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					</table><p>The <a href="https://powermin.gov.in/en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ministry of Power</a> has reported that 47.6 million smart meters have been installed across the country so far under various programs as of November 15, 2025, while 203.3 million meters have been approved under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) based on proposals submitted by the states.</p>
<p><a href="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/MoP-Smart-Meter.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-87714 size-full" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/MoP-Smart-Meter.jpg" alt="State-wise Smart Meters Installations as of Nov 15, 2025" width="589" height="549" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/MoP-Smart-Meter.jpg 589w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/MoP-Smart-Meter-300x280.jpg 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 589px) 100vw, 589px" /></a></p>
<p>Bihar, with 8,237,246 smart meters, Maharashtra (7,398,415), and Uttar Pradesh (6,506, 420) are the top three states that have installed the most smart meters.</p>
<p>Minister of State for Power Shripad Yesso Naik told Parliament that smart metering under RDSS is being implemented through the public-private partnership model in total expenditure (TOTEX) mode, in which the advanced metering infrastructure service provider (AMISP) supplies, maintains, and operates the metering system.</p>
<p>A minimum local content of 60% for meter manufacturing and a 100% local content requirement for the head-end system, and the meter data management system have been mandated by the government.</p>
<p>The Ministry has also constituted a working group to give recommendations to the distribution companies (DISCOMs) on accelerating prepaid smart metering, consumer engagement, and data utilization, and sharing best practices.</p>
<p>The group is chaired by the Director General of the All India DISCOMs Association and includes representatives from the DISCOMs of Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh, the National Smart Grid Mission, Central Electricity Authority, National Power Training Institute, REC, PFC, Ministry of Power, and three major AMISPs.</p>
<p>Smart metering enables real-time monitoring of electricity consumption at the consumer, system, substation, and grid levels. Prepaid smart meters allow consumers to track usage and help utilities improve billing efficiency and cash flow. At the system level, data from feeders, transformers, and consumers is used for energy accounting and audits.</p>
<p>At the substation and grid levels, automation and IT integration, including supervisory control and data acquisition, and distribution management systems, help improve reliability, reduce outages, and support faster fault response. Funds have also been allocated for strengthening substations, transmission lines, and underground cabling to support digitalization and renewable energy integration.</p>
<p>According to the Ministry, installing smart meters has positively <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/smart-meter-deployment-dismal-sunset-date-just-a-year-away" target="_blank" rel="noopener">impacted</a> the utilities of Assam and Bihar. About 44% of consumers in Assam saved roughly 50 units per month through consumption tracking and accurate billing. It has also helped the DISCOMs of the two states to reduce losses, the benefits of which would ultimately go to the consumers.</p>
<p>Recently, the Ministry of Power <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/government-to-form-experts-committee-to-train-discoms-on-smart-meter-data" target="_blank" rel="noopener">constituted</a> a steering committee and a sub-working group of domain experts to standardize training modules and create standard operating procedures/guidelines for data utilization, standards-based regime adoption, and cybersecurity practices on smart meter data analytics for DISCOMs.</p>


