India’s first smart grid system to be rolled out in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad is going to be India’s first smart grid efficient city in October, where consumers can pick up an apt plan for power consumption, reports Times of India.

Uttar Gujarat Vij Company (UGVCL) is planning to initiate a modern smart grid system in Naroda, Ahmedabad.

Installation of new electric meters equiped with SIM cards has begun by five companies including Reliance, Wipro, Crompton, L&T and Tapesh Energy, says the report.

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By July 15, around 1,500 meters will be installed and a data communication network will be set up to monitor consumer attitude including electricity usage followed by a proposed tariff structure based on usage and load on the power utility.

Eventually, this system will be spread across the state to dis-incentivize power utility during peak hours.

Working will be on the basis of ‘time of day’ concept, on which tariffs will be set like the tariffs will be higher for that period when the demand is high.

Five companies are given responsibility of new meters and with the help of servers they will develop the data network. The companies have to submit stability report based on the consumer behavior, said, Nityanand Srivastava, managing director, UGVCL.

In the last stage, one of the companies will be chosen for setting up the smart grid. UGVCL will have access to the company data and hence will use it to plan the tariffs based on time, said, Srivastava.

UGVCL and Central government are investing Rs 48 crore in a 50-50 partnership to roll out infrastructure, meters, servers and analytic systems. The project is being implemented in 14 cities in 14 states. The project will integrate all the electricity generated through various sources, including solar and wind, into one server system.

With the smart grid system, consumers will have control on the consumption of power and help in reducing power thefts as well as energy conservation.

Moreover, the consumers can manage their power usage in form of pre-paid and postpaid connections, added the report.

On the other hand, consumers are a bit apprehensive for new meters and they should be beware of higher energy bills as for the first time bill will be under their control, said Srivastava.

The tariff system will alert people about energy conservation according to expert analysis.

UGVCL plans to install new meters in 20,000 units in Naroda and the data will be collected every 15 or 30 minutes to study the consumption pattern.

Further, 18,000 points identified at transformers in Deesa will be added to smart grid for the pilot project to study the pattern in rural areas.