After a long wait, Mysuru has become the first ‘Smart Grid’ to become functional among the 14 pilot projects in the nation. The project has been initiated by India Smart Grid Task Force under the Union Ministry of Power.
After inspecting the smart meters installed in houses under VV Mohalla division of Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (Cesc) here on Tuesday, State Energy Minister D K Shivakumar said that the smart meters monitored and controlled by the smart grid in 24,532 houses have been a success.
“All the four lakh houses in the city would be covered under the project in phases. According to the memorandum of understanding entered with the Union government, the project will be replicated in all other power distribution companies (Escoms) in the state by the year 2019.
Cesc, which covers Mysuru, Mandya, Chamarajanagar, Hassan and Kodagu districts, would spend Rs 400 crore for the execution of the project in Mysuru city. Cesc is investing Rs 10,000 on the smart meters, which seems to be a burden in the initial stages, but the costs would be recovered over the years due to the efficiency of the system,” he said.
“Under VV Mohalla, five sub-stations, 473 transformers and 14 feeders have been installed under the new technology.
Software for meter reading
“Meter reading can be done remotely and it can be sent to the mobile phones of the customers directly. Thanks to the dedicated software, power can be disconnected if the bill is not paid within the last date from the office itself. Power theft can be detected immediately. If the consumers either tamper with the meter or use magnets to hinder the functioning of the meters, the main server receives an alert. If the power usage is unusual also, the server receives an alert,” Shivakumar said.
“Under the smart grid system, Cesc will have information of the power consumption pattern of each consumer. The actual units of consumption and its purpose will be under the purview of Cesc. Cesc can deliver messages of power cuts in advance to the mobile phones of the consumers. This will help manage power supply and consumption efficiently during peak hours,” he said.
The minister also took part in the valedictory function of the training programme of the recently recruited engineers and staff of Cesc. Managing Director of the Smart Grid Project Aftab Ahmad was present.
