Adoption of mini and micro grids an onus for complete electrification

Mandatory use of smart energy meters/prepaid meters, proper check on line tapping thefts backed with geographic information system mapping should be made essential.

Discussing on the measures to curtail the increasing risk in the distribution sector, Shilpi Dangi, DGM Engineering, Gensol Engineering Limited talks various ways to ensure efficient power supply in every village and every household.

Moving away from generation and focusing on supply. Your take?
Adding to generation capacity is not the solution for energy starve nations like India. As per know, the peak supply demand in India is half of the installed capacity and it is also not new to hear that the renewable energy generators are been subjected to power limitation; and most of the developers fear that going ahead solar and wind will face a huge curtailment risk. With demand management, peak hour supplies and tariff rates can be channelised, time of day tariff will promote wiser use of electricity from the end consumer and also help DISCOMs and regulators optimise output from the generators. But just demand management will not bring about the required change, string endpoint infrastructure to curb aggregate technical and commercial losses will also be needed parallel.

Would this move to focus on supply, will bring any relief to the DISCOMs debts?
Yes definitely, demand supply management is a power tool if implemented in line with states local requirement with proper governance. The more supplies can be tuned to demand of energy it will add to the profits. With demand and supply management in place with smart grids consumers will have the choice to choose their service providers which will add to competition in the business and lead to better supplies and management hence helping in achieving the perfect equilibrium of demand and supply.

What policy or tariff changes are you expecting to come under the UDAY 2.0?
With respect to new policies adoption more focus on adoption of measures to reduce AT&C losses is what we expect to be part of the policy. Addition of generation capacity is one part of the game, but to ensure that power reaches consumers and is uninterrupted apart from financial restructuring of the distressed discoms, aim to ensure that losses are curbed and are not rampant is an equally important task to make sure that the financial rollout planned now can lead to booking profits eventually. With respect to tariff currently most of the consumers are paying 30 per cent higher than what they consume because of the reactive power, the government is proposing a cap on it which will ease the commercial burden on the end consumer.

What are your thoughts on how to curb off cyber attacks?
Cyber attacks although yet unheard in India for utility scale grade systems but is a reality. With India’s smart grid vision and eventual adoption of the mini and micro grids in the country to ensure electricity reaches all the nooks and corner of the country, very strong impenetrable network systems will be needed. Threats are becoming stronger by the day like black energy malware which can infiltrate the SCADA logging devices and render the very hardware for monitoring accessible to attackers.In India we do have a tendency of taking antivirus systems and software updates for granted and we tend to shun away from paying for original versions but given the severity of attacks which can collapse the basic energy infrastructure, adaptation of genuine softwares and staying abreast of malwares is a must for survival.

What kind of infrastructure should be in place for an efficient supply?
For efficient supply focus on mini and micro grids with smart grid and inter-state adoption of transmission of electricity is needed on a broader level so that network connecting major generating hubs are connected to all areas where human habitation for commercial and domestic use is needed. 100 per cent uptime and at end consumer efficient monitoring systems, mechanism for lesser waste of electricity by adopting smart building management systems could be adopted with easy monitoring and diagnostic online cloud based platforms.

Shilpi Dangi, DGM Engineering, Gensol Engineering Limited