• CESC prepares Rs. 354 crore proposal under National Smart Grid Mission
• At present, Vontikoppal and Hootagalli Sub-Divisions have this facility

By S.T. Ravikumar

Mysore/Mysuru: The Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC) has prepared a Rs. 354 crore proposal to extend the benefits of Smart Grid (smart metering solutions) to the entire city. The proposal will soon be submitted to Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) for approval.

The proposal has been worked out under the National Smart Grids Mission (NSGM), Union Ministry of Power. CESC’s entry to National Smart Grid Initiative was in August 2013, when the Union Ministry of Power chose Mysuru among 14 cities in India for Smart Grid Pilot Projects (SGPP). In fact, SGPP Mysuru was the first Detailed Project Report (DPR) to be approved, tendered, implemented and commissioned.

Public Private Partnership

The pilot project has been implemented under Public Private Partnership model with 50 percent funding from the Centre, 24 percent from  CESC and 26 percent from Enzen Global Solutions Private Limited, the implementing partner.

A sum of Rs. 32.56 crore has been spent on the pilot project where smart metres were installed covering 24,532 consumers.  The project was implemented in 14 feeders covering Vontikoppal and Hootagalli Sub-Divisions comprising areas like V.V. Mohalla, Vontikoppal, Jayalakshmipuram, Gokulam, Paduvarahalli, CFTRI, Metagalli, Hebbal, Brindavan Extension and Hootagalli.

Online Smart Grid Technology

The smart metres are managed by Online Smart Grid Technology, with online meter reading, disconnection and reconnection of meters, regulation of electricity load and several other features monitored and handled online. The details on smart consumers can be accessed from the CESC’s Smart Grid Control Centre and portal.

The remote metering technology can be accessed from mobile phones by the consumers and from the control room by the CESC. There is no need for the meter reader to visit the house where the smart meter has been fixed to take the reading. The data can be accessed online as the smart meter is equipped with radio frequency chip. Even disconnection can be done sitting from the control room for non-payment of bills.

Automatically reads power consumption

Even if a consumer consumes excess power than prescribed by CESC or applied for by the consumer, the metre automatically switches on to the higher power billing and this message will be received by the consumer too. The smart metre can integrate renewable energy and bill the consumer or provide subsidies accordingly. Other features include consumer-CESC employee portal, power outage monitoring, peak load management and load curtailment. Different types of tariffs can be controlled from Smart Grid control room. In order to execute this project, a smart energy meter is installed at houses or properties.

Good and uninterrupted power supply

Now that the Smart Grid project is likely to be extended to entire Mysuru city, consumers can expect good quality and uninterrupted power supply. The project eliminates manual reading of energy meter by meter reader and disconnection or re-connection by linemen.

In a Smart Grid area, a complete load- shedding of the feeder line is eliminated through load curtailment of individual consumer installations instead of a complete blackout. Smart Grid also enables real-time display of energy use so that consumer gains control over their energy consumption by using consumer portal. It helps CESC in early detection of faults and rectification in minimum time.