The market is expected to grow as new solutions in terms of technologies are added in the meters

On May 31, 2013

Mr. C.P.Jain, Chairman
IEEMA Meter Division

Q. How was the sales during this year so far?
The sale for FY 12-13 has been overall satisfactory. As per the figures available for February 2013 there has been a reduction of about 2% in the quantity of Single Phase meters sold as compared to the same period in FY 2011-12. At the same time there has been an increase of about 4½% in the quantity of 3 Phase Meters been sold in FY 12-13.

We have also seen a reduction in Single Phase Counter type (Hybrid Meters) as compared to last fiscal and this reduction in sale of hybrid meters has been covered up by sale of completely static Meters. So overall the sales have been positive this year as compared to the last year.

Q. How big is the market and which are the prospects ahead?
The static Energy Meter market in India is growing year on year in the past decade. Presently our estimation of the market is about Rs.2500 crores. The market is expected to grow as new solutions in terms of technologies are added in the meters.

Q. What are the challenges the industry is facing as of now?
The industry is facing a large number of challenges and some of them are highlighted below:

Much dependence on supply of meters to Electricity Distribution Companies. Presently a large number of Electricity Distribution Companies are facing financial constraints and therefore receivables are a major major concern
The commercial terms and conditions of the purchasers are one sided and specially so in the case of Energy Meters when compared to other electrical equipments like Transformers, Conductors etc.
For Energy meter, the contracts are fixed price contracts and the typical minimum execution cycle of the contract from tender to contract closure is about 12 to 18 months and in some cases at times it takes 6 to 9 months to decide the tender. In other words the prices have to be kept FIRM for this long period.
Most of the components in the Energy Meter are imported and accordingly the cost is subjected to exchange rate variation

Q. What kind of reforms the industry seeking?
a) There should be a common specification of energy meters amongst all Distribution Companies in India. In 2010 a common protocol for meters required for RAPDRP projects was evolved by a committee consisting of Ministry of Power, PFC, CEA, BIS, CPRI, Various Distribution Companies and Meter Manufacturers. As a result of which a common protocol was evolved. The new Indian Standard IS 15959 was issued. This ensured smoother and faster availability of energy meters for all RAPDRP .projects apart from ensuring that meters were purchased with common protocol. Similarly if common specifications are available amongst the Utilities for energy meters then availability of meters would be much faster. Today the Industry is spending a huge amount of time and cost on developing different solution of meters for different utilities.

b) Common Commercial terms and conditions amongst various Distribution Companies which is fair to the supplier as well as the Purchaser. Presently the terms and conditions are too skewed in favour of the purchaser. As a result of which the suppliers have huge liabilities with various customers

c) Meters are cash box for various Utilities / Distribution Companies and therefore priority funding should be made available towards payments for meters supplied to utilities.

d) Indian Meter manufacturers are facing barriers while exporting the meters outside India. Most of these barriers are non tariff barriers.

For example the test report from Indian test laboratories are not acceptable outside India whether it is Middle East, Europe or South Asia etc.

For this a support which the Industry seeking is

Availability of modern test laboratories in India which would mean modernizing and enhancing the capacity of the existing laboratories and adding more laboratories.
Acceptance of these test labs in the Country with whom we have trade agreements and covered under GATT.

Q. Any major development has taken recently?
Government of India has recently approved 14 smart grid pilot projects to various Utilities all across the Country. This approval will set the ball rolling for various activities into the entire value chain of implementation of these pilot projects including smart meters wherever required. Simultaneously CEA and BIS is working on smart meter specification as well as compilation of various standards required to meet the specification of smart meter as well as various functional requirements.

Q. What kind of technological advancement taking place today?
Indian Metering Industry is technologically quite advanced. The metering market in India is quite diverse and different as compared to other Countries as there are a large number of Distribution Companies in India and practically each Distribution Company has different specification which changes with each tender. Therefore to meet this requirement, the metering industry in India has to be sufficiently equipped, which it is.

The technological advancement presently being undertaken for metering is focused on different communication technology being used. For example Hardwired communication, Over air communication using GSM / GPRS / CDMA or Low Power Radio communication and Power line communication. Latest State of the Art solutions like Smart meters, Prepayment Meters have been developed along with the other equipment in the value chain to meet the requirements of AMI and Smart Cities.

Q. What is the future of smart metering in India ?
India is already using meters with advanced technology including smart meters. Therefore India is ready for smart meters. The requirement of smartness in meters has to be seen from the geographic, demographic usage etc..

In countries such as Italy, Sweden, Australia, Canada and UK etc., where smart meters have been deployed, the prime motive was to improve the frequency of meter readingas the meter reading costs were very high. Therefore, advanced technologies like AMR/ AMI and two-way communication etc. have been deployed in these countries.

In India, the directions are there for reading all the meters at least once a month and the meter reading costs are not so high as in the other countries mentioned above. Therefore by using Smart meters, the other advantages such as Energy Audit, Consumption Pattern Analysis and Demand Side Management would be a priority rather than just once a month meter reading. The metering technology available in India is quite advanced and in fact as per the regulations of March 2006, only advanced digital meters with communication are to be used for all tariff-metering applications. Presently, the meters being used in India are already smart with lot of smart features built in especially for prevention of theft of electricity and are suitable for advance functions like AMR and Prepayment. Further, in order to align with the latest development in Smart Grids, the Govt. of India has taken the following steps.

1. Formation of India Smart Grid Task Force (ISGTF). The India Smart Grid Task Force (ISGTF) has identified 14 pilot projects to be implemented in 14 towns coming under 14 Electricity Distribution companies.

2. Formation of Indian Smart Grid Forum (ISGF): The Indian Smart Grid Forum (ISGF) which is a Public Private Partnership (PPP) and an initiative of Ministry of Power, Govt. of India has been formed to have accelerated development of smart grid technology in the Indian Power sector.

India is an extremely diverse country and therefore the 14 pilot projects as identified above when completed will provide the road map for large-scale roll out of smart grid in India.

The decision on Mass / Large scale rollout of meters having advanced features such as:

Connect / disconnect
HAN
Remote firmware up gradation etc.

Will be based upon the experience from the 14 plot projects being undertaken.