India to fine discoms for blackouts from Apr 2019, curb electricity theft

India plans to fine electricity distributors from April 2019 for power cuts deemed avoidable and to make it mandatory for the companies to install prepaid or smart meters to prevent electricity theft, Power Minister Raj Kumar Singh said on Thursday. 

The initiative is the latest by the government to ensure more reliable power supplies in the nation of 1.3 billion people where a quarter of households have no electricity supply.

The government launched a $2.3 billion project in September to provide the whole population with power by the end of 2018.

Singh said distributors would be fined if they cut power to customers