The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) has issued a tender for the installation of smart meters for its Faridabad township. The bid-submission deadline is January 15, 2019.

The scope of work includes the design, engineering, supply, installation, and commissioning of township smart-metering system at NTPC, Faridabad.

Smart meters are a necessity for the upgradation of Indian power sector. A smart grid has become even more necessary as the country transitions towards a heavy mix of renewables in its power generation capacity. In a major announcement, the government recently said that starting from April 2019, it plans to replace all existing electricity meters in the country with smart prepaid meters. The process of switching over is expected to take nearly three years.

Many state governments have begun installing smart meters under the NDA government’s Smart Cities Mission. This program aims at urban renewal with the mission to develop 100 cities across the country that are energy efficient, citizen friendly, and sustainable.

Recently, the Indore Smart City Development Limited also issued a tender for smart meters to be installed under Indore Smart City project. For this, 30,000 smart meters with RF mesh communication will be installed.

In November 2018, the Uttar Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC) approved a petition filed by Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd. (UPPCL) regarding the rollout of smart meters in the state. About 4 million consumers across five distribution companies (DISCOMs) in Uttar Pradesh will benefit from this initiative.

Recently, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) successfully completed the pilot phase of its satellite-based smart meter project in a village in Varanasi in which 5,000 households received the meters.

In August 2018, Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of the public-sector units of the Ministry of Power and the Government of India, entered two memoranda of understanding (MoU) with North Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited (NBPDCL) and South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited (SBPDCL) to deploy smart meters in 130 towns and adjacent rural areas covering approximately 1.8 million customers in the state.

In July 2018, EESL signed an MoU with Haryana state DISCOMs to install 1 million smart meters across the state.

Image credit: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kiona Miller / Public domain