India Installs 47.6 Million Smart Meters, Bihar Stands First


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					</table><p>Power Finance Corporation (<a href="https://www.pfcindia.co.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PFC</a>) has signed a loan agreement for €150 million (~$175.13 million) with <a href="https://www.kfw-entwicklungsbank.de/International-financing/KfW-Entwicklungsbank/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KfW Development Bank</a>, a German state-owned investment and development bank.</p>
<p>PFC will utilize the loan proceeds to finance projects under the Indian government’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS).</p>
<p>According to the National Smart Grid Mission data, 8.76 million smart meters have been <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/smart-meter-deployment-dismal-sunset-date-just-a-year-away" target="_blank" rel="noopener">installed</a> under RDSS as of February 2025.</p>
<p>In January 2025, the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/japan-bank-signs-agreement-to-lend-770-million-to-pfc" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> an agreement to set up a credit line of JPY120 billion (~$770.64 million) with  PFC. JBIC’s share of the total credit line will be JPY72 billion (~$462.38 million).</p>
<p>Renewable energy in India is <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/indias-renewable-energy-space-is-mainstream-now-for-lenders" target="_blank" rel="noopener">increasingly</a> being viewed as a mainstream segment by lenders who are eager to finance various clean energy projects. Capital is no longer a constraint for well-governed companies with a good track record.</p>
<p>In the financial year 2025, PFC primarily<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/higher-net-interest-income-strengthens-pfcs-q4-fy-2025-financials" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> lent</a> to the government sector, which accounted for 77% of the loans disbursed, with the remainder going to the private sector. Its loan assets totaled ₹5.43 trillion (~$63.43 billion), and loan disbursements reached ₹1.68 trillion (~$19.62 billion).</p>
<p>As of March 31, 2025, PFC had a borrowing mix of ₹888.77 billion (~$10.38 billion) of rupee term loans from banks/financial institutions (19%), ₹891.32 billion (~$10.41 billion) of foreign currency borrowings (19%), and ₹2.61 trillion (~$30.49 billion) of domestic bonds (56%).</p>
<p>On June 30, 2025, the Ministry of Power <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/government-conceives-india-energy-stack-to-digitalize-power-sector" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> the launch of a task force to establish the India Energy Stack under the RDSS program. The initiative aims to create a unified, secure, and interoperable digital infrastructure for the country’s energy sector.</p>
<p>In March 2025, the Ministry of Power <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/two-year-extension-of-distribution-sector-reforms-program-on-the-cards" target="_blank" rel="noopener">informed</a> Parliament’s Standing Committee on Energy that it requires a two-year extension of the RDSS program, aimed at introducing operational efficiencies and financial discipline into India’s power distribution sector.</p>


PFC Secures €150 Million Loan from KfW for Power Distribution Program


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					</table><p>REC Power Development and Consultancy (<a href="https://www.recpdcl.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RECPDCL</a>) has signed agreements to deploy 3.32 million smart prepaid meters in Paschim Gujarat Vij Company’s (<a href="https://www.pgvcl.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PGVCL</a>) jurisdictional area as part of the Phase II rollout of the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS).</p>
<p>The implementation will follow the design, build, finance, own, operate, and transfer model. RECPDCL signed the project implementation agency and the distribution department framework agreements for the project.</p>
<p>It also signed an advanced metering infrastructure service provider contract agreement with Bharat Grid, a <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/edf-proposes-partnerships-with-ntpc-cil-and-actis-for-renewables" target="_blank" rel="noopener">partnership</a> venture between global infrastructure investor Actis and EDF India, the Indian arm of Électricité de France.</p>
<p>Bharat Grid will replace conventional meters in the electricity distribution network with smart prepaid meters.</p>
<p>The key benefits of this initiative include a reduction in the aggregate technical and commercial losses, improved billing efficiency, real-time monitoring of electricity usage, reduced downtime, and better consumer engagement.</p>
<p>Consumers will be able to track and manage their electricity consumption through digital interfaces, while the utility will gain access to data for demand forecasting and grid management. This initiative is part of the Indian government’s broader RDSS objective to digitalize and make the distribution sector financially more sustainable and operationally efficient.</p>
<p>Under the Smart Meter National Program, as part of the RDSS, the government has set a target to install 250 million electricity consumer smart meters by the end of the financial year 2026. However, with less than a year to go before the program ends, the <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/smart-meter-deployment-dismal-sunset-date-just-a-year-away" target="_blank" rel="noopener">achievement</a> is dismal.</p>
<p>The government provides a grant of ₹900 (~$10.3), or 15% of the cost, whichever is lower, for every smart meter.</p>
<p>The parliamentary standing committee on energy commented in a December 2024 report that the target of installing 250 million smart meters by the year 2025-26 “seems to be a difficult task.”</p>


