UP discom to downsize via technical upgrade

Talking to Business Standard, Kirpal Singh, managing director, DVVNL, said the company was looking into the prospects of implementing Automated Metering Infrastructure (AMI) in a gradual manner throughout its jurisdiction from Kanpur to Jhansi.

He said this system had been developed by Hyderabad-based CSS Technergy Ltd for DVVNL in collaboration with a US-based company, and the company ran a demonstration of this metering solution in Agra last week.

This showed how it was possible to do away with the need for employing meter readers to enter the subscriber's premises to take readings.

Instead, he said by using AMI, the power sub-station could get a continuous reading of individual meters throughout a billing division through reverse modulated radio frequency signals transmitted by the meter on powerlines.

While the system required a replacement of existing meters with the new AMI-enhanced smart meters, significantly raising the implementation costs, it still appeared to be a complete metering solution for domestic consumers.

Through AMI, he said the consumers would receive bills at home, and they could be easily paid at bill payment counters opened in the city or through the DVVNL website on the internet bringing down the unnecessary consumer-company interaction to a minimum.

Singh said DVVNL was studying the socio-economic prospects of shifting to this system and laying off the huge workforce of meter readers currently under its employ.

Besides, he said, the replacement of thousands of recently installed electronic meters in the city will be a tough job and like all new metering systems, AMI could also face some opposition from the consumers.

Initially, he said, the system will be tested as a pilot project in one of the billing divisions of Agra, where the monthly billing was in the range of Rs 3-4 crore.

The first trial run was expected to begin within a couple of months and if it proved to be successful, Agra will be the first city in Uttar Pradesh to completely shift to fully automated metering.