Title of Invention	"ELECTRONIC METERING APPARATUS COMPATIBLE FOR COMMUNICATION WITH A SERVER"
Abstract	The present invention belongs to the field of power (electricity) management in its distribution network. More particularly the invention pertains towards curtailing power revenue loss in the industry as well as increasing efficiency in the whole system.

Full Text

Field of the Invention: The present invention belongs to the field of power (electricity) management in its distribution network. More particularly the invention pertains towards curtailing power revenue loss in the industry as well as increasing efficiency in the whole system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for converting any type of conventional meter into an electronic metering apparatus compatible for communicating with a server. The present invention also relates to an optoelectronic device for measuring the reading of a metering apparatus or for converting any type of conventional meter into an electronic metering apparatus compatible for communicating with a server. The present invention also provides a metering apparatus which is based on or employs any type of conventional meter such as a mechanical meter or an electromechanical meter or an electronic meter and communicates with a server. The present invention also provides a prepayment metering apparatus which supplies commodities such as electricity, water, gas or heat to the consumer for consumption only after the commodities are purchased from a supplier. The present invention further relates to a tamper proof metering apparatus for automatically detecting tampering of the meter which measures supply of utilities such as gas, electricity or water without manual intervention. The present invention relates to a method for converting one or more of conventional meters into electronic metering apparatuses compatible for communicating with a server. The present invention also provides an apparatus for converting one or more of conventional meters such as mechanical meters and/or electromechanical meters and/or electronic meters into electronic metering apparatuses compatible for communicating with a server. The present invention further relates to method and apparatus for distribution automation using conventional meters, a conversion apparatus and Remote Terminal Units. The present invention also provides a means to match the electricity available to a utility to the consumer demand in conformity with the business objectives of the utility and the regulatory needs. Background of the Invention: In view of the fact that the primary use of the present invention is for measuring the supply of electricity or water or supply of gas the following description will be based on these uses. However, it is to be understood that the invention is of more general application and could apply to other goods or services. The process of counting the number of units of electricity or water or other commodity consumed by a consumer is usually performed by a metering apparatus. As a person skilled in the art would be aware, a conventional mechanical meter or an electromechanical meter is not configured to communicate with a server. Although, an electronic meter is configured to communicate with a server, different types of electronic meters manufactured by different manufacturers follows different standards for communicating with a server and hence, two different electronic meters manufactured by two different manufacturers cannot communicate with a single server. Thus, the data contained in the large variety of conventional meters that are fitted on the users premises, including mechanical meters, electrical meters, which represents, for example, the meter reading which is a measure of the quantity of the commodity consumed, are not communicated to the server automatically. In other words, it is not possible for a server to automatically read the various types of meters and output the reading of the meter in such a manner that the output can be directly used by a metering system for further processing. Thus, at present, a personal appointed for the purposes of reading the meter goes from user premises to premises, reads the noting on the meter and communicates the same to the metering system. In the metering system, the readings are then manually entered so as to generate a bill relating to the amount of the commodity consumed by the user. This process is time consuming and not accurate. As the data has to be entered into the system manually, there are chances of error. To the best of the Inventors' knowledge, there is no method and/or device available to enable a conventional mechanical or electromechanical meter to communicate with a server. Further, to the best of the Inventors' knowledge, there is no method or and/or device available to enable different conventional mechanical or electromechanical meters manufactured from different manufacturers to communicate with a server. Furthermore, to the best of the Inventors' knowledge, there is no method and/or device available to enable various types of electronic meters i.e. electronic meters manufactured by different manufacturers to communicate with a server without modification to the meter per se. Thus there exists a need to provide a method for converting any type of conventional meter into an electronic metering apparatus compatible for communicating with a server without modification of the meter in itself. The present invention also provides a metering apparatus communicating with a server which is based on or employs any type of conventional meter such as a mechanical meter or an electromechanical meter or an electronic meter without modification of the meter in itself. Further, there exits a need to provide a device for converting any type of conventional meter into an electronic metering apparatus compatible for communicating with a server or for measuring reading of various kinds of metering apparatuses without manual intervention, which can be fitted on to existing meters and therefore avoiding costly retrofitting of new and/or more advanced meters. Also, there exists a need to provide an apparatus for converting one or more of conventional meters such as mechanical meters and/or electromechanical meters and/or electronic meters into electronic metering apparatuses compatible for communicating with a server without modification of the meter in themselves. The supply of electricity or water or gas is conventionally monitored by a meter. Traditionally, meters used to simply accumulate the amount of electricity or water or gas consumed and required the meter to be read periodically so that the customer could be billed. However, such meters are susceptible to damage and consequently, more recently, it has become common to have a pre-payment meters which require the entry of information into the meter prior to use to enable receipt of supply of the electricity or water or gas. Various prepayment systems have been described for use with electricity meters. Examples can be found in NZ 236202, GB 2,208,955 and EP 420466. One way of achieving prepayment was for the customer to go to a central location and purchase a "key" which could be inputted to the meter and thereby to commence receipt of a measured quantity of electricity or water or gas. Each of the supplied "key" is unique and the key is indicative of the amount of money which has been handed over by the customer and/or the amount of commodity that can be consumed by the customer. Although the above-mentioned patents describe the overall system, none of the patents specifically describe the meter or the steps taken or the measures taken by the system to stop the supply of the electricity or water or gas to the customer upon non-payment of the money or upon complete depletion of the amount of money. If the rate at which the commodity is provided (i.e. price per unit) is constant throughout a set period for example over a day, it is somewhat easier to calculate the amount of commodity consumed and detect the depletion of the amount of money. However, as is a common practice in many of the countries, the rate at which the commodity is provided (i.e. price per unit) is varying in a day and in some instances it varies on half hourly basis. Also, several suppliers share a common distribution network. Thus, it is difficult to accurately determine the amount of the commodity consumed and determine the amount of balance money. The situation is further complicated in developing countries like India and underdeveloped countries where a variety of meters are used in the urban parts of the country. For example, in urban India a variety of meters are fitted at the user premises, including mechanical meters, electrical meters, electromechanical meters, electronic meters etc. which measure the consumption based on a variety of principles / mechanisms. In addition, the most commonly available meter in the rural parts of countries like India still remain a mechanical meter or an electromechanical meter which does not have any facilities other than simply recording the number of units consumed over a period of time and which requires a personal appointed for the purposes of reading the meter to go from user premises to premises, read the noting on the meter and communicate the same to the metering system. Also, to the best of the knowledge of the Inventors, none of the patents or literature available to the Inventors discloses a prepayment system which operates with such diverse variety of meters measuring the consumption without replacement of the existing meters. Even if the meters are replaced by electronic meters, it is not possible for the metering system to read the output from two electronic meters manufactured by two different manufacturers because of their non-compatibility. Thus there exists a need to provide a simple and easy to implement prepayment metering apparatus which addresses the lacunae described above without replacing the existing meters and therefore avoiding costly retrofitting of new and/or more advanced meters. Due to various reasons, it has also been noticed that many of the meters located at the customer's premises are tampered such that they indicate lesser number of units consumed. If the meter tampering is performed by customers who consume less number of units, the loss to the distribution company is negligible and can be ignored. However, if customers such as industries indulge in tampering of the meters, the amount of loss to the distribution company may be significantly large. Therefore, it is preferred to curtail and stop the tampering of the meters in order to increase the revenue of the distribution company. Thus, in the prior art, to avoid the above mentioned problem, meters were sealed with tamper proof sealing such as hologram stickers, special wires / tapes etc. At present, a personal appointed by the distribution for the purposes of detecting tampering of the meters goes from user premises to premises, and checks the meters and if tampering is detected and communicates the same to the distribution company. For the sake of convenience, we are calling such a personal as a tamper detecting person. Once a meter tampering is reported by the tamper detecting person, the distribution company replaces the meter and/or fines the customer who is found to be tampering with the meter. However, to avoid the possibility of the tamper detecting person not detecting the tampering due to lack of training, and/or to avoid the possibility of the tamper detecting person not detecting the tampering due to negligence, and/or to avoid the possibility of the tamper detecting person not detecting the tampering due to closure of the customer premises, and/or the possibility of the tamper detecting person not conducting the surveillance or not reporting the tampering, it is advantageous to develop a tamper proof metering apparatus which reports the tampering of the meter to the electrical distribution company without manual intervention. The situation is further complicated because of the variety of meters that are fitted at the users premises, including mechanical meters, electromechanical meters and electronic meters which measure a variety of commodities, it is not possible to detect tampering of meters and inform the same to the distribution company for further processing. Thus, there exits a need to provide a tamper proof metering apparatus for automatically detecting tampering of the meter which measures supply of utilities such as gas, electricity or water without manual intervention. More particularly, there exists a need to provide a tamper proof metering apparatus which addresses the lacunae described above without replacing the existing meters and therefore avoiding costly retrofitting of new and/or more advanced meters. Power distribution is the backbone of a country's economy. The pace at which the country progresses depends on the efficiency and reach of power distribution network amongst the people. Increased and continuous access to power results in higher productivity and efficiency at work. A recent survey of Indian power industry statistically establishes that about 35 to 40% of the total power generated is lost. Although some of it may be lost during transmission, it seems unlikely that 35 to 45% of the power could be lost by transmission losses. The question arises as to why such huge losses are occurring and are there any means to curtail the losses. The above-mentioned survey classified the losses as "Technical losses" and "Commercial losses" and attributed majority of the losses as being contributed by commercial losses. Technical Loss is the loss which occurs due to the physical characteristics of the transmission and distribution system (i.e. power lines, transformers, substations and other equipments). Technical loss can be