HOW TO: Get your BESCOM electricity meter changed

Posted on September 11, 2013 Updated on September 19, 2013

You really don’t want to!! But if you are one of a lucky few with a problem in your electricity meter, then this post will hopefully help you navigate your way through all the paperwork at BESCOM and get your meter changed.

There are a few reasons you may be in this situation – your meter might have simply stopped working, be faulty in recording usage, might have burnt out in an electrical accident, etc. This post was written in the context of a meter burn out that also resulted in stoppage of power being supplied to the apartment.

Summary

Overall, there are five key steps:

1. Get the Joint Engineer (JE) to inspect the damage and provide you with an inspection report.
2. Get the Asst Electrical Engineer (AEE) to verify the inspection report and grant permission to procure a new meter.
3. Go and purchase the meter.
4. Get the JE to send his linesman to install the new meter.
5. Get your new electricity bill correctly calculated.

Each of these steps have been elaborated in greater detail in the sections below. Note that #1 and #4 above are the JE’s responsibility and #2 above is the AEE’s responsibility. But like every other Government department, nothing moves unless you push, plead, persist in the right proportions at the right times. One good thing though is that at no point do you need to make any “unnecessary payments” to any of the BESCOM officials.

The whole process (#1 – #4) will easily take up the whole day, even with everything going as planned. So, you will just need to be prepared to keep the whole day aside for this.

Step 1. Inspection Report

First, you need to get an inspection report that explains the nature of the damage to the meter.

1. Check the extent of the damage and take a few pics of the damaged meter. Often you will be asked what happened to the meter and it is easiest to just show a picture (instead of repeating the 1000 words every time).
2. A picture of a burnt out meter is shown below. A little bit of the technicals follow, though one really doesn’t need to worry. This is a 3-phase 10kW meter manufactured by LnT with a guarantee period of 5yrs starting. There are 8 wires connected to the meter from below – 2 wires each for each of the 3 phases and the 2 black wires for the neutral. There are 3 fuses under the meter.

   

3. Also keep a latest electricity bill handy. Often you may be asked some questions about the connection, you will need to provide connection details in the various letters, etc and most of these details are in the bill.
4. You need to know the Joint Engineer (JE) who is responsible for your jurisdiction and go to the JE’s office. You may have to wait to meet him, since the JE is usually expected to go into the field for inspections, etc.
5. You will then need to write a letter addressed to the “Assistant Executive Engineer, Sub Division XXX” requesting an inspection of the damage and an issue of the inspection report. Note that the subdivision is mentioned in your electricity bill.
6. The JE and the linesman will come over to your place (in due course) and inspect the damage to the meter, and provide an inspection report. You might be asked some general questions – like when did you notice the damage, or what equipments were on at home when the damage happened, etc. At the end of the inspection you will get an inspection report, a sample of which is shown below.

   

7. In addition, ask the linesman to take the meter down and give it to you. This is especially necessary if the damage is covered under guarantee and hence the meter can be replaced free of cost. A meter not working properly, not working at all, etc are covered under guarantee, but malfunction due to likely external reasons are not covered. A burnt out meter is (in most cases) not covered under guarantee.
8. Finally, you need to have a copy of the original invoice for the meter. Note that like in the previous point, this invoice is only necessary if your damage is covered under the terms of the guarantee. If you dont have the original invoice, chances are you wont be able to benefit from the guarantee if you are within the guarantee period.

Step 2. Meter procurement permission

Next, you need to go to the main BESCOM office (of your jurisdiction) to get a letter granting permission to procure a new meter. The steps are detailed below.

1. You first need to get a standard form that contains the request to grant permission for procurement of a new meter. You (usually) get this form in a shop called the Electrical Contractors Association near the BESCOM office. A picture of the form is shown below.

   

2. Now, go to the BESCOM office, get help from the staff to fill up the form above, and get the form verified.
3. Next, you need to take this filled up, verified form to the AEE and get it signed, essentially granting permission to get a new meter.
4. Note, if you are seeking replacement of the meter under guarantee, there may be some more steps and forms to fill – TBD.

Note that you just have to be patient here. The officials are generally helpful, but also take their own sweet time (this of course depends on your jurisdiction). For e.g., around (extended) lunch times, you will not find any of the officials, and you just need to wait patiently. No point in getting frustrated about it.

Step 3. Procuring the new meter

1. Often, there is a small shed like structure next to the main BESCOM building, or in the basement of the main building where new meters are stocked. You need to find out where this room is and take the above signed form to the person in that room.
2. The meter in the picture above was an LnT 3-phase 10kW meter, but these aren’t generally available at the BESCOM office. The cost of the LnT meter is about Rs. 4500/-. The meters that are available at the BESCOM office is of the LG (Landis Gyr) brand. These are cheaper and cost Rs. 2450/-.
3. Another issue that you might face is unavailability of 3-phase meters. If you have a single phase meters, then you will get it easily since these are generally well stocked. But 3-phase connections are not too common and hence the meters are also not well stocked. In that case, you need to call up other BESCOM offices and find out if any of them have stock of the 3-phase LG meter. You have no choice but to go to that BESCOM office to get your new meter.
4. The person at the meter store will take the signed form from the AEE above, and issue a new meter – along with a proper receipt that contains the terms of the guarantee.
5. Note, if you are seeking replacement of your current meter under guarantee, these steps may be different – TBD.
6. As soon as you get the new meter, call the JE, inform him that you have got the new meter, and request him to send his linesman to fix the new meter.
7. Also, make sure sure to get a photocopy of the inspection report and of the invoice of the new meter. These will be needed subsequently.

Step 4. Meter installation

If you managed to get this far – either reading this post or going through the actual process – it is time to give yourself a pat on the back and get through the last few steps below.

1. The linesman will come over to do the installation (again, in due course). You just need to check that he does a neat job of fixing the meter – a sloppy job might mean that you have to go back to Step 1 and repeat this whole process within a few days or months!! In this case, the reason for the burnt meter was most likely a loose connection in the wiring, that slowly wore out over a long period of time.
2. Finally, you just need to check that you are restored with power at home at the end of the installation, and everything is working fine.
3. If you got your meter replaced under guarantee, then you would have likely surrendered the old meter. If however, you still have the old meter with you, you need to hand it over to the linesman along with the photocopies of the invoice . Tell him to file the “R&R report” and make sure that the upcoming bill is properly generated. Chances are he wont do it properly, and you will still need to go through the last set of steps below.