Jaipur, May 1 -- In a bid to provide better consumer services and improve the financial condition of the cash-strapped discoms, the Rajasthan power department will offer prepaid facility for electricity use. The three discoms Jaipur, Ajmer and Jodhpur are installing smart meters for about 14.3 million consumers in the state. The meters have both postpaid (consumers pay at the end of the month as per the consumption of electricity) and prepaid facility, (consumers pay before using electricity), said Ashok Verma, SE IT (additional charge). "The facility is optional currently. Those consumers who opt for prepaid facility will have to pay before they can use the power. They can recharge the connection every month. Those opting for prepaid will get a discount of 0.15 paise per unit," said Verma. The smart meters have been put for about 550,000 consumers in the state and the replacement of all meters will take place by December 2026 at a cost of Rs.14,000 crore. The Centre will bear 15% of the cost. The prepaid facility will be available to domestic and commercial consumers but not to agriculture consumers initially. The installation, monitoring and upkeep of meters have been given to two service providers who will run the system for 10 years before handing it over to the state government....