Context :
Power Grid Corporation's Rs 6000 crore tender for
smart meters delayed over technology selection
( ET / 02 Sept 2022
)
Extract :
# Tender for
installing 1 crore Smart Meters that
are connected through a “ Web based Monitoring System “
To record information such as “ Electricity Consumption “
# PGCIL opting
for old and obsolete technology over the latest 5 G
# Govt is
looking to replace 25 Crore “
conventional “ electric meters with smart meters in the country, to cut
down on thefts and commercial losses
# Later tender
was modified to include the latest NB-IoT technology along with GPRS as the communication
technology
# A further revised tender last month, excluded the new and 5G ready NB-IoT technology
# NB-IoT technology is a cellular
communication technology that is accepted globally. It provides enduring
cellular technology in 4G as well as 5G
deployment and is better for use in high rises, basements and rural
installations of machine-to-machine
applications
MY OBSERVATIONS / SUGGESTIONS :
Now Electric Smart-meters V 1.0, have been around in some advanced countries for quite a
while
V 1.0 :
# Prepaid ( house-hold consumer pays in advance, through
the Meter or online )
# Meter will
issue “ notice “ when prepaid amount is about to
run-out ( could be through an App )
# Meter will
cut off supply if not re-charged
# Meter
displays all kinds of statistics of past /
current consumption / credit balance ( Kwh – Rs )
# Meter
measures OVERALL consumption of entire house-hold
# It is highly
probable that V 1.0 smart-meters are installed inside
a house-hold , in a visible manner
( In India current lot of conventional electric meters
for different house-holds of a given building, are usually
clubbed together in a cabinet which is mounted
on a wall in the ground floor, enabling meter-reading
person of the
DISCOM, easy access to all the meters at one place )
Dear Shri Y K Dixitji
[ Executive Director – PGCIL / ykdixit@powergrid.in ]
This is your opportunity
to lead the World by introducing Smart-meter V 2.0
V 2.0
# V 2.0 meters would be the size of a 8 “/ 10 “
tablet screen and
mounted INSIDE a home for clear
visibility
# Besides
measuring OVERALL electricity consumed by a house-hold, Meter V 2.0, will measure individual
consumption of each and every equipment – appliance – device ,
installed in the house and drawing electric
power through
the meter .
V 2.0 Smart-meter
will closely “ imitate
“ the functionalities of a CAR INFOTAINMENT system
( found in most , high-priced, modern cars ),
which “ exchanges data thru IoT communication “,
not only
With the SENSORS mounted in various components
of the car but also with other cars and with multiple
Servers belonging to different entities /
agencies )
# Of course,
this would require that each and every such house-hold
device has a “ built-in “ SENSOR, which :
Ø Measures
electricity consumed by that device ( for one
hour )
Ø IoT
enabled sensor relays this “ Consumption Data “
to the Meter
Ø Meter
is determining whether the power consumed is more or less than the “ Max Limit
“ prescribed for each device, by Bureau
of Energy Efficiency ( BEE ) / Energy Efficiency Label for Residential Buildings
Ø Meter
is able to determine CREDIT / DEBIT ( depending upon LESS or MORE consumption) and
deduct accordingly from the prepaid account
Ø In
case of a power failure, V 2.0 will debit the
DISCOM and credit the Consumer(penalty for DISCOM )
Ø Each
V 2.0 Meter will have 1,000 “ Communication Channels “ to be able to “ talk (
collect data ) “ from 1,000 devices
How this will work is explained at length in my following e-mail to Shri
R K Singhji :
Ø R
K Singh : A Solomon come to Judgment ……………….[ 01 Sept 2022 ]
Of course,
it is just not possible to “ retrofit “, billions of EXISTING devices –
equipments – appliances , with
such
SENSORS
But this
should not be a problem for future manufacture , in a spread-out manner over
next 5 years
Apart from proposed legal mandate, it should be possible to “ motivate
“ the “ Device Manufacturers “ by
incorporating into Smart-Meter V 2.0,
a feature which boldly displays, not only the name of the manufacturer
but also savings accrued / accruing
to the home-owner through use of their product
A daily / free “ advertisement “ reaching millions of house-holds !
