Tata Power deploys country's first smart grid in Delhi

Tata Power Delhi Distribution Ltd (TPDDL) and New York-listed Honeywell announced on Wednesday that they have successfully implemented the first Automated Demand Response (ADR) or "smart grid" power distribution project for commercial and industrial facilities in India.

"Honeywell and TPDDL deploy the first-of-its-kind smart grid project to improve energy reliability," the companies said in a joint statement here.

TPDDL, one of the three distribution companies in Delhi, will use Honeywell technology and services to link more than 160 buildings in its city distribution network, and call for temporary reductions in energy use when demand threatens to outpace supply in grid stress conditions, the statement added.

"ADR gives the grid operator a new domestic resource to help alleviate stress on transmission and distribution lines, and improve supply efficiency," it said.

Given the gap between the power required and what utilities can produce, many cities in India face severe brownouts and blackouts, the statement said bringing back memories of the major grid collapse a few years ago.

"The demand for electricity in Delhi, for example, has almost doubled over the past decade," the Tata Power-Honeywell release said.

The project will give TPDDL the ability to reduce approximately 11.5 MW of peak demand, it said.

"However, if the same technology were deployed in all buildings in India, electricity consumption could drop an estimated 10.5 GW, close to 7 percent of the peak energy currently required nationwide," the statement added.

TPDDL is using Honeywell's "software-as-a-service (SaaS) and smart meters" to communicate with the building systems at the participating sites, and automatically apply the load-shed measures when the grid is overburdened, Tata Power said.

"We believe our steps in this direction will encourage other Indian utilities to adopt smart grid technology for efficient operations," said TPDDL chief executive Praveer Sinha.