calculated using some measurements and the laws of physics. The technical losses can be reduced but can never be eliminated. Commercial Loss is the loss which occurs due to wrong billing and due to theft of the energy and includes: (a) illegal connection; (b) tampering of meters; (c) slow meters; (d) wrong metering of active energy, and (e) billing and collection related problems. It is interesting to note that in order to detect the losses occurring due to illegal connection, presently a personal appointed by the distribution company is required to constantly conduct surveillance of the area. There is no automatic mechanism available to detect the localized area in which losses occur. With this the increasing emphasis on commercial aspects, there is an increased emphasis on the economic operation, sometimes at cost reliability and quality. Computers (or to use a wider term, Information Technology, which covers electronic devices, communication systems and computer systems) need to play a greater role in planning and operation of the power system. In addition to the technical operation areas (like control centres, LDC etc), areas where it could apply include all the management functions. It is likely that IT will penetrate more in all these areas of the sector in the near future. This operational aspect has several facets that need to be managed in concurrence with each other. First and foremost the production should be optimally balanced against the need and if possible against consumption. At present no system exists that can forecast the demand of power. Although there are ways available that can predict long term demand, but those are more useful in planning the growth of the sector rather than managing its day to day operations. The current state of the art provides for distribution automation with advanced electronic meters, which allows load and availability profiles to be matched in real time and also future schedules prepared based on load forecasts. This means the existing electrical system with conventional electromechanical meters cannot be automated, as it cannot communicate with a server. Although, an electronic meter is configured to communicate with a server, different types of electronic meters manufactured by different manufacturers follows different standards for communicating with the server and hence, two different electronic meters manufactured by two different manufacturers cannot communicate with a single server. Distribution automation with advanced electronic meters, communication devices and central servers allows for matching the available electricity to the consumer needs in an optimal way. The remote meters also furnish real time load and consumption data allowing the central server to compute future demands using sophisticated techniques and buy requisite amount of electricity for future demands. In case of shortages - either real time or future - it also imposes a load shedding regime in conformity with the business objectives of the utility and subject to regulatory constraints. However, such distribution automation systems are restricted to load shedding regimes either to the sub-station of the feeder level. To the best of the inventor's knowledge, such systems are not implemented at the consumer level allowing a much better match between load demand and electricity available. There is a need therefore to meet the objective of distribution automation using the existing installed conventional mechanical or electromechanical or electronic meters in order to achieve the business objectives of the utility and subject to regulatory requirements. Further, a system that allows a level of control closer to the consumer level allows such matching of demand and load profiles to be maintained with a greater degree of accuracy leading to lower levels of load shedding. Load management / Demand Forecasting: Depending on consumer behavior load keep on changing from second to second. Load at present is not exactly predictable. Thus if someone overdraws there will be fall in power leading to tripping. Based on previous experience, one can only make reasonable observations about load. The typical daily load curve for a state in India has been observed as: two peak periods, one in the morning and another in the evening, two off peak periods, one at noon and another at night. Load values are lower on holidays. Irrigation and air conditioning loads are high in summer than in winter. But uncertainties remain. No grid balancing methodology is available under present circumstances. It is therefore desirable to have such a system that accurately predicts the consumption pattern of the consumer on a very short term basis so that power generation as well as its distribution can be optimized keeping this data as the central basis. Once the transmission has taken place various kinds of thefts take place right using various methods and devices. Sometimes the consumer may tamper with his meter or sometimes he may tweak his billing information by some means. In certain cases the public takes illegal connections directly from the distribution poles making it even more difficult to narrow down on the culprit. Ideally a method and system for energy audit should be in place that not only calculates the losses suffered due to thefts at various places but should also be able to pinpoint the location where the theft has taken place. Furthermore the dynamics of the industry as of now are pretty flexible. No comprehensive database of the present consumer base exists. Lack of accuracy in this information acts as a way out for those with malicious intent. The present system of billing and revenue collection is more of warning based rather that punishment based. This gives ample time to defaulters to get away with the power company's money. Over and above the aforementioned problems a part of the human component of the whole system also compromises on its role thereby creating inherent but difficult to detect faults within the system. Objects of the Invention: The main object of the present invention is to provide a device for converting any type of conventional meter into an electronic metering apparatus compatible for communicating with a server or for measuring reading of various kinds of meters without manual intervention. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for converting any type of conventional meter into an electronic metering apparatus compatible for communicating with a server without modification of the meter in itself. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a metering apparatus communicating with a server which is based on or employs any type of conventional meter such as a mechanical meter or an electromechanical meter or an electronic meter without modification of the meter. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a prepayment apparatus which supplies commodities such as electricity, water or gas only after the same is purchased from a supplier. One more object of the present invention is to provide a prepayment apparatus for performing the above functioning without replacing the existing metering apparatus at the user's premise. One another object of the present invention is to provide a tamper proof metering apparatus for automatically detecting tampering of the meter which measures supply of utilities such as gas, electricity or water without manual intervention. A further object of the present invention is to provide a tamper proof metering apparatus which addresses the lacunae described above without replacing the existing meters and therefore avoiding costly retrofitting of new and/or more advanced meters. A further more object of the present invention is to provide a method for converting one or more of conventional meters into electronic metering apparatuses compatible for communicating with a server without modification of the meters in themselves. Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for converting one or more of conventional meters such as mechanical meters and/or electromechanical meters and/or electronic meters into electronic metering apparatuses compatible for communicating with a server without modification of the meter in themselves. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a pole mountable device for monitoring the flow of energy which helps in localizing the detection of theft of electricity. Still another object of the present invention is to provide an advanced and automated distribution system with the server controlling the distribution at one or more of the following levels: the substation level, distribution transformer level, the pole level and the consumer premises level. One more object of the invention is to provide an automated distribution system for instantaneous monitoring of the system for outages, overloads and faults in the system and provide immediate response to such problems including alternative routing of power if such a possibility exists in the network. Summary of the Invention: The present invention provides a method for converting any type of conventional meter into an electronic metering apparatus compatible for communicating with a server. The present invention also relates to an optoelectronic device mountable upon a meter for detecting / measuring the readings of the same and communicating to a server, said optoelectronic device comprising an optoelectronic sensor locatable upon the meter for sensing the optical pulses generated by the meter and generating / producing corresponding electrical pulse; the output of the optoelectronic sensor being coupled to an amplifying circuit for amplifying the electrical pulse thus generated and the output of the amplifying circuit being coupled to a counter for counting the electrical pulses thereby measuring / detecting the readings of the meter. The present invention also provides a metering apparatus which is based on or employs any type of conventional meter such as a mechanical meter or an electromechanical meter or an electronic meter and communicates with a controller. The present invention further provides a tamper proof metering apparatus for automatically detecting tampering of the meter which measures supply of utilities such as gas, electricity or water without manual intervention and that too with replacing the existing meters. Brief Description of the Accompanying Drawing: In the drawing sheet accompanying the specification, Figure 1 illustrates the circuit diagram of the optoelectronic device (100) for measuring reading of various kinds of meters in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 illustrates the circuit diagram of the optoelectronic device (100) for measuring reading of various kinds of meters in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 illustrates the block diagram of the electronic metering apparatus (200) compatible for communicating with a server. Figure 4 illustrates the block diagram of the prepaid metering apparatus of the present invention in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 5 illustrates the block diagram of the prepaid metering apparatus of the present invention in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 illustrates the block diagram of the tamper proof metering apparatus of the present invention in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7 illustrates the block diagram of the apparatus for converting one or more of conventional meters such as mechanical meters and/or electromechanical meters and/or electronic meters into electronic metering apparatuses compatible for communicating with a server in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention. Figure 8 illustrates the block diagram of the pole mountable device. Figure 9 illustrates the block diagram of the entire system. Detailed Description of the Invention: Accordingly, the present invention provides an optoelectronic device (100) mountable upon a meter (80) for measuring / detecting the reading of the same, the optoelectronic device comprising an optoelectronic sensor (10) locatable upon the meter (80) for sensing the optical pulses generated by the meter (80) and generating / producing corresponding electrical pulse, the output of the optoelectronic sensor (10) being coupled to an amplifying circuit (20) for amplifying the electrical pulses thus generated and the output of the amplifying circuit (20) being coupled to a counter (30) for counting the electrical pulses thereby measuring / detecting the readings of the meter (80). In accordance with another object, the invention provides a method of converting a conventional meter (80) into an electronic metering apparatus (200) compatible for communicating with a server, said method comprising the steps of: (a) exteriorly mounting an optoelectronic sensor (10) on the conventional meter (80), such that the optoelectronic sensor (10) detects the optical pulses generated by the conventional meter (80) and produces an electrical pulse corresponding to each optical pulse; (b) amplifying the electrical pulses thus generated by the optoelectronic sensor (10) using an amplifying circuit (20), (c) counting the amplified electrical pulses using a counter (30) thereby detecting the readings of the meter (80), and optionally storing the value thus counted in a memory element (90); and (d) transmitting the reading of the meter (80) thus detected in step (c) to a server (300) by a transmitter device (120) thereby converting a conventional meter (80) into an electronic metering apparatus (200) compatible for communicating with a server (300). In accordance with yet another object, the present invention provides an electronic metering apparatus (200) compatible for communicating with a server (300) constructed using a conventional meter (80), said electronic metering apparatus (200) comprising: a conventional meter (80) mountable