LUCKNOW, Dec. 2 -- A recent RTI reply from the Centre has left unanswered the key legal question of whether consumers can choose between prepaid and postpaid electricity meters. While citing subsequent rules and regulations that make smart prepaid meters mandatory nationwide, the response offered no clarity on the scope or intent of the contentious Section 47(5) of the Electricity Act, 2003.

The RTI response issued by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) to a query by this correspondent stopped short of answering whether Section 47(5) of the Electricity Act, 2003 gives consumers the option to refuse a prepaid meter as being claimed by some consumer activists and many people on the social media across the country amid the drive to inst...