India: 600,000 smart prepaid meters for Assam Power Distribution Company
India’s smart meter jv IntelliSmart Infrastructure Private Ltd is to install over 600,000 smart meters in the northeastern state of Assam.
The award is the first smart metering project in India to be competitively bid on a TOTEX basis, i.e. CAPEX + OPEX, and installation will be delivered in 19 circles (districts) in Assam.
IntelliSmart, a joint venture of the government’s National Investment & Infrastructure Fund and Energy Efficiency Services Ltd, thus becomes the first company in the smart metering segment to deliver the programme in this region of India.
IntelliSmart operates with a Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) model and will maintain the advanced metering infrastructure system for a total contract period of about nine years.
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The project will be undertaken in Nagaon, Morigaon, KANCH, Cachar, Badarpur, Jorhat, Golaghat, Sibsagar, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, GEC-I, Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Rangia, Mangaldoi, Tezpur, North Lakhimpur and GEC-II circles of Assam.
“This is a proud moment for us as we secure the first-ever competitively bid smart metering project of the country,” said Anil Rawal, MD and CEO of IntelliSmart, of the win.
He adds that it entails an investment of about 500 Crs ($67 million) in the state for enabling smart metering in prepaid mode and would usher the transformation in the power distribution in Assam through the digitalisation process.
“We shall continue to have commitment to Assam to the smart metering as well as other digital initiatives of the state to help Assam’s drive to be on the forefront of the energy map of the country.”
Smart metering is expected to create systemic efficiency improvements in the financial and operational health of India’s distribution companies, along with consumer empowerment by giving them control on consumption based on their capacity and need as well as building transparency by providing regular data on their consumption.