on the means (130) that supply the utilities to measure the amount of the utility consumed, said conventional meter (80) being provided with an optoelectronic sensor (10), the optoelectronic sensor (10) being located upon the meter (80) so as to read the number of optical pulses generated by the meter (80) and producing electrical pulse corresponding to each optical pulse, an output of the said optoelectronic sensor (10) being coupled to an amplifying circuit (20) for amplifying electrical pulses thus generated, the amplifying circuit (20) being coupled to a counter (30) for counting the electrical pulses, thereby detecting the readings of the meter (80) and the counter (30) being operationally coupled to a transmitter (120) for transmitting the reading thus detected to a server (300). In accordance with still another object, the present invention provides a prepaid metering apparatus (400) for supplying the commodities to a consumer on a prepaid basis, said prepaid metering apparatus comprising: a meter (80) mounted on a supply means (130) supplying the utilities; one or more relays (140) mounted on the supply means (130) for disrupting the supply of the utilities flowing there-through; an optoelectronic device (100) mounted upon the meter (80) for detecting / measuring the readings of the same; and a microcontroller (110) being coupled to the optoelectronic device (100) and the relays (140), for receiving the output from the optoelectronic device (100), calculating the amount or value of the commodity consumed and activating the relays (140) if a zero balance is detected. In accordance with one more object, the present invention provides a tamper proof metering apparatus (500) for automatically detecting tampering of the meter (80) measuring supply of utilities, said tamper proof metering apparatus (500) comprising: o a meter (80) mounted on a supply means (130) supplying the utilities; o one or more relays (140) mounted on the supply means (102) for disrupting the supply of the utilities flowing there-through; o a microcontroller (110) being coupled to the relays (140) through one or more buffer means (160) for activating the relays (140); o an enclosure (210) encasing the meter (80), the relays (140), the buffer (160) and the microcontroller (110); o the enclosure (210) being provided with one or more motion sensors (220) for sensing opening of the enclosure (210), wherein the microcontroller (110) receives output from the one or more motion sensors (220), detects tampering based on the motion sensor's output signal and in response controls deactivation of the relays (140). In an embodiment of the present invention, the conventional meter (80) is a mechanical meter (81) or an electromechanical meter (82) or an electronic meter (83). In an embodiment of the present invention, the optoelectronic device (100) is optionally provided with a light source (40) for generating a beam of light which is directable towards a mechanical meter (81) for generating an optical pulse for a discrete predetermined amount of motion of the components of the mechanical meter (81) indicative of consumption of an unit of the commodity which is then detected by the optoelectronic sensor (10). In another embodiment of the present invention, the amplifying circuit (20) comprises plurality of operational amplifiers (21 and 22) sandwiching a zener diode (23) for amplifying the number of optical pulses. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a square wave shaping circuit (50) comprising of a transistor (51) acting as a switch is optionally provided between the amplifying circuit (20) and the counter (30) for generating a square wave pulse. In still another embodiment of the present invention, the counter (30) increments its value by 1 upon receipt of a predetermined number of pulses. In one more embodiment of the present invention, the optoelectronic sensor (10), the amplifying circuit (20) and the square wave shaping circuit (50) are mounted on an integrated circuit and are encased in a casing (60) and sealed. In one another embodiment of the present invention, the casing (60) is provided with an opening (61) such that the optical pulse generated by the meter (80) is operationally coupled to the optoelectronic sensor (10) located inside and terminals (62) are brought out from the casing (60) and are provided as input to the counter (30). In a further embodiment of the present invention, the optoelectronic device (100) is provided with a source of power (70) for providing power to the optoelectronic sensor (10), the amplifying circuit (20), the counter (30), the square wave shaping circuit (50) and the light source (40). In an embodiment of the present invention, the casing (60) containing the optoelectronic sensor (10), the amplifying circuit (20) and the square wave shaping circuit (50) mounted on the integrated circuit is mounted on the conventional meter (80) using conventional mounting mechanism such as industrial adhesive. In one more embodiment of the present invention, if the conventional meter is a conventional electromechanical meter (82) or a conventional electronic meter (83) comprising a diode producing optical pulse, the optoelectronic device (100) of the present application comprises only the optoelectronic sensor (10), the amplifying circuit (20) and the square wave shaping circuit (50) and does not comprise the light source (40). In one another embodiment of the present invention, the optoelectronic sensor (10) is mounted above the diode of the conventional electromechanical meter (82) or the conventional electronic meter (83). In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the transmitter (120) transmits the reading thus detected to the server over cables or over a wireless communication channel. In still another embodiment of the present invention, the transmitter (12) provides an RS485 compatible output or an RS 232 compatible output or an Ethernet compatible output. In one more embodiment of the present invention, the output from the counter (30) is optionally stored in an memory element (90) and the data stored in the memory element is transmitted by the transmitter (120) and the value of the counter (30) is reset after predetermined period of time. In one more embodiment of the present invention, the counter (30), the memory element (90) and the transmitter (120) are formed as a single unit and is constituted by a microcontroller. In another embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller counts the number of electrical pulses generated by the optoelectronic device and detects the reading of the meter (80). In a further more embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller (110) is provided with a port for connecting a "key" inputting means (150). In one more embodiment of the present invention, the key inputting means (150) is detachably connectable to the microcontroller (110) for entering a unique "key" wherein the key is indicative of the amount of money which has been handed over by the customer and/or the amount of commodity that can be consumed by the customer. In one another embodiment of the present invention, the "key" inputting means (150) is selected from the group comprising of a memory reader device (151), a key pad (152) and a receiver. In an embodiment of the present invention, the memory reader device (151) is selected from the group comprising of a smart card reader (154), a SIM card reader (155) and a pen drive reader. In another embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller (110) is coupled to the relays (140) through a buffer device (160) and is configured to constantly deactivate the relays (140) for discontinuing or disconnecting the supply of the utilities flowing through the supply means (130) upon complete depletion of the amount of money or after the predetermined amount of the commodity has been supplied to the consumer. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller (110) is configured to constantly deactivate the relays (140) for disrupting the supply of the utilities flowing through the supply means (130) till the "key" is entered through the "key" inputting means (150). In still another embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller (110) is further coupled to a memory unit (170) wherein the memory unit (170) is configured to store data indicative of the price per unit of the commodity at various time periods. In one more embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller (110) is configured to calculate the value of a unit of the commodity consumed based on the time period at which the commodity is consumed and the value stored in the memory unit (170) coupled to the microcontroller (110). In one another embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller (110) is configured to calculate a balance amount of money for which the commodity can be consumed based on the value of the commodity consumed by the customer and the amount of money which has been handed over by the customer. In a further embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller (110) is configured to calculate a balance quantity of commodity that can be consumed based on the amount of the commodity consumed by the customer and the amount of commodity which the consumer is allowed to consume. In a further more embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller is further coupled to an alarm device (180) to raise an audible alarm if the balance amount of money or the balance quantity of commodity falls below a predetermined number. In another embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller (110) is further coupled to a display device (190) for displaying one or more of the following: • the amount of commodity which the consumer is allowed to consume; • the amount of money which has been handed over by the customer; • the amount of commodity which the consumer has consumed; • the value of the commodity consumed by the customer; • the balance amount of money for which commodity can be consumed; • the balance quantity of commodity that can be consumed. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller (110) is further configured to receive a unique "key" transmitted by a remote location via the receiver (153) coupled thereto, wherein the key is indicative of the amount of money which has been handed over by the customer and/or the amount of commodity that can be consumed by the customer. In still another embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller (110) is configured to receive data indicative of the price per unit of the commodity at various time periods from the remote location (server (300)) at predetermined time periods and store the same in the memory unit (170) coupled thereto. In a further embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller (110) is configured to transmit to the server (300) the data indicative of the inputting of the key by the consumer using the key inputting means (151 and 152). In an embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller (110) is further configured to transmit a signal indicative of tampering of the meter (80) to a distribution company (server). In another embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller (110) is further configured to raise an audible alarm such as a siren upon detection of tampering using the alarm device. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller (110) is provided with a port for connecting a keypad (152) thereto, and wherein the keypad (152) is detachably connectable to the microcontroller (104) for entering a secret code word. In still another embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller (110) is configured to constantly deactivate the relays (140) for discontinuing the supply of the utilities flowing through the supply means (130) upon detection of tampering. In one more embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller (110) is configured to constantly deactivate the relays (140) for discontinuing the supply of the utilities flowing through the supply means (130) till the secret code word is entered through the keypad (152) which is detachably connectable to the microcontroller (110). In a further embodiment of the present invention, the enclosure (210) optionally encases plurality of supply means (130) supplying the utilities. In a further more embodiment of the present invention, at least one relay (140) is mounted on the supply means (130) for discontinuing the supply of the utilities flowing there-through. In another embodiment of the present invention, one or more relays (140) are coupled to the buffer means (160) for simultaneously deactivating the relays (140). In one another embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller (110) is configured to constantly deactivate the relays (140) for discontinuing the supply of the utilities flowing through the supply means (130) till the secret code word is received by the receiver unit (153) from a remote location such as the server (300). In accordance with one more object, the present invention provides a method for converting one or more of conventional meters (80) into electronic metering apparatuses (200) compatible for communicating with a server (300) without modification of the meters (80) in themselves, said method comprising the steps of: (a) exteriorly mounting optoelectronic sensors (10) on one or more of the conventional meters (80), such that the optoelectronic sensors (10) detect the optical pulses generated by the conventional meters (80) and produces electrical pulses corresponding to the optical pulses; (b) amplifying the electrical pulses thus generated by one or more of the optoelectronic sensors (10) using one or more amplifying circuits (20), (c) counting the amplified electrical pulses generated in step (b) using