Dumb Networks to Smart Grids – How Will it Catapult India into Being Energy Efficient?

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There is something wrong with the intelligent quotient of India’s grids. Otherwise there would not be so many problems relating to transmission and distribution plaguing the country. Obsolete technology, shabby state of the distribution grid, illegal power connections, theft of power, defaulting consumers and power outages... the list is endless. Recognizing the need to smarten its national grids, the power sector was restructured again in 2007. This time the reforms called for an increase in power generation, expansion of inter-regional transmission and upgradation and expansion of the distribution networks. But this was no ordinary reform - Information technology (IT) solutions were introduced into the national power grid. The buzzword is Smart Grid and India has caught on. Smart Grid uses digital communications and controls and monitors the power flow between the generators, grid operators and consumers. Something like this has never been implemented in India and is still under evolution. Till now, it was just advanced metering infrastructure (or smart metering) that had captivated the imagination worldwide. But Smart Grids can do so much more and as the technologies develop, the power grid can become energy efficient, resilient, reliable and environmentally sustainable. For now the platform has been set. This paper will focus on the power sector in India, what are Smart Grids and why does India need it. While the mood is upbeat in India, its adoption has been more city-centric. The paper will also focus on the approaches taken by other countries namely Italy, U.S., China and Japan, their successes and the technologies being developed.