Installation of smart meters has begun for the Smart Grid Project of state power distribution utility Jaipur Vidyut Vitaran Nigam Ltd (JVVNL).
A recent status report of National Smart Grid Mission (NSGM) indicates that smart meter installations have begun for the JVVNL Smart Grid projects, which is one of the five Smart Grid projects being implemented under NSGM.
Till end-December 2020, around 3,500 smart meters were installed, as per the report. Another set of 2,500 smart meters are currently being tested and dispatched by JVVNL for installation in the near future.
The project marked significant progress effective August 2020 with the signing of the tripartite agreement on August 18, 2020. Shortly thereafter, sample testing of 10,000 smart meters began at the JVVNL laboratory.
The Smart Grid project is being implemented in six urban towns of Baran, Bharatpur, Bundi, Dholpur, Jhalawar and Karauli. It will cover 1.5 lakh consumers.
The functionality envisaged by the Smart Grid project is Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI). However, details on the features of the smart meters being installed are not yet available.
The project is estimated to cost Rs.87.43 crore, which includes financial support of Rs.26.23 crore from Government of India.
Odisha project advances
In an independent development, the Odisha Smart Grid project under NGSM also recorded some progress in recent weeks. The bidding process (for system integrators) is expected to be concluded soon. Queries to bidders have been answered. The last date for bidding was extended to January 12, 2021. It may be mentioned that in August 2020, the request for proposal (RfP) document was revised following inputs from the Indore Smart Grid team. This was followed by the issuance of the Notice Inviting Tender (NIT).
The Odisha Smart Grid project is being implemented in Rourekela City by Odisha Power Transmission Company Ltd (OPTCL), a state government undertaking. The Smart Grid project will cater to 87,000 consumers and will have functionalities like AMI. The project also envisages a distribution transformer monitoring unit (DTMU). Costing Rs.96.97 crore, the Rourkela City Smart Grid project will have government funding to the tune of Rs.29.09 crore. Around 10 per cent of the government assistance has been released so far.
Five Projects
The five Smart Grid projects under NSGM are being implemented at Chandigarh (Subdivision 5), Rajasthan (six urban towns), Chandigarh (entire city excluding Subdivision 5), Odisha (Rourkela City) and Jharkhand (Ranchi City). The total consumers being covered by these five projects number around 9.2 lakh.
Smart Grids under IPDS
Apart from the five NSGM projects discussed above, there are 11 pilot Smart Grid projects being implemented by various nominated agencies under the Centrally-sponsored scheme Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS). All the 11 projects have been completed but only three have “gone live” so far.
(Featured photograph sourced from HPL Electric & Power Ltd is for illustration only)