one or more counters (30) thereby detecting the readings of one or more meters (80), and optionally storing the value thus counted in one or more memory elements (90); and (d) transmitting the readings of one or more of the said meters (80) thus detected in step (c) to a server (300) by a transmitter device (120) thereby converting the said conventional meters (80) into electronic metering apparatuses (200) compatible for communicating with a server. In an embodiment of the present invention, the conventional meters (80) are selected from the group comprising of mechanical meters (81) and/or electromechanical meters (82) and/or electronic meters (83). In accordance with one another object, the present invention provides an apparatus (DCMC) (600) for converting one or more of conventional meters (80) into electronic metering apparatuses (200) compatible for communicating with a server (300) without modification of the meters (80) in themselves, said apparatus (600) comprising: • plurality of conventional meters (80) mountable on supply means (130), • one or more of the said conventional meters (80) being provided with optoelectronic sensors (10), the optoelectronic sensors (10) being located upon the said one or more meters (80) so as to read the number of optical pulses generated by the said one or more meters (80) and producing electrical pulse corresponding to each optical pulse, • the said one or more optoelectronic sensors (10) being coupled to one or more amplifying circuits (20) for amplifying the electrical pulses thus generated, • the said one or more amplifying circuits (20) being coupled to one or more counters (30) for counting the amplified electrical pulses, thereby detecting the readings of the said meter(s) (80); and • the said one or more counters (30) being operationally coupled to a transmitter (120) for transmitting the reading to a server (300). In an embodiment of the present invention, an optoelectronic sensor (10) and an amplifying circuit (20) are encased in a casing (60) and constitute an optoelectronic device (100) and the optoelectronic device (100) is mounted on the meter (80) using conventional mounting mechanism such as industrial adhesive. In another embodiment of the present invention, the conventional meters (80) are selected from the group comprising of mechanical meters (81) and/or electromechanical meters (82) and/or electronic meters (83). In another embodiment of the present invention, the optoelectronic device (100) is optionally provided with a light source (40) for generating a beam of light which is directed towards a mechanical meter (81) and the optoelectronic sensor (10) is located such that the sensor detects the motion of the mechanical component and generates an electrical pulse corresponding to a predetermined amount of motion of the mechanical components. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the optoelectronic device (100) is provided with a source of power (70) for providing power to the optoelectronic sensor (10), the amplifying circuit (20) and the light source (40). In still another embodiment of the present invention, the amplifying circuit (20) comprises plurality of operational amplifiers (21 and 22) sandwiching a zener diode (23) for amplifying the amplitude of the electrical pulses generated by the optoelectronic sensor (10). In a further embodiment of the present invention, a square wave shaping circuit (50) comprising of a transistor (51) acting as a switch is optionally provided after the amplifying circuit (20) in the optoelectronic device (100) for generating a square wave pulse. In a further more embodiment of the present invention, the counter (30) increments its value by 1 after receipt of a predetermined number of pulses. In one more embodiment of the present invention, if the conventional meter (80) is a conventional electromechanical meter (82) or a conventional electronic meter (83) comprising a diode producing optical pulse, the optoelectronic device (100) of the present application comprises only the optoelectronic sensor (10). In one another embodiment of the present invention, the optoelectronic sensor (10) is mounted above the diode of the conventional electromechanical meter (82) or the conventional electronic meter (83). In another embodiment of the present invention, if the meter (80) is a conventional mechanical meter (81), the light source (40) and the optoelectronic sensor (10) are located such that the beam of light produced by the source (40) is directed towards the mechanical meter (81) and the optoelectronic sensor (10) is located such that the sensor (10) detects the motion of the mechanical component and generates an electrical pulse corresponding to a predetermined amount of motion of the mechanical components. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the transmitter (120) transmits the reading thus detected to the server (300) over cables or over a wireless communication channel or power line carrier communication. In still another embodiment of the present invention, the transmitter (120) provides an RS485 compatible output an RS 232 compatible output or an Ethernet compatible output. In one more embodiment of the present invention, the counter (30), the memory element (90) and the transmitter (120) are formed as a single unit and are constituted by a microcontroller. In one another embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of the meters (80), the one or more optoelectronic devices (100) and the microcontroller (110) are provided within a tamper proofing mechanism. In another embodiment of the present invention, the tamper proofing mechanism comprises: one or more relays (140) mounted on the supply means (130) for discontinuing the supply of the utilities flowing there-through; an enclosure (210) for encasing the plurality of meters (80), the optoelectronic device(s) (100), the microcontroller (110) and the relays (140); the enclosure (210) being provided with one or more motion sensors (220) for sensing opening of the enclosure (210); the relays (140) and the motion sensors (220) being coupled to the microcontroller (110) for detecting tampering based on the motion sensor's output signal and the microcontroller (110) configured to deactivate the relays (140) in response. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller (110) is coupled to the relays (140) through one or more buffer means (160) for deactivating the relays (140). In still another embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller (110) is configured to transmit a signal indicative of the tampering to the server (300). In one more embodiment of the present invention, the tamper proofing mechanism further comprises an alarm (180) coupled to the microcontroller (110) for raising an audible siren upon detection of tampering. In one another embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller (110) is provided with a port for connecting a keypad (152) thereto, and wherein the keypad (152) is detachably connectable to the microcontroller (110) for entering a secret code word. In a further embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller (110) is configured to constantly deactivate the relays (140) for discontinuing the supply of the utilities flowing through the supply means (130). In a further more embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller (110) is configured to constantly deactivate the relays (140) for discontinuing the supply of the utilities flowing through the supply means (130) till a secret code word is entered through the keypad (152) which is detachably connectable to the microcontroller (110). In another embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller (110) is further coupled to a transducer (230) mounted on the supply means (130) through a meter card device (240) for measuring the total amount of commodity supplied. In accordance with a further object, the present invention provides a pole mountable device (DPD) (700) for monitoring the flow of energy and localizing the detection of theft of energy, said device (700) comprising: o one or more input transducers (250) mounted on input transmission line (260) for producing output signals indicative of one or more of the instantaneous input voltage or the instantaneous input current or the instantaneous input energy flowing through the input transmission line (260); o an input measuring device (270) coupled to the transducer (250) for measuring or detecting one or more of the following: • instantaneous input voltage in the transmission line; • instantaneous input current in the transmission line; • cumulative input energy flowing through the input transmission line; • instantaneous input power factor; and • status of the of input energy with a time stamping; o a microcontroller (280) being coupled to the output of the input measuring device (270) for receiving its output as a first input and configured to transmit signals indicative of the first input to a server (300) for detection and localization of theft; and optionally o a first output of the microcontroller (280) bring coupled to one or more relays (290) and configured to discontinue the supply of the energy to one or more of the user(s) or to discontinue subsequent flow of energy if a theft is detected. In an embodiment of the present invention, one or more supply means (130) providing supply to the users are connected to the input transmission line (260) at a location which is subsequent to the location of the input transducers (250) on the input transmission line (260). In another embodiment of the present invention, each of the user(s) being supplied from the input transmission line (260) is provided with a metering apparatus (200) which communicates the amount of the power consumed by the user to the server (300). In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the said one or more supply means (130) providing supply to the users are mounted with one or more relays (290) for discontinuing the supply of the energy to one or more of the user(s) if a theft is detected. In still another embodiment of the present invention, if the input transmission line (260) supplies a single phase supply, one input transducer (250) is mounted on the line (260) providing an active phase for producing output signals indicative of one or more of the instantaneous input voltage or the instantaneous input current or the instantaneous input energy flowing through the input transmission line (260). In one more embodiment of the present invention, if the input transmission line (260) supplies three phase supply, three transducers (250), one for each active phase, are mounted on the input transmission line (260) for producing output signals indicative of one or more of the instantaneous input voltage or the instantaneous input current or the instantaneous input energy flowing through the input transmission line (260). In one another embodiment of the present invention, one or more output transducers (310) are mounted on output transmission line (320) for producing output signals indicative of one or more of the instantaneous outgoing voltage or the instantaneous outgoing current or the instantaneous outgoing energy flowing through the out transmission line (320). In a further embodiment of the present invention, the outputs from the one or more output transducers (310) are coupled to output measuring device (330) for measuring or detecting one or more of the following: • instantaneous output voltage in the output transmission line (320); • instantaneous output current in the output transmission line (320); • cumulative output energy flowing through the output transmission line (320); • instantaneous output power factor; and • status of the of output energy with a time stamping; In a further more embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller (280) is coupled to the output of the output measuring device (330) for receiving its output as a second input. In another embodiment of the present invention, the microcontroller (280) is configured to transmit signals indicative of the first input and the second input to a server (300) for localizing the detection of theft. