Inverter maker Su-Kam bets on innovations
Su-Kam to use software to boost energy efficiency and tapping solar power to stabilise inveters, reports M Rajendran.
Su-Kam, a Gurgaon-based company that makes power equipment including inverters, is aiming to keep its competitive edge in a crowded market full of small players by foraying into innovations to reduce the transmission and distribution losses, use software to boost energy efficiency and tapping solar power to stabilise inveters.
The company, which has a 30 per cent market share out of the total 40 per cent in the organised sector in India, is also exporting inverters to the US and Europe. It is confident of cornering a major share globally with its 100-kilo volt capacity inverters.
Kunwer Sachdev, chief executive officer (CEO) of Su-Kam Communications Ltd told Hindustan Times, "We started thinking about solar power inverters in 2003, when we realised that most of the solar based projects were failing primarily because of the bad battery and electronic systems, while nothing happened to the photovoltaic panel. Further, we also realised that our name was getting sullied due to the problems in the complaints that we received on our inverters."
The Rs 500 crore company has decided to make solar energy-based inverters to tap the new space, which Kunwer claims is better and efficient way than conventional means.
Su-Kam is also in talks with the Centre and a few state governments to participate in a project to save the power that gets wasted when the demand for power goes down during rainy days or at nights.
"The project is exciting because with the help of software we can monitor the drops and increases in demand in power, and when there is a fall we can save that surplus power and distribute it when the demand picks up. Senior officers in power ministry with whom we are discussing are quite excited about it," said Sachdev said.
Su-Kam is confident of replicating the model that it claims to have successfully tested as a pilot project in Uganda last month. Sachdev is bullish about the model and is in talks with the government to replicate the model to as part of the Rajiv Gandhi Vidyutikaran Yojana.
"We rocked in Uganda and are confident it can be replicated here," Sachdev said. The company has also developed software that provides online monitoring of the performance of the inverters placed at customer premises that are connected to the Internet. This is useful in places where the inverters of higher capacity are put up, such as malls and other major power guzzling establishments. Su-Kam plans to inform the status of inverters and batteries through a short message service (SMS) to its high-end customers.
Email M Rajendran: rajendran.manoharan@hindustantimes.com