BUSINESS MODEL :
# As per news
report, tender is for 1 crore meters, valued at
Rs 6,000 crore. This amounts to Rs 6,000 per
piece
# But, for a
huge market of 25 crore meters , I am sure,
price could be brought down to Rs 2000 per piece
over a period of next 2 years ( as admirably managed
by EESL / CESL, in case of LED bulbs )
# DISCOM will
need to buy these meters from Power Grid Corporation ( PGCIL ).
# In a normal
course, DISCOM would insist that the end consumer forks out this amount, up
front
# Consumers are
bound to resist / protest / or even “ sabotage “ the meters
# To overcome
this resistance, consumers must be given these meters for FREE
# In addition,
each Smart-meter V 2.0
owner , must be offered a 20 %
discount in its monthly bill ( - this will
prove to be a very irresistible offer ! ) .
This is entirely possible considering that,
Ø Currently
a customer gets a 30 day CREDIT period to pay up the bill – and which,
invariably becomes
45
days – resulting in a huge “ Customer Outstanding “
/ huge requirement of “ Working Capital “ for
the
DISCOMS – in turn leading to huge “ Interest Payments “
to DISCOM bankers
Ø Then
there are cases of ( even Govt departments ) not paying their bills for months
on end
Ø And
there are cases of pilferage ( stealing ) of power
Ø But,
with installation of every PREPAID Smart-meter, “
working capital “ needs go down – ultimately
leading to a situation of “ NEGATIVE
working capital “ for a DISCOM when all its customers have
Smart-meters !
# Apart from
this, it will be possible for a DISCOM to tie-up with Advt
Aggregating Companies and earn big-
time AD Revenue (
like TV channels – Newspapers ) , by delivering / displaying advertisements on
the
tablet like Smart-meter screen
screen .
For
customers who agree to accept this condition / provision / feature, DISCOM may
offer a monthly bill
discount of 30 % !
Dear Shri,
Mr. D. N. Rozekar /
Chief General Manager / drozekar@powergrid.in
Mr. Praveen Ranjan / Senior
General Manager / praveen.ranjan@powergrid.in
I urge you not miss this
once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make :
# DISCOMS
profitable
# India , a world-leader in ENERGY
CONSERVATION
With regards,
Hemen Parekh
hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 05
Sept 2022
Related Readings :
Artificial
Intelligence For Sustainable And Energy Efficient Buildings
·
Extract
:
Since the components of the building energy systems are integrating
more and more sensors and embedded systems, buildings are becoming networked
cyber-physical energy systems — especially larger objects like airports,
shopping malls or office buildings. Artificial intelligence can help to
optimize the operation of these complex systems. Applications include
monitoring of the building energy control system for faulty operational states,
which usually are decreasing the efficiency of the energy system. Data
collected on the energy system components can be used to analyse and predict
the current state and enable condition-based maintenance.
Ø
5
G will enable earning Carbon Credits ………………………….[ 07 Aug 2022 ]
Ø
Thank
You, Shri Bhupender Singh Yadavji …………………….[ 29 May 2022 ]
Ø
Every
Hair on your body gets an IP Address ?.............. [ 09 Nov 2021 ]
Ø
Welcome,
Prepaid Smart Meters ……………………………………..[ 25 Sept 2021 ]
Ø Electrifying :
Smartly ……………………………………………………….( 25 Sept 2017 )
==========================================
Added on 21 Oct 2022 :
Adani Transmission wins Rs 1,300-cr smart meter deal from Mumbai's BEST
The meters will enable BEST customers to monitor online their power consumption, Adani Transmission said. The meters will also provide an option for pre-paid billing and net-metering for housing societies and commercial buildings with roof-top solar facilities.
"BEST will also have the ability to carry out remote connection and disconnection of non-paying customers. Smart meters also enable regulators to design consumer-friendly Time of Day Tariffs and drive overall efficiency in electricity distribution," it said.
Adani Transmission is expected to start work shortly on installing the meters, sources said.
Adani Electricity, another unit of the group, indicated earlier that it would invest in smart meters for its consumers in Mumbai at an investment of Rs 500 crore.
In the first phase, the company is likely to install smart meters for seven lakh consumers by the end of 2023.
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