The power transmission and distribution business is witnessing a steady change in the way that it has been facilitating industries across sectors.
The India blackout in 2012 which left over 700 million people without power, led individuals and industries to rethink their approach towards utilising energy in an effective manner. India’s demand for energy has been increasing year on year and is expected to double in the coming decades. Apart from this, the depleting natural resources and the consequent effects on climate has led the power sector to shift its focus towards renewable energy which would contribute to a reduction in the monetary and environmental cost.
In this age of technology, there are multiple solutions that can help in reducing the consumption of power and energy. For example, technology has empowered us with the ability to create an energy envelope around a building to understand its energy consumption behaviour. This knowledge can in turn be utilised to create effective solutions to optimise their energy consumption in a manner that is profitable.
The demand for energy efficient solutions has increased as a result of rising awareness to reduce the carbon footprint within the industry. Though the initial investment required for such technologies are high, they can be easily converted into a profitable venture within the initial years by reducing their spending on power and energy.
The other important development is the active promotion of industrial automation that is seeking to ease the process of manufacturing and redefine the profitability of industries through effective utilisation of energy and manufacturing components. The coming of digitisation to our industry has also helped us to build capabilities in newer business models where we are able to add significant value to the industry, both from an energy-efficiency and safety perspective which in turn creates opportunity for ‘smart manufacturing’. This ensures that there is less wastage of resources, increased productivity, better quality, faster time-to-market, integrated supply chain and better security.
Furthermore, we have also seen integration of the grids across the country which has been an important step. There is an increased focus towards optimum utilization of energy and reducing energy bills in the major industries where the discussion on energy efficiency has moved to the Board room from the Plant room.
The future: In the coming years, we are hoping to witness smart energy management and remote Wi-Fi control that will improve the current nature of harmonics mitigation. Decreasing the cost of ownership by creating flexible and innovative designs with decreased power density and faster processing will also become a priority. Furthermore, the motor independent control technology will ensure any type motors can be driven by these smart drives with enhanced Efficiency. Energy storage and smart grids are two categories that are seen as major influencers in the near future.
Finally, initiatives such as ‘Make in India’ have helped in the creation and promotion of new technologies which have contributed to increasing the global competitiveness within the industry for energy efficient and sustainable solutions in the energy space. This has paved way for the growing trend of international firms setting up operations in India which is beneficial for the country from a technological as well as financial standpoint.
