Ahmedabad plans Smart Grid

Come October and Ahmedabad will have probably India's first smart grid system in place where consumers will be able to pick a suitable plan for electricity consumption like they do for cellphones. Uttar Gujarat Vij Company Pvt Ltd (UGVCL) is set to roll out a modernized electric grid or the smart grid system in Naroda by October this year.
Installation of new electric meters embedded with SIM cards has begun in Naroda by five companies including Reliance, Wipro, Crompton, L&T and Tapesh Energy . As many as 1,500 meters will be installed by July 15. Following the installation, a data communication network will be set up to monitor consumer behaviour.
The pilot project will study consumer behaviour of electricity usage and propose a tariff structure based on usage and load on the power utility . Eventually , it will be rolled out across the state to disincentivize power consumption during peak hours.
The smart grid will work on the 'time of day' concept, based on which tariffs will be set. For example, if the demand is at peak during 7 pm to 11 pm, the tariffs will be higher for that period.
“These five companies had shown interest in the tender floated by UGVCL. These companies will first install the new meters and then by setting up their servers will develop the data network. The companies will be required to submit consistency report based on the consumer behaviour,“ said Nityanand Srivastava, managing director, UGVCL.
In the last stage, based on the financial bids, one of the companies will be selected which will roll out the smart grid. UGVCL will have access to the data of the company and hence will use it to fix the tariffs based on time. “The project was to roll out in April but got delayed due to elections and we expect to start it by October,“ said Srivastava.
In a 50-50 partnership, UGVCL, along with the Centre, will invest Rs.48 crore in the project to set up infrastructure, meters, servers and analytic systems for smart grid. The smart grid 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. Like the internet, the smart grid consists of controls, computers, and new technologies and equipment working in unison.