GMR Smart Electricity Distribution (GSEDPL), a subsidiary of GMR Power and Urban Infra, has won the order to install, integrate and maintain 7.57 million smart meters across different regions in Uttar Pradesh.

Two state DISCOMs floated a total of three tenders for the smart meter projects in April this year, Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam (PVVNL) for Varanasi, Azamgarh zone, and Prayagraj, Mirzapur zone and Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam (DVVNL) for Agra and Aligarh zone.

GSEDPL quoted ₹75.93 billion (~$927 million) as the contract price. The company will sign a 10-year contract with DISCOMs to operate and maintain these smart meters.

Out of the total smart meters, 2.6 million will be installed in the Agra and Aligarh zone. Additionally, 2.7 million meters will be installed in Varanasi and Azamgarh, while the remaining 2.3 million smart meters will be deployed across Prayagraj and Mirzapur.

The Advanced Metering Infrastructure Project encompasses the supply, installation, integration, commissioning, and operation & maintenance of smart meters on a Design-Build-Finance-Own-Operate-Transfer basis.

GMR Group said the project will be supported by advanced technology and software solutions to enable a fully automated system management process.

The project falls under the Revamped Distribution Sector Program and aims to minimize Aggregate Technical & Commercial losses in the designated region while enhancing the operational and collection efficiency of Uttar Pradesh DISCOMS.

In October 2022, Energy Efficiency Services, as part of its Smart Meter National Program, installed over three million smart meters in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, Bihar, and Andaman. The company signed agreements with the state-designated agencies and utilities in these regions for the large-scale deployment of smart meters.

According to the data released by the National Smart Grid Mission, Ministry of Power, in February 2022, 3.73 million smart meters were installed nationwide out of the total allocated quantity of 11.16 million as of January 2022. Various agencies were yet to install the remaining 7.43 million smart meters that the government has allocated.