EESL, NIIF JV ‘Intellismart’ to Develop Digital Platform for Distribution Sector

IntelliSmart, a JV of EESL & NIIF has committed to developing a digital platform for value-added services in the distribution & power sector

IntelliSmart Infrastructure Private Limited, a JV of Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) and National Investment & Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) has committed to developing a digital platform for value added services in the distribution and power sector.

The firm has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Infosys Limited to develop a “Sustainable Energy Digital Platform (SEDP)” to accelerate digitalisation and integrate data analytics across the power sector enabling greater efficiency. The platform will help unfold data analytics and integrate one common platform for the utility operations and commercial systems end-to-end. 

The MoU was signed at the ‘Realizing the Vision of Digital Smart Grid in India’ roundtable hosted by IntelliSmart on January 15, 2021, attended by senior officials from the Ministry of Power, Department of Economic Affairs, and expert delegates from across India’s energy ecosystem.

The JV has also launched the inaugural edition of INSTINCT, an Innovation Challenge and Hackathon on Smart Metering. INSTINCT invites ideas to solve relevant challenges that can help improve India’s power distribution sector. At the roundtable event, the Bihar Bijli Smart Meter App was also launched, which helps consumers stay updated about their electricity account in near real-time. The app will enable consumers to view their daily energy consumption and deductions due to electricity charges, fixed charges, and arrear installment.

Mr. Rajaraman, Additional Secretary, Investments, Department of Economic Affairs at Ministry of Finance, said, “The development of an integrated subscription-based platform such as SEDP and Enterprise IT platform for Smart Metering plug and play for Discoms, will be crucial in actualising our vision of a reliable, secure and robust digital grid. A reliable smart grid will be the backbone of smart cities, smart homes, and EV-based mobility. The replacement of legacy meters with prepaid smart meters is expected to increase billing efficiency from less than 80 percent at present to 100 percent and has the potential to increase the annual revenue of Discoms. 

“High-quality smart meter manufacturing in India must be deepened under ‘Make in India’ banner, with about 250 smart target before us. Discoms may consider the OPEX model for smart metering instead of a CAPEX model given that the activity is eminently viable and can generate significant private investments. We believe that the deliberations made during the roundtable are very relevant for the growth of the power sector and I wish IntelliSmart the very best in their efforts around funding and rolling out smart meters across the country.”

The JV will partner with Discoms to co-develop advanced analytics solutions on their data, tailored to their context. “With our knowledge of existing smart meter infrastructure/ data, rich on-ground experience and partnerships with leading global firms (who have helped global Discoms create value), we are confident of being able to create significant value. IntelliSmart will reach out to Disscoms and work with them to demonstrate the value of Advanced Analytics to them and build out a full suite of tailored solutions over the next 2-3 years,” the firm stated.