Reseller deal aids Indian electricity upgrade

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jul 10, 2008

Metering infrastructures like Echelon's NES System can make the energy grid more efficient by enabling utilities to implement direct load control and demand/response programmes.

HCL Infosystems has become a value-added reseller (VAR) of Echelon's Networked Energy Services (NES) advanced metering system in India.

HCL Infosystems is an information and communication technologies system integrator, specialising in infrastructure projects including power and utility systems.

With an estimated 56% of rural households and 12% of urban households still without adequate access to electricity and a peak power shortage of around 15%, power is viewed as critically linked to the ability of India's economy to maintain its current 9% annual growth rate.

India's power ministry plans to provide electricity to every household by 2012, at an investment of over US $100 billion in new generation, transmission, distribution and rural electric infrastructure.

To achieve this goal, electricity generation and distribution capacity will need to be increased by an amount greater than what has been available in India for the last fifty years.

India's top analysts are predicting that power deficits could cap the country's growth in coming years.

Metering infrastructures like Echelon's NES System can make the energy grid more efficient by enabling utilities to implement direct load control and demand/response programmes, limit maximum energy consumption during times of peak demand and detect and reduce meter tampering and energy theft.

HCL plans to market the solution to utilities looking to improve power delivery while reducing operation costs and to provide revenue recovery and protection.

"Concerns over India's infrastructure are a threat to its economic growth and India is spending billions to bring its infrastructure to levels of other developed Asian nations".

"Modernising the electricity grid is an essential component of this plan, since daily electricity shortfalls during peak hours are projected to grow unless steps are taken", said George Paul, Executive Vice President, HCL Infosystems.

"We chose to partner with Echelon because its NES system is the most advanced smart metering solution available and it provides a platform for growth into the future".

"The system can bring many benefits to both grid operators and end users, making it an ideal solution for the fast-changing needs of India".

"With over 100 million meters and significant energy challenges, India represents an exciting opportunity for advanced metering systems".

The NES advanced metering infrastructure from Echelon consists of a family of highly integrated electronic electricity meters accessed via a web services based network operating system over an IP networking infrastructure.

The system provides an open, bidirectional and extensible infrastructure that enables a comprehensive range of utility applications that can bring benefits to every aspect of a utility's operation, from metering to customer services, distribution operations and value-added services.

Unlike systems with a dedicated radio per metering point, multiple NES meters can share a single IP connection using Echelon's standards-based power line networking technology, driving down the per-point connection cost and enabling the system to easily and cost-effectively incorporate new wide area networking technologies over time.