HPL is a prominent brand in the Indian energy meter market. In this exclusive interview, we have Gautam Seth, Joint Managing Director, HPL Electric & Power Ltd, taking us through his company’s prowess in the energy metering business. Seth proudly notes that HPL’s R&D facility has been able to introduce cutting-edge indigenous technology, like NB-IoT for instance, to the energy meter market. With smart energy meters now becoming a national priority, the prospects for HPL Electric are very bright, asserts Gautam Seth.
Please orient us in brief with the various types of energy meters produced by HPL Electric.
HPL Electric has been at the forefront of supplying smart meters in the Indian market. The company has one of the widest portfolios of meters in India. HPL has a whole range of metering solution with advanced technology. The company’s research and development efficiency include the design and development of all types of energy metering solutions. This includes interactive communication between the metering device and metering infrastructure that include Advanced Meter Reading (AMR) and Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), prepayment metering solutions, smart meter with two-way communication. The company’s portfolio of meters includes three phase and LTCT/HT energy meter, panel meters, prepayment meters and net metering solution. In this way, we are making our smart metering technology more innovative and more developed.
What is the total indicative annual manufacturing capacity of your units spread over Haryana and Himachal, with respect to energy meters? Are you planning any capacity expansion in the medium term?
Total annual manufacturing capacity of HPL Group for energy meters is 9 million meters per year. This covers all forms of energy and non-energy meters. We are working to enhance our manufacturing capacity for smart meters alone to 3.6 million meters pear year, in the next couple of years.
“Our recently launched new range of smart meters with NB-IoT communications technology has been developed in-house at HPL’s new R&D facility at Gurugram.”
In October last year, HPL Electric set up an R&D centre for smart meters at Gurugram. Are there some specific areas in smart meter technology where this R&D will be directed?
In a big push to make India ‘Atmanirbhar’ in smart meter technology, HPL Electric & Power Ltd has established a state-of-the-art R&D centre. The new R&D centre for smart meters aims to incorporate the recent advancements in smart technologies and materials for the development of new generations of smart metering products.
The R&D centre is located at the HPL’s manufacturing facility at Gurugram, Haryana. Over 200 engineers will be working at the R&D centre, conducting advanced research in developing solutions for smart meters technology, other metering solutions and communication technology. With a solution-based approach, HPL is aiming to bring in advanced IoT and AI-enabled smart solutions and products for the Indian and international markets.
Our recently launched new range of smart meters with Narrow Band-Internet of Things (NB-IoT) communications technology has been developed in-house at HPL’s new R&D facility at Gurugram. These meters offer a dedicated channel for the smart metering and avoiding any reduction in performance from interference or obstruction due to congestion on the public network.
Coming to technical issues, please explain the basic difference between a prepaid meter and a smart meter? Can we presume that every smart meter can made into a prepaid meter?
Prepaid meter facilitates consumer to buy electricity prior to use so consumer can control their electricity usage hence bills too. Consumer enters token for electricity bought in prepaid meter through either keypad or card.
Smart meters not only measure electricity usage but also transfer real time data and readings to monitoring system of the power utility. Smart meters facilitate bi-directional communication so allows utility to access meter remotely too for reconfigurations, supply connection/disconnections etc.
There are smart meters available, which can operate in pre-paid mode too. Our smart meters can work in both pre-paid and post-paid mode.
The term “smart meter” is very general in nature. What are the typical features of a smart meter in the Indian context?
Advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) is crucial part of a smart grid. AMI is an integrated system of smart meters, communication networks and data management system that enables two way communications between utilities and Smart meters.
Typical features of a smart meter in the Indian context, which benefits both consumer and utility, are:
- Remote reading, which improves billing cycle and billing accuracy
- Gives real-time information on usage to manage energy demand & consumption
- Facilitates supply connection/disconnection remotely
- Facilitates utility to quickly respond for power outages
- Allow utility to remotely access meter for reconfiguration like tariff change etc.
“One of the main challenges that is in system integration for smart metering technologies is the resistance from customers. “
We learn that smart meter manufacturers use distinct protocols. Due to the difficulties so presented, there is a move to make smart meters “technology agnostic”.
Indian standard IS16444 contains specifications for smart meters. This standard specifies communication layer protocol for smart meter also. As per this standard, application layer communication protocol shall be DLMS/COSEM as per IS15959. DLMS is a standard interoperable protocol for data exchange for an electricity meter.