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, one or more output relays (340) are provided on the output transmission line (320) for discontinuing the flow of energy. The present invention is further described here-below by way of illustration and more particularly, the following paragraphs are provided in order to describe the best mode of working the invention and nothing in this section should be taken as a limitation of the claims. Before describing in detail various embodiments that are in accordance with the present invention, it should be observed that the embodiments reside primarily in the combination of the various elements in the manner described in the claims. Accordingly, the devices have been represented where appropriate by block diagrams in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having benefit of the description herein. The terms "comprises", "comprising", or any other variations thereof, are intended to cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that an apparatus that comprises a list of parts / devices does not include only those parts / devices but may include other parts or devices not expressly listed or inherent to such apparatus. An element proceeded by "comprises... a" does not, without more constraints, preclude the existence of additional elements. Detailed Description of the Embodiments: The-various components of the invention are as follows: Short term and long term forecasting engine and methodology: This component analyses the trends of current power consumption and makes a model that predicts the future consumption. The model is Artificial Intelligence based and employs neural network to achieve the desired result. This model is used for an accurate load balancing of the gird and directing the right amount of power as and where required. . Connection Management, GIS Mapping and Consumer Indexing: This component of the invention identifies all the legal users of the distribution network and makes a database of their personal, billing and connection details. This consumer database is mapped against GIS images and a network of the grid is made on the computer. This map on the computer can be used to narrow down to a particular consumer. When consumption and billing details are also added to this database, it can be used to track the user's history and his consumption and billing habits. . Energy Audits: The computerized database can be used to conduct energy audit of the power distribution network. . Tamper-proof Meter connection and Enclosures: The methodology of providing new connections and installation is such that the people involved can not tweak the system. Furthermore since the activation takes place from the central computer, one can not tweak the pulse rate of billing. One or more meters of a building are enclosed in a tamperproof box which flashes an audible/visible warning on breaking as well as informs the central server that a tampering has taken place and forces immediate disconnection of power supply. This box is made in such a manner so as to provide almost a plug and play integration of all the existing meters as well as the microcontroller box. . Universal probe for meter reading: This novel probe can be plugged on to any kind of existing meter (analog as well as electronic). This probe is capable of reading the pulses of this meter and transmits it to a microcontroller. . Microcontroller based metering: Since the meters are enclosed in a box which can not be opened, the transmission of reading has to be done using microcontroller based communication apparatus. . Theft detection setup: The invention also provides for a setup that checks for any kind of theft at the consumer level as well as between the poles i.e. through tapping etc. This component provides for microcontroller-based boxes that are introduced at each pole of the distribution network. These boxes are also made tamperproof. These boxes communicate with each other as well as the boxes at the consumer end so as to compare the amount of power transmitted to the amount of power received. Any untraceable and unjustified difference is then looked into for any irregularity. . Remote Reading, Instant Billing and Collection: The user end microcontroller based boxes are made in such a way so that they constantly transmit the reading in an encrypted and wireless manner. A handheld computing device is provided that can collect these readings when in vicinity. These readings may then be transmitted either directly to the central server or through a network so as to update the billing database. This hand held device may also be provided with a printer so as to instantaneously print the bill on the spot and provide it to the user. The handheld unit can also have a camera incorporated that can take an image of the meter reading (if in close proximity) and print it along with the bill. This unit can be further strengthened so as to have a magnetic card reader (credit/debit etc.) as well as a smart card reader. This all in one device can act as a mobile office where the consumer can take care of all his billing. . Pre-paid Billing: So as to avoid defaults in payment, the invention also includes the concept of prepaid billing wherein the user pays as he consumes. A ready account is maintained and when the level falls below the threshold the consumer is intimated so that he can recharge in order to ensure continuous power supply. The hand held unit mentioned above can be used for this purpose as well as other means such as Internet, A TMs, call centres, kiosks etc. . Customer Relationship Management: The above database is used at the backend to provide a comprehensive customer relationship management module. This database coupled to the consumption pattern and trend database along with the demographic details can then be used for data mining. The inventive system is the core of the power industry as it would enable to collect profile of consumption of the people keeping into economic, time, seasonal concepts into consideration. Readings by our server/computer would be able to give consumption patterns of domestic consumers, industrial consumers, and commercial consumers and accordingly help us predicting the consumption patterns of the consumers and any irregularity thereto. The aim is to minimize power loss, and to meet the needs of consumers. Further, in the existing distribution system there is direct connection from the poles to the meter boxes at the consumer's premises, which straightaway supplies power to the consumers. There is no automation available, thus having no control over the power thefts by direct hooking on the wires or in other ways. Hence, the Applicants have realized that in some cases, the individual meters are not tampered, but the theft of the electricity happens from the distribution poles itself. From the point of view of the power distribution companies, it not enough to stop theft of power by individual people by tampering the meters, but attempts should also be made to stop stealing of power directly from the electric poles itself. To the best of the Applicant's knowledge at present no system is available to stop stealing of power directly from the electric poles. Applicants tamper proof electric meter on the poles detect tampering in the electrical connection between two adjacent poles and the electrical connection between the pole and user houses. Briefly, the Applicants system removes all the bottlenecks present in the existing system. Applicant's meter box is an up gradation of already existing meter box, so as to enable the meter to behave as a fully automatic meter. If there is any tampering in the meter box, signal is being rerouted from the smart relay which is controlled by the microcontroller, which then automatically disconnects the power supply. Two different meters are installed; one at consumers end and other meter box in the feeder poles, which are infact conceptually different. Meter box installed in the consumer premises is a functioning body which records the details of consumption pattern. Whereas the meter box fixed in the feeder poles is a governing body. Incase, someone tries to tamper the meter box installed at consumer's premise, microcontroller in the black box at consumers end communicates to the black box installed in the feeder poles and the power supply is automatically cut. Similarly if someone tries to cut the wire the whole system will trip. Thus the Applicant's system is tamper proof and collection of all details of the consumers is possible. Further the process of instant billing is possible through smart card system. Meter tampering is just one form of theft. One method of meter tampering is for a person to physically damage the meter or the lines surrounding the meter. For example, a person may remove one or more power line connections of the electrical energy meters, bypass the meter, or reverse the meter's direction of operation. Another method of meter tampering is for a person to change the internal settings of the meter, such as by reprogramming the meter's configuration parameters. Generally, in order for a person to reprogram a meter, the person must have access to the meter programming hardware and software and in some cases must have knowledge of the meter's password. Due to the access and knowledge required to reprogram a meter, this type of meter tampering often involves a person skilled in the art such as the distributor's own personnel, which makes detecting and preventing the theft even more difficult. Power distribution companies are generally unable to determine and monitor the internal settings or configuration parameters of their meters without a utility employee being sent to each individual meter. As of today, power distribution companies send a person to each individual meter in order to monitor, read the values recorded in the meter, and report the recorded values for the purpose of raising a corresponding bill. In the present system, the detection of any tampering has to be done by the person and hence, it necessitates a person skilled in the art to come and take the reading each month. In other words, a person not having any knowledge of the meter cannot be employed to take authentic readings. Further, there is a possibility that the lines surrounding the meter may not be easily accessible to determine any tampering. Although a meter with a simple lock is also called a tamper proof meter and sold in the market, it is not the nomenclature that is important but the functionality that is important and which determine the level up to which the meter is tamper proof and the ease with which theft is detected and controlled. In view of these difficulties, it is beneficiary to use the applicants meter which not only eliminates the need for a person (whether skilled or not skilled) to come each month and take the readings to generate a bill but is also tamper proof. Further, if the applicants meter is tampered, the same would intimate the power distribution company and simultaneously cut off the power supply to enable instantaneous detection and control of power theft. Tamperproof meter box contains a Black box and microcontroller control system embedded in the black box. The system being offered has been made completely tamper proof with the help of audio/visual alarms and indications. If anyone tries to tamper the system, an audio alarm will blow on at the administrator side cautioning the administrator as well as cautioning the consumer with the audio indication, apart from this there will be visual indications on the system indicating the house whose panel has been tried to be tampered. Control feature is incorporated in the system which automatically trips power flow at consumer premises if the energy meter panel is tampered by any means. Moreover the system has been configured for indications/alarms in case Of low balance and zero balance situations. Whenever the consumers account balance falls below the certain specified limit, a low balance indication comes on the administrators screen as well as consumer's side indicating that the balance is low and the meter needs to be recharged. In case, the account balance becomes nil, an audio alarm blows on and the supply for that meter is cut off. Moving on to Pole feeder, the Applicants have further realized that in some cases, the individual meters are not tampered, but the theft of the electricity happens from the distribution poles itself. From the point of view of the power distribution companies, it not enough to stop theft of power by individual people by tampering the meters, but attempts should also be made to stop stealing of power directly from the electric poles itself. To the best of the Applicant's knowledge at present no system is available to stop stealing of power directly from the electric poles. Applicants tamper proof electric meter on the poles detect tampering in the electrical connection between two adjacent poles and the electrical connection between the pole and user houses. It is also necessary regulate the supply of power to various locations to enable maximum utilization of the power. At present in order to utilize the electric power in the most efficient manner, power consumption trends in every sub-region is measured for a period of every 15 minutes at the sub-regional electrical distribution centre. However, it is not possible to find the power consumption trends down the sub-regional level. It is not possible for a central unit to control the power supply down the sub-regional level. Because of these factors, the central control unit will not be in a position to optimize the distribution of the power supply. Continuous energy consumption trends: The feature to continuously monitor the consumption is incorporated in the system for logging the consumption of the individual consumers per meter in form of a trend every 15 minutes (variable duration). The administrator can see the consumption trend for individual meters and can find out the average consumption per required time. High Performance database: High performance database is present in the system which stores consumer's details for individual meter. Compiled database has been made consisting of the consumer details like consumer name, consumer address, the tariff type his connection falls into, his current balance, his consumption etc. Every new consumer will be allotted a unique K number and with respect to which his details logged into his database. Database also consists of AMR reports, maintenance reports which give details of alarms etc. Effective distribution: System is designed in such a way that in case of any tamper at any particular house than the power trips off for the nearby houses also so that integrity of the locality comes into play if one is culprit everybody has to suffer and finally nobody is going to take the risk of meter tampering. Applicants system will keep record of all the information is a major input of the planning department. One of the activities is to carry out load flows studies to track all the major power flows in the system, identify low voltage pockets and calculate transmission loss. Our system would be able to collect data which would be of great help for grid balancing. Thus based on load forecast and generation schedule, load shedding requirements would be known in advance. The data would enable the distribution Company to tell power manufacturers as to what would be the demand of power and thus balance production of power according to demand. Thus