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Chandigarh smart grid project remains a non-starter, officials blame pandemic
After failing to appoint a consultant for the smart grid project, the UT administration has again invited applications for the same.
Even after the central government sanctioned ₹241 crore for the pan-city smart grid project, it remains a non-starter in Chandigarh. After missing several deadlines, even the pilot project to install 30,000 smart meters in the city made a little headway.
After failing to appoint a consultant for the smart grid project, the UT administration has now again invited applications for the same.
It was in July when the UT power department had invited firms to provide consultancy for the project. The ‘Project Design and Management Agency’ is to be appointed for the implementation stage and for the post-implementation handholding, capacity building and vendor management support.
The smart grid project entails full automation ranging from power distribution to bill generation. Under it, all ordinary electricity meters in the city will be replaced with about 2.25 lakh smart meters, the existing grid substations will be renovated and upgraded with equipment which is compatible with the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) centre, besides modernising power lines and transformers.
The Centre had sanctioned ₹241 crore in March this year after several rounds of meetings spanning over last one year. The project will allow the power department to monitor, gather and process real-time electricity data and directly interact with devices such as sensors through human-machine interface software. It will help department employees sitting at the centre to access live information on power cuts, outages and manage emergent power needs of a locality. Bills will be also be generated from this centre.
Fresh deadline for pilot project
Currently, the UT electricity department is undertaking a pilot smart grid project covering city’s 30 sq km. But after failing to complete the project by June this year, the department has now set a fresh deadline of December-end.
After much delay in starting the implementation of the project, the department finally had in October last year allotted the work for installing 30,000 smart meters in four sectors (29, 31, 47, and 48), six villages (Faida, Ram Darbar, Hallomajra, Raipur Kalan, Makhanmajra, and Daria), and the industrial area.
But so far, only around 4,500 smart meters have been installed. SCADA centre, which is also a part of the pilot project, is yet to become operational as well. Even though a SCADA centre has been set up in Sector 18, it is yet to become operational. “The installation of all required machinery and other equipment is yet to be done at the SCADA building. Without an operational SCADA centre, the smart meters are of no use,” said a department official who is not authorised to speak with media.
Department officials blamed the coronavirus pandemic for the delay in the completion of the pilot project and commencement of the pan-city smart grid project.