Also read : Over 7 Lakh Smart Meters Sanctioned Under Pilot Smart Grid Projects
In the same context, do you feel that system integration for smart/prepaid meters is a technical challenge?’
One of the main challenges that is in system integration for smart metering technologies is the resistance from customers. When no direct benefits are visible to consumers, they resist the replacement of meters.
Another major challenge arise to the dependency of the utilities on service providers for the communication technology to be used. In the absence of in-house capacity, the utilities are completely dependent on service providers for the creation of the network. This dependence is less in the case of GPRS technology where the data is directly communicated from the meter to the head-end system. There are very few manufacturers that provide complete end-to-end metering solutions. Another bottleneck being faced by the customers relates to the integration of new meters with the existing billing system. The integration of meter data with the billing software has also not been done yet since the billing software is not designed for prepaid systems.
We observe with interest that HPL Electric has rolled out Narrow Band IoT-based smart meters in Delhi. Tell us more.
HPL’s new range of smart meters with Narrow Band-Internet of Things (NB-IoT) communications technology smart meters are both 4G and 5G compatible offering a dedicated channel for the smart metering and avoiding any reduction in performance from interference or obstruction due to congestion on the public network. As mentioned earlier, the new range of NB-IoT smart meters have been developed in-house at HPL’s new R& D facility at Gurugram.
What is the relevance of NB-IoT technology in smart energy meters?
If we talk about the relevance of NB-IoT technology in smart energy meters, NB-IoT is a new and cost-effective technology in 4G and 5G spectrum with fast deployment quality. With this technology, the interference and problems arising due to public network congestion will not hamper the performance of smart meter anymore as data will smoothly flow through a dedicated channel. It will also enable more number of remote meter readings possible thereby ensuring the safety of the consumers during pandemic times.
“HPL Electric remains focused on enhancing its smart meter technological base and to become market leaders in the smart meter segment.”
India is planning a pan-India rollout of prepaid energy meters, estimated at some 250 million, over the next 3-5 years. How is HPL gearing up and how do you see prospects for HPL?
India’s smart meter programme aims to replace 250 million conventional meters to help raise annual revenues of debt-laden electricity distribution companies. HPL’s manufacturing capabilities are supported by a large sales and distribution network with pan-India presence. The company’s portfolio of meters includes single phase, three phase and LTCT/HT energy meters, smart meters, panel meters, prepayment meters, net metering solutions and transformer metering solutions remote communication facilities. HPL aims to widen its smart meter portfolio, and further strengthen its market penetration domestically too.
HPL Electric currently has the capacity to manufacture around 9 million energy meters per year. This capacity is spread across all types of meters, mainly conventional and smart. Currently, the company’s capacity utilization of energy meter capacity is 70-75 per cent and would suffice in meeting the imminent demand.
HPL Electric remains focused on enhancing its smart meter technological base and to become market leaders in the smart meter segment. The company anticipates huge growth in the smart metering segment in the medium and long term. In Punjab itself, HPL Electric recently won an order to supply three-phase smart meters to be installed across the state. HPL Electric has been able to command a market share of 23-24 per cent in the energy meter space.
As we understand, HPL Electric’s outstanding order book position, as of end-FY21, was around Rs.700 crore with energy meters accounting for little over 40 per cent. Do you expect energy meters to continue to play a dominant role in your company’s business?
Yes, energy meters will continue to play a dominant role in our HPL. Post the first lockdown, there has been a pickup in business and the company hopes for improved growth in the coming months. Despite this, consumer segment (excluding meters) continued to grow at a robust pace. The growth was primarily driven by the festive season, pick-up in the economic activity and improved consumer sentiment. The revenue share of the consumer segment stood at 61 per cent during the Q3FY21 as compared to 44 per cent in Q3FY20.
Energy metering is your predominant line of business. Do you see your market leadership in energy meters positively influencing your other verticals like switchgear, lighting, wires & cables, etc?
Energy metering is one of the key vertical of HPL group. We have been integrating Energy meters along with communication technology with products of other verticals like lighting, switchgear, wires for delivering state-of-the-art solutions for both smart city, industrial and commercial segments. HPL is one of the leaders in delivering smart street lighting system for smart cities. This solution integrates energy meter, data concentrator unit, LED lighting, switchgear, cables and centralized street lighting management system.
So yes, our market leadership in energy meters is positively influencing our other verticals like lighting, switchgear, wire & cables etc.