demand forecast would help in diverting the surplus production of certain areas to areas where there is more demand of power. Continuous database collection would enable Availability based Tariff (ABT - a new Tariff regime as a part to bring discipline into the integrated grid operation). The systems of recording used in the field are: (a) Automatic Meter Reading Devices which uses radio and CDMA technology for relaying. But the technique is expensive. (b) Another possible method for relays is use of Radio's. But its drawback is that it can propagate only to certain distance and not enough frequency available and is issued by Government of India, hence making it technologically difficult. (c) PLCC uses some power line, however not successful here. Smart card recharge option for consumers: This feature is similar to prepaid technique used by many mobile phone connection providers. Each consumer will be provided with a smart card which he can use to get the electricity connection for any desired amount and also can get it recharged when he wants. Amount will be deducted from the consumer's account on the server, depending on the consumption and the consumer will be given indication whenever there is low balance. So this feature will eliminate the loss due to unbilled bills and non-payment of bills. Tamper detection: Power shut through microcontroller off in case of any tampering. Thus microcontroller switches off individual meters or pole feeder and Central Unit! Customer Care Centre would be informed immediately. And restoration is possible only through Central Unit or Customer Care Centre. Further utility representative tampered box and Central Unit shows code/time of tampering. Thereafter utility person gives challan to consumer and takes cheque /prepaid card payment. Corruption by utility person is not possible because customer care send code signal to pole through central unit and activates power through central unit only. The electric meter setup as per the invention comprises: electronic meters coupled through a communication channel to a micro-controller means; plurality of relays being connected through a buffer means for interrupting power supply in case of a tampering; a communication means electrically coupled to the micro-controller for communicating information about the operation of the electronic meter to the substation or base station; said meters, the micro-controller, relays, buffer means and communication means being housed inside a sealed container, which is provided with an inlet and an outlet ports connection with the electricity supply line and the load respectively, a plurality of photo electric sensors placed on the sealed container for sensing tampering of the sealed container and optical sensors placed on the meter for sensing unit consumption of the meter. The present invention also provides a system for tamper proof power distribution, said •system comprising: a server/computer located at a central location or base station for collection and maintenance of user data; plurality of poles transmitting electrical power to user houses; said one or more of the plurality of poles being provided with the tamper proof control box as described above; electricity cable from the poles being connected to 2 to 20 user houses through the tamper proof control box for supplying electricity; wherein the tamper proof control boxes provided on the poles detect tampering in the electrical connection between two adjacent poles and electrical connection between the pole and user houses; said each of the user house being provided with at least one tamper proof electric meter as described above, wherein the tamper proof electric meters provided in the user house detects tampering in electric meter and the electrical connection in the user houses. Buzzer is at the tamper proof electric meter box and the server gets knowledge of tamper through communication cable. The tamper proof electronic meter developed consists of the following components: 1. an 8-bit micro-controller with EEPROM non-volatile memory; 2. relays to control the power input to the meters (upto 60); 3. RS 485 communication mechanism; and 4. power supply for the module. The micro-controller is being used to control the relays and also keep a track of the electricity consumption using the LED reading module. The tamper proof electronic meter will communicate over the RS 485 with a RS 485 enabled PC/laptop (base station server) or through an RS 232 interface of the PC and using a RS 232 to RS 485 in between. THE PC/laptop will be used to send command to meter to switch ON/OFF one or more relays. A 5V DC power supply unit is provided. THE LED meter reading module reads the LED available on the digital meter to monitor the consumption. Off-the-shelf modules will be used to monitor the LEDs. The optical sensors provide a digital output pulse on each blinking of the LED. These pulses would be counted to keep track of the user's consumption. Solid state relays (SSR) to be used to control power to the consumer meter. The overall setup of the invention introduces tamperproof mechanisms at the bottleneck points of the whole system. The automation achieved along with the coupling to the technology not only makes the whole system faster and efficient in terms of revenue generation and collection but also optimizes the power distribution network. The present invention further provides a method for increasing efficiency in a power distribution network, said method comprising the steps of: (a) mapping the distribution network and indexing the consumer base, installing theft detection mechanism and conducting an online audit of power consumption, (b) installing tamper proof meter devices and automated billing through said meters, demand size management and load forecasting at the distribution level, and (c) maintaining a CRM and asset management network. In an embodiment of the present invention, the said mapping is GIS based mapping. In another embodiment of the present invention, the step of GIS mapping comprises of the following steps: (a) selecting the geographical area to be mapped, (b) creating a network using a satellite map interface, (c) defining layers in the said network and color coding the layers, identifying, recording and coding the electrical assets, electrical network, consumer spatial and demographic data and geographical attributes, conducting a consumer survey to inspect all connections and meters, reconciling with the billing database and updation of consumer/meter data, and (d) linking individual customer records to the mapped network. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, further including the step of digitizing said map, network and mapped assets and consumer base. In still another embodiment of the present invention, the meters at said consumer base are adapted to digital communication management and connection modules (DCMC module). In one more embodiment of the present invention, said DCMC module is a microcontroller based unit that reads the meter electronically and communicates the meter reading to a central billing and customer software. In one another embodiment of the present invention, the said electronic reading of various types of meters is done using an universal pulse sensor probe comprising of: infra Red (IR) sensor receiving input from pulse generator in electronic meter; first stage amplifier receiving the output of said IR sensor for amplifying the input signal to appropriate level; High Reverse Voltage Suppressor (HRVS) connected to the output of said first stage amplifier for blocking the undesired negative peak voltage; second stage amplifier receiving the input from the said HRVS for correcting the output of said HRVS; and control signal generator receiving the corrected signal from the second stage amplifier for generating the final control signal. In a further embodiment of the present invention, the said pulse sensor probe reads said meters using the said method: sensing of pulse from a pulse generator using said IR sensor; amplifying the output of said IR sensor using first stage amplifier; blocking the undesired negative peak voltage using said HRVS; correcting the output of said HRVS using second stage amplifier; and generating the final control signal using control signal generator. In a further more embodiment of the present invention, the said final control signal is a pulse signal with same voltage as input. In an embodiment of the present invention, the said DCMC module communicate to the central billing and consumer database to control the power supply to said consumers. In another embodiment of the present invention, the said DCMC modules are housed in a tamper proof meter box. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the said DCMC module may optionally communicate with a hand held devise for remote meter reading. In still another embodiment of the present invention, the said hand held device collects meter reading from consumer meters and then transfers the same to the central server. In one more embodiment of the present invention, the said hand held device further includes means to generate and print a bill. In one another embodiment of the present invention, the said hand held device further includes means to accept payments and credit the consumer's account. In a further embodiment of the present invention, the said meters use smart card based billing and said hand held device comprises of means to charge said smart cards. To a further more embodiment of the present invention, the distribution poles are fitted with Digital Pole Data Management Module (DPD module). In another embodiment of the present invention, the said DPD modules communicate to said DCMC modules for energy auditing. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the said D PD modules are interconnected in a parent-child fashion as well as connected with substation and master station computer system to facilitate energy auditing. In still another embodiment of the present invention, the said auditing comprises the steps of: measuring the amount of energy supplied to each poles, measuring the amount of energy distributed by a pole to its sub-poles, measuring the amount of energy distributed by the sub-poles to individual consumers, measuring the amount of energy consumed billed by the said consumers, and reverse calculation of deficit between the billed energy and the supplied energy to determine theft at various levels in the distribution network. In one more embodiment of the present invention, the said method of communication is wired or wireless. In one another embodiment of the present invention, the said energy audit is online through the central computing server of the distribution system and in case of theft the power at identified pole can be switched off. In a further embodiment of the present invention, the said power can be restored only from the central server after necessary enquiry and corrective actions have been taken. In a further more embodiment of the present invention, an audit trail of disconnections and subsequent actions is maintained for tracking the behavior of particular consumer or group of consumers. In another embodiment of the present invention, the said demand side forecasting is short term load forecasting. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, short term load forecasting comprises the steps of: pre-modeling analysis for analyzing the properties of collected data and analyzing parameters for the artificial neural network engine; modeling assessment based on properties of collected data for deriving initial assumptions for the neural network model; model formulation by optimizing the parameters for said neural network to reproduce said collected data as output; and performance testing of neural network model to check the validity of predicted model for varying input data. In one more embodiment of the present invention, the pre modeling analysis comprises: studying properties of collected data to analyze the energy consumption patterns; correlation analysis for searching linear relationships of the output with dependent variables; studying relationship between various values of time series for collected data; multicollinearity analysis for studying the interdependence between independent variables; outlier detection for error analysis for the artificial neural network; interaction analysis for predicting nonlinear relationships between inputs for generating output using the neural network model; and path analysis for detection of direct and indirect impact of inputs on the output of a neural network. In one another embodiment of the present invention, the model formulation comprises: training of neural network parameters in said model for achieving the desired output based on first subset of a known training sets; generalizing the neural network using a second subset of said known training set to predict the behavior of said model and generate a generalization error; testing of model using a third subset of known training set for checking the performance of said model; cross-validating the model using the remaining subset of training sets; and forecasting of the desired output by using the updated neural network output. In a further embodiment of the present invention, the said billing methodology includes availability based tariffs, time of day billing and sector specific billing. In a further more embodiment of the present invention, the said consumer database, billing database, payment history, consumption pattern, audit trail and other captured data is integrated together to form a Customer Management System and for generating specific reports. In another embodiment of the present invention, the said database is also used as a Customer Relationship Management module. Now referring to figures 1 and 2, it can be