetration in the Distribution Grid. By enabling DER penetration through timely insights,

Smart Meters can gain acceptability in the public and thus achieve the scheme objectives of better financial outcomes of DISCOMs. With the experience of deploying approx. 2 million

Smart Meters in western part of India under RDSS scheme, the authors propose implementation and operational guidelines for DSO in AMI implementation ensuring grid modernization and resilience in an era of increasing DER integration.