KSEB approves ₹4.85 crore upgrade for five smart-meter testing labs

The Kerala State Electricity Board has approved a ₹4.85 crore proposal to upgrade testing and metering laboratories at five locations as smart-meter installation expands across the State. The facilities at Angamaly, Thirumala, Pallom, Shoranur and Kannur will be improved to handle tests on smart meters being introduced among consumers in phases. KSEB said the laboratories currently lack adequate facilities for this work.

The five laboratories are accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories. A committee reviewing the requirements advised the utility to upgrade them before the smart-meter programme advances further. KSEB is installing 300,000 smart meters under the first phase of its Smart Metering Project.

The first phase focuses on prepaid meters, as well as the replacement of system meters used by the board and meters serving high-tension consumers. The utility began the rollout in August 2025 under an alternative implementation model approved by the then Left Democratic Front government. Initial pilots involved two government connections under the Puthenchantha electrical section in Thiruvananthapuram.

Seven feeder meters at the 220 kV substation in Kalamassery, Ernakulam, were also included in the early pilot activity. The project is being introduced in stages, with government offices among the connections included in the first phase. By March this year, 172,000 connections had shifted to smart meters, according to the report.

The laboratory upgrade is intended to provide the testing capacity required as the board continues installing the remaining meters planned under the initial phase. The source material does not specify when the upgrades will be completed or when the next installation stages will begin.