noticed that the optoelectronic device (100) of the present invention comprises of an optoelectronic sensor (10) which is coupled to a power supply (70) at one end and located on the conventional meter (80) such that the optical pulses generated by the conventional meter (80) are coupled to the optoelectronic sensor (10) and the sensor (10) produces an electrical signal which corresponds to the Optical pulse generated by the conventional meter (80). If the conventional meter (80) is a mechanical meter (81), which does not produce an optical pulse, the optoelectronic device (100) is provided with a light source (an LED) (40) for generating a beam of light which is directable towards the mechanical meter (81) for generating an optical pulse for a discrete predetermined amount of motion of the components of the mechanical meter (81) indicative of consumption of an unit of the commodity which is then detected by the optoelectronic sensor (10). The electrical pulse thus generated by the optoelectronic sensor (10) is then amplified using an amplifying circuit (20). By way of example, the amplifying circuit (20) comprises of a first operational amplifier and a second operational amplifier (21 and 22). The first operational amplifier (21) receives the electrical pulse generated by the optoelectronic sensor (10) at a first port (3) and a second port of the same (2) is coupled to the ground. The first operational amplifier is provided with power supply at a port (8) and another port (4) thereof is coupled to ground through appropriate resistors. The output port (1) of the first operational amplifier is coupled to first input port (5) of a second operational amplifier (22) through a zener diode (23) and appropriate resistors and the second port (6) thereof is grounded. The second operational amplifier (22) is provided with power supply at the port (8) and the port (4) thereof is coupled to ground through appropriate resistance. The amplified electrical pulse is obtained at an output port (7) of the second operational amplifier (22). It should be noted that any other type of amplifying circuit (20) could be used instead of the amplifying circuit described above. Preferably, the output of the amplifying circuit (20) is provided as input to a square wave shaping circuit (50). The square wave shaping circuit (50) shapes the output of the second operational amplifier (22) so as to form a substantially square wave electrical pulse. It is important to note that the shaping of the electrical pulse is not essential and is only optional. The shaping circuit (50) comprises of a transistor (51) acting as a switch for generating the square wave electrical pulse. The square wave electrical pulse thus generated by the shaping circuit (50) is coupled to the counter (30) which is further provided the power supply and ground connection for counting the number of pulses and incrementing its value upon receipt of a predetermined number pulses. It is important to note that the data stored in the counter can be provided as input for the metering system without any manual intervention. The optoelectronic sensor (10), the amplifying circuit (20) and the square wave shaping circuit (50) are encased in a casing (60) and the casing (60) is mounted on the conventional meter (80) using conventional mounting mechanism such as industrial adhesive. The counter (30) could form part of a microcontroller (110) (not shown in figures 1 and 2). Now referring to figure 3, an electronic metering apparatus (200) compatible for communicating with a server (300) constructed using a conventional meter (80) in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention is shown. Without restricting the scope of the present invention, the electronic metering apparatus (200) shown in figure 1 is configured to communicate at least measuring of the conventional meter (80) to the server (300). In addition to the communicating the measuring of the conventional meter (80), the electronic metering apparatus (200) can also communicate other data such as an identity of the meter (80). It can be noticed that the electronic metering apparatus (200) of the present application will now enable a conventional meter (80) to automatically communicate measuring of the conventional meter (80) to a server (300), wherein the measuring indicates the amount of the utility consumed. Now referring to figure 3, the electronic metering apparatus (300) compatible for communicating with the server constructed using the conventional meter (80) in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention comprises: a conventional meter (80) mountable on the means (130) that supply the utilities to measure the amount of the utility consumed. The conventional meter (80) is provided with an optoelectronic sensor (10) which is located upon the meter (80) for detecting the optical pulses generated by the meter (80) and producing electrical pulse corresponding to each optical pulse. As a person skilled in the art would be aware, an electromechanical meter (82) or an electronic meter (83) is provided with an LED which flickers from time to time that correspond to the rate at which the utility is being consumed. The optoelectronic sensor (10) is mounted upon the meter (82 or 83) such that the optoelectronic sensor (10) senses the flickering of the LED and generates an electrical pulse which corresponds to the flickering of the LED. The output of the optoelectronic sensor (10) is coupled to an amplifying circuit (20) for amplifying the electrical pulses thus generated. The amplifying circuit (20) is coupled to a counter (30) for counting the electrical pulses thereby detecting the readings of the meter (82 or 83). The output of the counter (30) is coupled to a transmitter (120) for transmitting the reading thus detected to the server (300). It is important to note that the data of the counter (30) can be either instantaneously transmitted by the transmitter (120) or can be stored in a memory element (90) and thereafter the data stored in the memory element (90) could be transmitted by the transmitter (120) to the server (300) without any manual intervention. The value of the counter (30) is usually reset after predetermined intervals of time period. It can be noticed that a wide variety of transmitters (120) can be used for transmitting the information contained in the memory element (90) or the value of the counter (30) to the server (300). The server (300) could be a central computer which carries out the billing (also called the billing server). Thus the reading of the meter (80) is automatically fed into the server and would not require any manual intervention in feeding the data to the server. It is envisaged that the information contained in the memory element (90) or the value of the counter (30) is transmitted to the server (300) continuously by the transmitter (120) and hence, the reading of the meter (80) at all times would be available with the server (300). However, it is also possible to transmit the information contained in the memory element (90) or the readings of the counter (30) to the server (300) after a predetermined period of time for example, after every 15 minutes or after every 1 hour or after every 3 hour or once in a day depending upon the user's convenience. It is also envisaged that the type of transmitter (120) used for transmitting the information contained in the memory element (90) or the value of the counter (30) could be varied. For example, wireless transmitter can be used for transmitting the information if the server (300) is located within close proximity of the meter (80). Alternatively, the information could be transmitted over cable or using power line communication system. Further, it is envisaged that before transmitting the information contained in the memory element (90), the information is encoded such that the information itself is able to identify to the server (300) from which meter (80) the same is being transmitted. Most systems for Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) for electrical distribution have originated from developed countries with objectives, which may not be relevant in Indian Distribution System context. None of these have been developed with Indian system parameters and objectives in mind. The invention brings together a set of powerful tools that allows the utilities and distributions companies not only to monitor their system in real time but also address specific problems that exist in the Indian electricity sector. And it does this by utilising state-of-the-art hardware and software tailored to Indian needs. What are the components of the present invention SG 61 and how does it fit into a distribution system? The best part of the present invention system is that it does not impact or change the distribution system that is already in place. It does not ask for a complete change of meters and replacement of installed equipment ~ assets which are very expensive to replace. Instead, the present invention adds some equipment, requiring only little rewiring and is then ready to deliver the following: 1. Real time acquisition of electrical data from the sub-station, consumer premises, etc. 2. Visualisation and status monitoring of the electrical distribution system with dynamic graphics 3. Archiving of historical data for subsequent analysis and report generation 4. Real-time Monitoring of " unusual" "losses in the system and pinpointing location of the losses 5. Real-time control by disconnecting consumer or group of consumers if high losses, low power factor, theft or other faults are detected 6. Monitoring tampering of meters in the consumer premises 7. Open Interface with other systems 8. Enabling different payment modes such as Pre-payment and post-payment by cash/ smart card, on-line payment through credit card, ATM etc. 9. A communication interface with a built-in personality module for Ethernet/ Radio Frequency/ RS-232/485 based communications for transferring data of the consumer to a remote location 10. Possibility of Time of Day Metering 11. Demand Side Load Management 12. Load forecasting 13. Energy auditing and Business Optimisation 14. Network planning and up-gradation 15. Elimination of meter-reading& billing errors 16. Automatic billing and faster revenue collection The key to the above is in the special purpose hardware and software modules that have been developed. The major system components are: 1. An optical device that can read a conventional meter and transfer the data digitally 2. A set of electronic modules that can be installed in the consumer's premises with either existing meters or with new meters 3. A set of modules that are mounted on poles or feeder pillars supplying electricity to the consumer's premises 4. A set of modules that are developed for the sub-station end 5. Real-time computer systems with hardware, software, and with wired or wireless communication links to knit the system together and perform the functionalities described above 6. Interfacing with other systems such as powerful Vidushi suite, the GIS based asset management, billing and network management systems 7. A Long Term Analysis and Data Mining tool 8. A Simulation and Demand Prediction module using neural network and heuristics 9. A Business Optimisation Model The heart of the present invention is the set of hardware modules that has been developed for-specific requirements of the consumer premises. It consists of a compact and modular design for mounting a set of meters and other hardware. Each such mounting box comes with a set of racks and terminals for mounting meters, electronics, relays and tamper-detection devices, controllers, as well as the Digital Connection Management and Communication Modules (DCMC) that allows on-line capturing of faults in the system and real time electrical data. It also isolates the consumer in case of faults or if tampering or thefts are detected. The system, therefore,-monitors the electrical consumption of the consumers on a continuous basis and not on a monthly or bi-monthly basis in which a meter reader comes and jots down meter readings. The real-time monitoring of consumer data also allows for tying in the consumption with the billing system and hence, introduction of pre-paid revenue model, something that is impossible to achieve in the manual system of meter reading in vogue today. The controller stores demand profile along with actual consumption on an on-board memory for a sufficiently long time to ride out long term power outages. The second component of the system is Digital Pole Data Management Module (DPD). The DPD modules are mounted on the poles/inside feeder pillars from which the customer's premises are supplied. The supply of electricity from the pole/pillar to the next sub-distribution point is monitored again on a real time basis by the DPD modules allowing the present invention to audit the system continuously. Energy auditing is not an infrequent and manual activity with the attendant problems but built into the present invention. Any theft in the system generally takes place either in the consumer's premises or between the poles/feeder pillars. The present invention monitors the energy flowing into the customer premises and uses the flow from the poles/pillars with some offsets for line losses to identify the points in the network from which losses in the system are taking place. Once identified, the network management can either isolate that part of the system or provide interrupted power in order to make the thefts not useful to the perpetrators, particularly if they are illegal industrial users. It can also be used to institute measures to tighten up the security of the electrical system through other measures. The Substation Management Control Modules (SMCMs) allow feeder level details to be monitored. The electrical system at the