GUWAHATI: Incorporation of smart technology in government authorized billing and collection process is the solution to India’s problem of corruption and theft. IntelliSmart has won an order for the installation of 600,000 smart pre-paid meters from Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd. IntelliSmart is a joint venture between National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and Energy Efficiency Services Ltd.
IntelliSmart said in a public statement that under the new project, over 6 lakh pre-paid smart meters in 19 circles of Assam will be installed. Through this, Assam will get the distinction of leading the smart metering drive of the country operating on a competitive model.
The announcement comes at a time when India is in the process of introducing the world’s largest electricity smart metering program to help the nation’s struggling distribution utilities become more efficient. The authorities aim to replace 250 million conventional meters with smart ones. “IntelliSmart will be implementing the project in Totex mode under the Design-Build Finance Operate and Transfer (DBFOOT) arrangement. It will also be maintaining the Advanced Metering Infrastructure system for the contract period of 9 years”, read IntelliSmart’s official statement elaborating the processes of the smart meters.
The meters will be installed in the following areas- Nagaon, Morigaon, Kanch, Cachar, Badarpur, Jorhat, Golaghat, Sibsagar, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, GEC-I, Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Rangia, Mangaldoi, Tezpur, North Lakhimpur and GEC-II circles of Assam.
The traditional DISCOM systems are considered to be the weakest link to the electricity value chain as they are plagued by low collection, rise in power purchase cost, inadequate tariff hikes and subsidy disbursement with mounting dues from government departments.