New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) area has become the first municipal council in India to implement 100 percent smart metering solution in its area.

This feat was achieved after the Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture between the public-sector units of the Ministry of Power and the government of India,  replaced 50,000 conventional electricity meters with smart meters.

The adoption of smart meters is expected to lead to total annual savings to the tune of ₹124.7 million (~$ 1.77 million). The aggregate technical and commercial (AT&C)  losses are estimated to be around 12.63 percent.

This move is also likely to improve consumer satisfaction level from better complaint management, faster restoration of outages, awareness of optimized consumption pattern, and improvement in system stability.

“The government of India is accelerating the adoption of smart meters to ensure efficient management of electricity by checking data-entry errors, billing inefficiencies, and cutting the costs of manual meter reading through web-based monitoring systems. Smart meters will revolutionize the power sector through their vast cascade of benefits including reduced AT&C losses, better health of DISCOMs, incentivization of energy conservation and ease of bill payments,” said R.K. Singh, the Minister for Power in a government release.

Naresh Kumar, the chairman of NDMC also commented on the feat saying, “NDMC has adopted the smart meters program as a part of aligning with the government’s plan to upgrade our national energy system. We aim to play a vital role in India’s journey towards becoming a lower-carbon economy and an energy-secure nation. We are glad to lead the way in India’s smart meter revolution.”

Lately, the installation of smart meters has gathered momentum in the country. In recent times, various states have announced their intention to slowly wipe out conventional meters, replacing them with smart ones to ensure energy efficiency.

For instance, recently, Mercom reported that Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Ltd. (UPPCL) has roped in EESL for the installation of smart meters due to their expertise in low cost bulk procurement and working as demand aggregators.

In August 2018, EESL 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.

Nitin is a staff reporter at Mercomindia.com and writes on renewable energy and related sectors. Prior to Mercom, Nitin has worked for CNN IBN, India News, Agricultural Spectrum and Bureaucracy Today. He received his bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Communication from Manipal Institute of Communication at Manipal University and Master’s degree in International Relations from Jindal School of International Affairs. More articles from Nitin Kabeer