AP Govt partners with AutoGrid Systems

Vishakhapatnam: In a major step towards ushering in a transformational change in the electricity sector, the Andhra Pradesh government, in association with AutoGrid, announced an initiative aimed at adopting smart grid and Internet of Things (IoT)-based solutions to improve energy sector’s financial health and customer experiences.

At the CII Partnership Summit here on Sunday, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu unveiled the programme, which involves demand-side management (DSM) programs covering key segments, including agricultural pump-sets, residential/commercial ACs and industrial units.

The Andhra Pradesh Southern Power Distribution Company (APSPDCL) will use the programs to evaluate its benefits to the utility as well as to the consumers in the state.

Ajay Jain, Principal Secretary (Energy), said: “This project with AutoGrid further reinforces Government of Andhra Pradesh’s commitment to become a technology leader in the IoT and energy sector. We expect this project to further extend the lead that AP has in terms of reliability and power quality. It’ll also serve a model of how utilities across India can utilize IoT and big data analytics to improve their operations.”

Dr Amit Narayan, CEO, AutoGrid Systems, adds: “We’re excited to be partnering with APSPDCL and the Government of Andhra Pradesh to bring a proven solution deployed at some of the leading global utilities around the world for the first time to India.

This solution not only provides significant savings to the utility, but also delivers strong benefits to consumers, thereby aiding in improved governance.” The DSM solutions in the project will enable benefits of over Rs1,000cr per year (over $150 million) when deployed at scale.

This savings will be achieved via peak shaving for capex avoidance, time of use implementation to leverage cheaper power at off-peak hours, soil-moisture-based pump-set operation to intelligently reduce power used for agricultural purposes, AC cycling to drive both energy efficiency and peak load shaving, and renewable integration to incorporate cheaper solar and wind power supply without impacting reliability or quality of service.