India’s smart metering market is on the cusp of exponential growth. Following the success of various pilot projects across the country and positive outcomes for stakeholders, the pace of smart meter awards and installation is gaining momentum. As of January 2024, 8.6 million smart consumer meters have been installed in the country. Notably, in 2023-24 (as of January), 3.02 million smart meters have been installed, which is nearly double the number installed in the previous year. As of December 2023, tenders for 104.3 million smart meters have been awarded. Meanwhile, tenders for 39.5 million smart meters are under evaluation, and for another 22 million smart meters, tender L1s have been decided upon and the letters of award (LoAs) are under process. Smart meters hold the potential for substantial savings. According to industry estimates, India can save Rs 9.5 trillion by investing Rs 1.25 trillion in replacing 250 million conventional meters with smart meters.
Over the past year, the Ministry of Power’s Rs 3 trillion Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) has given a fillip to the installation of smart meters. Under the scheme, smart meters are being implemented under the design-build-finance-own-operate-transfer (DBFOOT) model. Advanced metering infrastructure service providers (AMISPs) have been contracted for financing, supplying, installing and operating the meters, along with the associated communication and IT infrastructure. This model allows discoms to set up smart meters without the burden of making an upfront investment, allowing them to take control of the assets at no cost when the contract concludes.
Smart metering market: Recent awards and partnerships
The smart metering market has been experiencing rapid growth. Not only have meter manufacturers secured big meter orders, but there has also been an increase in the number of new partnerships to facilitate the roll-out of meters.
IntelliSmart Infrastructure Private Limited, a joint venture (JV) of the National Infrastructure and Investment Fund and Energy Efficiency Services Limited, is a key smart metering and digital solutions provider. The company has a smart meter project portfolio of around Rs 200 billion. In Uttar Pradesh, it has been awarded a project to install 6.7 million smart meters by Pashchimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (PVVNL); in Gujarat, the company has secured an LoA for the implementation of end-to-end smart metering solutions from Madhya Gujarat Vij Company Limited and Dakshin Gujarat Vij Company Limited (DGVCL) for a total of 5.1 million prepaid smart meters; in Bihar, it has won a project to install 3.6 million smart meters from South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited; and in Assam, it won the LoA for 1.5 million smart meters from Assam Power Distribution Company Limited. Notably, Assam is a success story for IntelliSmart, where it had earlier secured India’s first competitively bid smart metering project under the DBFOOT arrangement for over 600,000 smart meters. Remarkably, it has already achieved over 60 per cent meter installations in record time.
IntelliSmart has signed up with Bharti Airtel to provide real-time connectivity and smart internet of things (IoT) solutions, powered by narrowband IoT, 4G and 2G. The solution will also be powered by Airtel’s IoT platform, Airtel IoT Hub, which enables smart meter tracking and monitoring with advanced analytics and diagnostic capabilities.
Another key player in the smart metering space is Adani Energy Solutions Limited, which has an order book of approximately 20 million smart meters from discoms (with an order value of Rs 251 billion), including the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport Undertaking (BEST Mumbai) (1.1 million), Maharashtra (11.6 million), Andhra Pradesh (3.1 million), Bihar (2.8 million) and Assam (0.8 million). Its distribution arm, Adani Electricity Mumbai Limited, has already installed the majority of its 700,000 smart meters planned in the first phase. Notably, the company has partnered with key technology players across the value chain to deliver value propositions. In December 2023, it announced the setting up of a JV with the UAE-based Esyasoft Holdings, a cloud and IoT-based energy management solutions provider, to implement smart metering projects in India and other countries. In addition to meeting Adani Energy’s current and future needs, the JV will be a gateway to meeting its ambitions in the global smart metering business. Adani has also partnered with Airtel on smart IoT solutions for 20 million smart meters and will leverage the Airtel IoT Hub platform.
In January 2024, REC Power Development and Consultancy Limited (RECPDCL), a subsidiary of REC Limited, signed an MoU with the Gujarat government for a smart metering project worth Rs 20.94 billion in Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Limited under the first phase of the RDSS. The Gujarat government will support RECPDCL in obtaining the necessary permissions and clearances for its upcoming projects in the state, establishing a time-bound framework as outlined in the MoU.
In January 2024, HPL Electric and Power Limited secured an order worth Rs 2.4 billion for smart meters from AMISP clients. In December 2023, the company secured orders aggregating Rs 5.45 billion from various clients. Earlier, in September 2023, it had entered into a strategic partnership with Wirepas Oy to offer a high-performance radio frequency mesh solution tailored for the Indian widow.
In December 2023, Techno Electric and Engineering Company Limited secured new orders worth Rs 10.41 billion for advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) from RECPDCL for 727,000 smart meters in Kashmir on a DBFOOT basis.
In October 2023, Genus Power Infrastructures Limited received an LoA worth Rs 31.21 billion for the appointment of AMISPs. This includes designing an AMI system with the supply, installation and commissioning of 3.6 million smart prepaid meters. Earlier, in July 2023, Genus Power Infrastructures had signed a definitive agreement with Gem View Investment Pte Limited, an affiliate of GIC, Singapore, to set up a new platform in India for undertaking AMISP concessions. GIC will hold a 74 per cent stake in the platform while Genus will hold the remaining share. The partners have committed to an initial pipeline with a capital outlay of $2 billion, and Genus will be the exclusive supplier for smart meters and associated services.
In September 2023, GMR Smart Electricity Distribution Private Limited received a letter of award (LoA) from Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited to implement a smart metering project comprising 2.55 million smart meters in the Dakshinanchal (Agra and Aligarh zone) area of Uttar Pradesh. Earlier, the company received an LoA for 5.01 million smart meters from Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited for smart metering works in the Purvanchal (Varanasi, Azamgarh zone, and Prayagraj, Mirzapur zone) area of Uttar Pradesh.
In another development, in July 2023, Tata Power received an LoA to implement a 1.86 million smart metering project in Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Limited.
Conclusion
With the government mandating the transition to a complete smart metering system by replacing all the existing 250 million meters by 2025, the pace of smart meter awards and installations is expected to accelerate in the coming months. Of the total 222 million smart meters sanctioned so far, around 100 million have been awarded as of December 2023. Further, approximately 123 million smart meters are expected to be awarded in the near term, providing significant opportunities for meter manufacturers and AMISPs.
The successful implementation of a smart metering project requires proper planning and execution. Robust IT integration, entailing seamless integration of meter data with other utility systems such as customer information systems and enterprise resource planning systems, is crucial for the successful implementation of a smart metering project. With the growing digitalisation of processes and an increase in the number of touchpoints, it is crucial to incorporate foolproof cybersecurity measures. Further, measures such as revisiting the tariff structure to facilitate smart prepaid metering and the standardisation of procedures and processes are needed. Over and above these, what is crucial for the success of the smart meter initiative is consumer engagement, which can be enhanced through consumer awareness campaigns and user-friendly applications, among other measures.
Priyanka Kwatra