PANAJI: Congress workers, led by former Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) president Amit Patkar, staged a protest outside Vidyut Bhavan in Panaji on Wednesday, demanding a formal government notification cancelling the Smart Meter Project.
The protest came despite Chief Minister Pramod Sawant’s recent announcement that the smart meter rollout has been put on hold until concerns related to sanctioned load and consumer penalties are resolved.
Addressing party workers, Patkar said that merely suspending the project was not enough and insisted that the government issue a written order permanently withdrawing it.
“A verbal assurance is not sufficient. We want an official notification scrapping the Smart Meter Project once and for all,” Patkar said, alleging that consumers across Goa had suffered due to the implementation of smart meters.
Police personnel stopped the protesters at the main gate of Vidyut Bhavan and prevented them from entering the Electricity Department premises. Congress leaders argued that they had every right to visit a public office and seek answers regarding consumer grievances.
A Congress delegation later met Chief Electrical Engineer Stephan Fernandes, who confirmed that the installation of smart meters has been temporarily suspended.
Fernandes informed the delegation that the Electricity Department had procured one lakh smart meters, of which nearly 43,000 have already been installed across Goa.
He clarified that all installed smart meters are currently operating in post-paid mode and announced that a notification regarding the refund of penalties collected from consumers would be issued shortly.
According to Fernandes, around ₹43 crore collected as penalties will be refunded to consumers. He also maintained that complaints regarding increased electricity bills were not linked to smart meters.
The Chief Electrical Engineer further stated that the department would automatically upgrade sanctioned loads wherever necessary without requiring consumers to initiate the process.
Despite the assurances, Patkar said Congress would continue its agitation until the government formally withdraws the Smart Meter Project through an official notification, claiming that public concerns remain unresolved.
