Expect seamless power supply, prepaid bills in Chandigarh by 2022

Chandigarh administration begins implementation of Smart Grid project, which includes installation of smart meters.

With the UT administration beginning the implementation of the pan-city Smart Grid project, city residents can expect a disruption-free power supply, prepaid services, more accurate bills and better customer services.

The Rs 241 crore project is expected to be completed by the end of 2021-2022 fiscal.

The project entails full automation of the process—from power distribution to bill generation. All ordinary electricity meters in the city will be replaced with around 2.25 lakh smart meters; the existing grid sub-stations will be renovated and modernised with equipment compatible with the SCADA (supervisory control and data acquisition) centre; upgradation of power lines and transformers.

The department on July 16 invited firms to provide consultancy for the project. The project design and management agency will be appointed for the implementation stage, and 24 months for post-implementation hand-holding, capacity-building and vendor management support.

The project has been approved by the National Smart Grid Mission (NSGM) and is part of the power sector reforms, funded by the central government. In march this year, the Centre had approved the UT’s proposal for the Rs 241-crore project.

Currently, the UT electricity department is undertaking a pilot Smart Grid project covering 30 square km in the city. The department in October last year had allotted the work for installing 30,000 smart meters in four sectors (29, 31, 47 and 48), six villages (Faida, Ram Darbar, Hallo Majra, Raipur Kalan, Makhan Majra and Daria), and the Industrial Area.

BENEFIT TO CONSUMERS, DEPT

Right now, the city residents only have the option of post-paid electricity bills, but with the smart grid they will be able to opt for prepaid connections. “The prepaid electricity connection will work like a mobile phone prepaid connection. As per their consumption and requirement, they will pay to the department and get only that much supply,” said an official.

“The project will allow the electricity department to monitor, gather and process real-time electricity data, 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. Billing will also be generated from this centre,” said a senior UT official privy to the development.

Installation of smart meters is key to the project. “The smart meters will send tamper alerts immediately to the SCADA centre, and allow the department to keep a track of load, voltage, outages, peak demand and consumption across the city,” said the official. The SCADA building has already been constructed in Sector 18.