RECPDCL Signs Agreements for Installing 3.32 Million Smart Meters in Gujarat


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					</table><p>A two-year extension of the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) aimed at bringing operational efficiencies and financial discipline to India’s power distribution sector is on the cards.</p>
<p>The Ministry of Power (<a href="https://powermin.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">MoP</a>) has told Parliament’s Standing Committee on Energy that the ₹3.3 trillion (~$40.35 billion) program, which was to end in the financial year (FY) 2025-26, needs an extension until FY 2028.</p>
<p>“As per our current implementation status, a lot of work remains to be done, especially in the case of smart meters. This will approximately take two years,” MoP told the committee.</p>
<p>The committee observed that the accumulated losses of distribution companies (DISCOM) had gone up from ₹5.45 trillion (~₹62.64 billion) in FY 2020-21 to ₹6.92 trillion (~$79.54 billion) in FY 2023-24 (FY24).</p>
<p>“Further, the billing and collection efficiencies of the DISCOMs are not very impressive and the gap between Average Cost of Supply (ACS) and Average Revenue Realized (ARR) has been fluctuating and is far from zero,” the committee said.</p>
<p>The RDSS was devised to improve the quality and reliability of power supply to consumers through a financially sustainable and operationally efficient distribution sector. It aimed to reduce Aggregate Technical &amp; Commercial (AT&amp;C) losses to pan-India levels of 12-15%, and the ACS-ARR gap to zero.</p>
<p>The ACS-ARR gap is a key metric of a DISCOM’s financial health.</p>
<p>The ACS-ARR gap (₹/unit) was 0.21 at the end of FY24.</p>
<p>At the end of FY24, all India level AT&amp;C losses were at 16.87%, the losses reported by government sector DISCOMs was 17.17% and 12.12% by private sector DISCOMs.</p>
<p>Gujarat’s DISCOMs continued to top the annual integrated ratings of the power distribution sector with all four of its DISCOMs retaining their A+ ratings for FY 2023-24.</p>
<p>The ministry told the committee that the budget utilization was slow due to the delay in awarding projects, including smart meters, in the initial years of the RDSS. Now, the physical progress under the program has gained pace, which would result in effective utilization.</p>
<p>The RDSS is a reform-based result linked program under which the release of funds (except for 10% of Gross Budgetary Support as an advance) is contingent upon DISCOMs/power departments qualifying the annual evaluations for a particular financial year and based on the actual physical progress.</p>
<p>The committee observed that the achievements in respect of loss reduction works, household electrification, and installation of smart meters were way behind the targets. Only 25.3% of the target for loss reduction works had been met. Out of 99,680 households identified for electrification, only 180,070 households had been electrified until February 9, 2025.</p>
<p>Mercom had recently reported that only 20.85 million smart meters had been <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/smart-meter-deployment-dismal-sunset-date-just-a-year-away" target="_blank" rel="noopener">installed</a> under various programs as of February 10, 2025. By the end of March 2026, the government had envisaged installing 250 million smart meters.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-77494 size-full" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/RDSS-article-picture-updated.png" alt="RDSS article picture updated" width="667" height="293" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/RDSS-article-picture-updated.png 667w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/RDSS-article-picture-updated-300x132.png 300w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/RDSS-article-picture-updated-650x286.png 650w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/RDSS-article-picture-updated-624x274.png 624w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/RDSS-article-picture-updated-600x264.png 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 667px) 100vw, 667px" /></p>
<p>The ministry said until a year ago, only about 11,000 to 12,000 smart meters were being installed daily. Installations gradually increased to around 38,000 in April last year. At present, approximately 80,000 smart meters are being installed per day. It is expected to touch the figure of 100,000 within the next one month.</p>
<p>The committee noted that smart metering supports DISCOMs in improving their financial viability by strengthening billing and collection efficiency, automatic energy accounting, improved load forecasting, optimized power purchase costs and renewable energy integration through net metering.</p>
<p>It recommended that, given installations picking up pace, faulty meter complaints should be addressed on priority by using check meters to verify the readings, and independent third-party verification of installed smart meters should be initiated to instil confidence in consumers.</p>


