BANGALORE: It may be smart, but it's going to cost you anywhere between Rs 4,000 and Rs 5,000. The smart prepaid metre proposed by Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) - billed to give information on how much energy you consume in an hour, on a particular day or throughout the month - will be rolled out shortly. On Wednesday, Bescom managing director P Manivannan said the plan was to start installing these meters for its 73 lakh consumers by the next financial year. "As the consumer will have to pay for the smart prepaid meter, we'll have to appeal to the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) to roll out a pilot project or start it for all from the next financial year," said Manivannan. If the commission gives the green signal, the company can call for tenders and the manufacturer which offers the least price will get the bid. "The consumer will have doubts regarding the amount he will have to pay, the safety issue and prepaid billing. We will ensure that all these points are taken into consideration during meetings with the technical team. We'll have consumer participation in the technical draft meetings," he said. He also said that Bescom will start conserving energy if the project is started on a full scale rather than as a pilot project, but for this, they will have to get KERC's permission again. This would help them frame conditions for the bidders. He estimated that by February, the company could procure enough meters to start replacing the old electro-mechanical meters from April 2012. Bescom assured that the utility will find a way to make sure the consumers' monthly instalment towards prepaid meters is less than Rs 50 per month. The plan is to take two months advance as cost of the meter (say Rs 2,250 for each month) and the rest can be paid in monthly instalments along with the recharge. But there is little clarity on who will pay for the meter - the tenant or owner -- in buildings with many meters and connections. Manivannan said there has to be mutual understanding on who will pay but it should ideally be the one who consumes power. What is a smart metre? It gives a cumulative meter reading of energy consumption Can be switched off and on remotely, as and when needed Gives information on energy consumption in an hour or day, monthly and yearly basis Gives information on how much energy an appliance consumes Accordingly, energy consumption can be shifted from peak to non-peak hours, which costs less Gives a consumer interface through which the utility can communicate about power cuts or if there is a short-circuit, the meter sends an alert to the central server at the utility The utility informs the consumer to recharge Said to be tamper-proof with just 1% error scope