How EDF is capitalising on India’s AMI market

India has some of the biggest market potential for smart metering and AMI in the world. One company that has noticed is France’s EDF.

It’s not a secret that the advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) market in India has been rapidly evolving in recent years, marked by pro-active policy and the widespread deployment of smart meters across the country. 

The Indian government has been actively driving the National Smart Metering Project under its Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), targeting the deployment of 250 million smart meters by 2025.

One utility that has noticed the market potential is EDF, who has been active in the country’s AMI segment since 2018.

EDF and Indian smart metering

EDF International Networks’ business development manager Sebastien Louison explained the company’s activity in India during Enlit Africa in Cape Town, South Africa.

According to Louison, the company has been present in India for over 25 years and boasts the largest deployed smart metering project in India to date, with 8.85 million smart meters across three territories.

Said Louison: “In India, EDF has been awarded almost 9 million meters to be managed and this is a big challenge.”

According to Louison, their smart meter tech in the country uses point-to-point (P2P) communications and is used for meter-to-cash – by customer demand – as opposed to primarily data and analytics, as has been the case for their smart metering in locations like Canada or France.

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Through their projects, he says, “EDF is providing the financing…and implementing the meters, deploying them on the field with our own people in India. And last, but not least, we have operated their activity for over 10 years for the DSO.”

And when it comes to their build up, he adds, a system by the name of DBFOOT is used to guide the project management:

“At EDF, we have a product in India, which is named DBFOOT, which stands for design, build, finance, own, operate, and transfer to the DSO at the end. This is how we implement the project in India.

“There is an SPV (special purpose vehicle) where EDF is a main shareholder, and we have a contract with a general contractor or integrator, which is my company, EDF international networks, who is managing the relationship with suppliers like Siemens, Schneider Electric, IBM and so on, to integrate all those solutions to the project at the best price.”

Another point of interest, added Louison, is the connectivity they provide on the customer side, to the DSO.

“We provide connectivity, enabling the DSO to collect at a good rate the money from the end customer. We are not providing electricity. This is a business of the DSO. We’re only providing connectivity to make sure that the connection with the prepaid meters is well done.”

“When the DSO has to implement an AMI project, it is sometimes not so easy, because sometimes that will be the only project they have implemented in their lifetime. So, [in that position] it is better to be supported by a company that is doing that in the long run.”

A partnership with Actis

Louison’s explanation of EDF’s work in India comes months after a partnership agreement with Actis, a global infrastructure investor.

Under the partnership, announced back in February, the collaborators will operate a dedicated platform company for Advanced Metering Infrastructure Service Provider (AMISP) concessions.

At the time of the announcement, Federico D’Amico, CEO of EDF India, commented in a statement: “We are excited to join hands with Actis to accelerate the deployment of smart metering infrastructure in India. This partnership underscores our commitment to supporting India’s energy transition by leveraging our global expertise and innovation in digital grid technologies.”

Asanka Rodrigo, partner at Actis, added: “This collaboration marks a significant step in our continued commitment to India’s power sector. Smart metering is a critical component in ensuring efficient energy consumption, reducing losses, and improving billing accuracy for consumers. We look forward to working with EDF, a leader in the sector globally, to scale our joint venture in India.”