substation level is generally metered with advanced electronic meters that capture a wealth of electrical data. However, very little of it is used or can be used in the system that is otherwise heavily dependent on manual interventions. The Substation modules known as Intelligent Remote Terminal Units TRTUs) interface with a number of well-known meter manufacturers and allow sophisticated network management, such as load balancing, power factor improvement, etc. While load shedding may be a critical network function today, there is little doubt that with improvement of availability/quality and reliability of supply, balancing of load and reactive power control will become equally important. The continuous live data from the electrical system allows the present invention to perform tasks as cutting in capacitors etc., without any additional effort. The Distribution Control Room is the hub where the network operator is able to view the entire electrical system. The SCADA software uses Microsoft Windows as the operating system and has state of the art man-machine interface developed using industry standard Wonderware MMI InTouch and a powerful real-time database cum archiving system, Wonderware's real time industrial database InSQL. The present invention uses remote telemetery for supervisory control and real-time data acquisition to bring in information collected from the substations, the poles/feeder pillars and the customer premises and also interfaces with other modules: network and asset management system, the revenue and billing system, or any external data base. The system allows not only a graphical display of all relevant electrical parameters right up to the consumer premise level but also computes and identifies unusual losses and also implements various network isolation strategies. It has alarm and event management modules, display of dynamic graphics, historical data archiving, report generation, and a host of other powerful functions to help the operator manage the network on a real time basis. The software is easy-to-use, with an object-oriented Graphical User Interface and has an open architecture, which utilizes the latest Microsoft Windows client/server networking technology. It is scaleable so that a small, stand alone application can easily be expanded into a large distributed control network with either single or redundant database servers, single or redundant communication servers providing information to multiple workstation clients. The software has the ability to easily interface with mainstream third party database and spreadsheet applications from Microsoft to Oracle. The present invention performs a range of network functions using the wealth of data it captures from the electrical network. This allows for a host of activities that today are done either haphazardly or not at all. The tying of the real time network data with GIS based network and asset management system allows for locating problems and faults on a physical basis and quick attendance to both thefts and faults. In a system that today leaks almost 40-50% of the energy that comes into the network, a real time electrical audit coupled with a graphical map based visualisation of the system would indeed be a powerful tool to tackle the problems plaguing the utilities in the country. With importance of Availability Based Tariff (ABT) in the regulatory regime today, it is important for the electrical system to monitor the frequency and the power flows in and out of the utility's network. The present invention has the ability to compute all the relevant ABT functions required by the regulator. The present invention can expand into a Demand Side Management tool as it brings intelligence right into the consumer's premises with its DCMC controller. This allows the control of the loads on the consumer premises and therefore making possible flattening of the peak load curve for the utility and lowering consumer bills. The Archiving of Historical Data in InSQL allows the deployment of accurate data for forecasting load and network planning. Today, such functions are based on gut feel and crude thumb rules that lead to either the network not being in place when required or being in the wrong place or getting overloaded. While not all such problems can be overcome with historical data, it nevertheless provides a basis for prediction of real total and spatial pattern of demands in a given area. The present invention has a set of Powerful Diagnostic and Data Mining Tools to analyse the InSQL data for long term trend analysis of the electrical network. It identifies overloading of parts of the network, potential and repetitive faults in the equipment, and can be used to augment and improve the network. It can also be used to do a load balancing of the network. The present invention also has a Simulation and Prediction Package, which can be used to predict consumer demand on the network. This package uses a combination of powerful neural predictions and other heuristic rules combined to provide a prediction of short term (next 1 hour), day-ahead and long-term load demands on the system. This helps in the distribution utility to take informed decisions on load shedding of feeders/ groups of consumers or buying extra power using either the present invention Business Optimisation Model or the knowledge and experience of the utility's operating staff. Business Optimisation Model creates an optimisation model for maximization of profits of the utility by timely and appropriate decisions of buying additional power or shedding load subject to regulatory constraints regarding service levels for different kinds of consumers and an overall service level. This combines intelligent load shedding and optimal switching of feeders in case demand outstrips supply with the complete revenue and cost model of the utility. Depending on the energy flow into the network and the revenue information, the present invention can implement a strategy of load shedding consistent with higher revenue generation and within the constraints of a minimum supply to the consumer. For instance, a load shedding strategy can be implemented for giving higher priority to commercial premises, followed by industrial, domestic and agricultural consumers in that order during peak hours, while maintaining a pre-defined minimum daily supply for each category of consumers. The optimisation model created can be used in both modes: an immediate short-term mode for the next 1-hour or for optimising buy decisions for the day-ahead Power Trading Market. For this Business Optimisation Model, the present invention is interfaced with ILOG's powerful optimisation engine, allowing the present invention to bring the full power of cutting edge mathematical programming techniques to distribution management. Advantages of the Invention: The advantages of the present invention are described here below: 1. The device of the present invention eliminates the need to have a personal to measure the reading of the metering apparatus. 2. The device of the present invention can be mounted upon a mechanical meter, an electo-mechanical meter as well as an electronic meter. 3. The device of the present invention can be used for measuring the readings of a meter which is used for measuring the electrical consumption, water consumption or gas consumption or consumption of any other commodity which is measured using a meter. The device of the present invention can be mounted upon the metering apparatus without tampering with the same. The optoelectronic device is mounted external to the metering apparatus and hence, the does not interfere with the operation of the metering apparatus. Due to this, the metering apparatus does not need complete replacement. WE CLAIM: 1. A method of converting a conventional meter (80) into an electronic metering apparatus (200) compatible for communicating with a server (300), said method characterized by: a. mounting an optoelectronic sensor (10) exteriorly to the conventional meter (80), such that the optoelectronic sensor (10) detects the number of optical pulses generated by the conventional meter (80) and produces an electrical pulse corresponding to each optical pulse; b. amplifying the electrical pulses thus generated by the optoelectronic sensor (10) using an amplifying circuit (20), c. counting the amplified electrical pulses using a counter (30) thereby detecting the readings of the meter (80), and optionally storing the value thus counted in a memory element (90); and d. transmitting the reading of the meter (80) thus detected in step (c) to a server (300) by a transmitter (120) thereby converting a conventional meter (80) into an electronic metering apparatus (200) compatible for communicating with a server (300). 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the conventional meter (80) is a mechanical meter (81) or an electromechanical meter (82) or an electronic meter (83). 3. An electronic metering apparatus (200) compatible for communicating with a server (300) constructed in accordance with the method as claimed in claim 1, said electronic metering apparatus (200) comprising: a conventional meter (80) mountable on a supply means (130) that supply the utilities for measuring the amount of the utility consumed; an optoelectronic sensor (10), being located upon the meter (80) so as to read the number of optical pulses generated by the meter (80) and producing electrical pulse corresponding to each optical pulse; an amplifying circuit (20) being coupled to an output of the said optoelectronic sensor (10) for amplifying electrical pulses thus generated; a counter (30) being coupled to the amplifying circuit (20) for counting the electrical pulses, thereby detecting the readings of the meter (80); and a transmitter (120) being operationally coupled to the counter (30) for transmitting the reading thus detected to a server (300). 4. The metering apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the optoelectronic sensor (10) and the amplifying circuit (20) are encased in a casing (60) and the casing (60) is mounted on the meter (80) using conventional mounting mechanism such as industrial adhesive. 5. The metering apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the optoelectronic device (100) is optionally provided with a light source (40) for generating a beam of light which is directable towards a mechanical meter (81) for generating an optical pulse for a discrete predetermined amount of motion of the components of the mechanical meter (81) which is indicative of consumption of an unit of the commodity which is then detected by the optoelectronic sensor (10). 6. The metering apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the optoelectronic device (100) is provided with a source of power (70) for providing power to the optoelectronic sensor (10), the amplifying circuit (20), the square wave shaping circuit (50) and the light source (40). 7. The metering apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the amplifying circuit (20) comprises plurality of operational amplifiers (21 and 22) sandwiching a zener diode (23) for amplifying the amplitude of the electrical pulses generated by the optoelectronic sensor (10). 8. The metering apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein a square wave shaping circuit (50) comprising a transistor (51) acting as a switch is optionally provided between the amplifying circuit (20) and the counter (30) for generating a square wave pulse. 9. The metering apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the counter (30) increments its value by 1 after receipt of a predetermined number of pulses. 10. The metering apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein if the conventional meter (80) is a conventional electromechanical meter (82) or a conventional electronic meter (83) comprising a diode producing optical pulse, the casing (60) comprises only the optoelectronic sensor (10) and the amplifying circuit (20). 11. The metering apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the optoelectronic sensor (10) is mounted above the diode of the conventional electromechanical meter (82) or the conventional electronic meter (83). 12. The metering apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein if the conventional meter (80) is a mechanical meter (81), the optoelectronic device (100) is optionally provided with a light source (40) for generating a beam of light which is directable towards a mechanical meter (81) for generating an optical pulse for a discrete predetermined amount of motion of the components of the mechanical meter (81) which is indicative of consumption of an unit of the commodity which is then detected by the optoelectronic sensor (10). 13. The metering apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the transmitter (120) transmits the reading thus detected to the server (300) over cables or over a wireless communication channel. 14. The metering apparatus as claimed in claim 3, wherein the transmitter (120) provides an RS485 compatible output or an RS 232 compatible output or an Ethernet compatible output or a power line communication system.

Documents:

2052-del-2006-abstract.pdf

2052-del-2006-Claims-(22-02-2013).pdf

2052-DEL-2006-Claims-(24-05-2012).pdf

2052-del-2006-claims.pdf

2052-del-2006-Correspondence Others-(08-06-2012).pdf

2052-DEL-2006-Correspondence Others-(24-05-2012).pdf

2052-del-2006-Correspondence-Others-(22-02-2013).pdf

2052-del-2006-correspondence-others-1.pdf

2052-del-2006-correspondence-others.pdf

2052-del-2006-description (complete).pdf

2052-del-2006-drawings.pdf

2052-del-2006-Form-1-(08-06-2012).pdf

2052-del-2006-form-1.pdf

2052-del-2006-form-18.pdf

2052-del-2006-form-2.pdf

2052-del-2006-form-26.pdf

2052-del-2006-form-3.pdf

2052-del-2006-form-5.pdf

2052-del-2006-GPA-(22-02-2013).pdf