Two-Year Extension of Distribution Sector Reforms Program on the Cards


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					</table><p>Over three and a half years after the government launched a program to install 250 million electricity consumer smart meters by the end of the financial year 2026, the results are dismal. According to the latest <a href="https://www.nsgm.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Smart Grid Mission</a> data, only 20.85 million smart meters have been installed under various programs.</p>
<p>In all, 222.35 million smart meters were approved, and 38.02 million were awarded. The deployment is less than 10% of the target.</p>
<p>The target date for the Smart Meter National Program under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) is March 31, 2026. Given the current pace of installation, the program will likely miss the target by a considerable margin.</p>
<p>Under RDSS, the Indian government provides a grant of ₹900 (~$10.3), or 15% of the cost, whichever is lower, for every smart meter. It aims to make the distribution sector financially more sustainable and operationally efficient.</p>
<p>The program has not taken off in several states. Not a single consumer smart meter has been installed in Karnataka, while Kerala has installed only 805 so far.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-76918 size-full" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Smart-metering-article.png" alt="Smart meters" width="691" height="793" srcset="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Smart-metering-article.png 691w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Smart-metering-article-261x300.png 261w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Smart-metering-article-650x746.png 650w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Smart-metering-article-624x716.png 624w, https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Smart-metering-article-600x689.png 600w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 691px) 100vw, 691px" /></p>
<p><strong>Bihar, Assam Best Performers</strong></p>
<p>The best-performing state is Bihar, which has installed 6.18 million smart meters. Assam follows with 3.07 million, and Uttar Pradesh is third at 2.26 million. Madhya Pradesh (1.89 million), Punjab (1.3 million), Chhattisgarh (1.28 million), and Andhra Pradesh (1.02 million) are among the better performing states.</p>
<p>Haryana, Maharashtra, and Gujarat have seen moderate progress, installing under 1 million smart meters each.</p>
<p>According to an analysis by the <a href="https://powermin.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ministry of Power</a>, installing smart meters has positively impacted the utilities of Assam and Bihar. About 44% of consumers in Assam saved roughly 50 units per month through consumption tracking and accurate billing. It has also helped the distribution companies of the two states to reduce losses, the benefits of which would ultimately go to the consumers</p>
<p>In an interview with Mercom India, Ganesh Lakshminarayanan, CEO, Airtel Business (India), said installing smart meters in homes will <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/2024-watershed-year-smart-metering-interview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ease</a> the load on the grid and help generation companies manage generation and supply as per demand. Smart meters will not solve all the problems of state utilities, but they are a significant first step toward better financial health.</p>
<p><strong>What are Smart Meters?</strong></p>
<p>A smart meter is an advanced electronic meter with two-way communication and a remotely operated connect/disconnect switch inside the meter. The device comprises a meter and a communication infrastructure to connect the meter with the data center, which is integrated with the Meter Data Management System at the data center or on the cloud.</p>
<p>The main objective of smart metering is to enable near real-time two-way communication between the smart meter and the data center to allow remote reading, monitoring, and control of meters at the consumer end. Smart meters can also be used as prepaid meters or net meters.</p>
<p>The parliamentary standing committee on energy commented in a December 2024 report, “Considering the present pace of installation of Smart Meters, the target of installation of 250 million smart meters by the year 2025-26 seems to be a difficult task.”</p>
<p>The committee observed that although about 51% of the approved smart meters and 75% of the infrastructure works were awarded, only 12% of the overall physical progress has been achieved.</p>
<p>It said that since there are only about 16 months left before the sunset date of March 31, 2026, the Ministry of Power should expedite the implementation to meet the target.</p>
<p>RDSS also envisages system metering at the feeder and distribution transformer (DT) levels. Of the 5.29 million target under DT metering, only 423,192 meters have been installed, while 93,034 feeder level meters of 205,529 have been installed.</p>
<p><strong>Constraints</strong></p>
<p>According to the Ministry of Power, some of the main constraints faced in the speedy installation of smart meters include a lack of adequate awareness at the consumer and utility levels, delays in tendering and award of smart meter works by the utilities and establishment of direct debit facility, and shortage of dedicated IT teams at distribution utility level with knowledge of smart meters.</p>
<p>Other challenges included collecting and validating data for consumer indexing, delays in testing and approvals for field installation and integration tests, and factory acceptance.</p>
<p>The ministry, however, has asserted that India can manufacture 100 million smart meters a year, which is sufficient to meet the demand.</p>


Smart Meter Deployment Dismal, Sunset Date Just a Year Away


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					</table><p>Smart meters are a critical component of the government’s power sector reforms and are expected to contribute significantly to improving the billing and collection efficiencies of distribution companies (DISCOMs).</p>
<p>The government has targeted installing over 200 million smart meters across India. As of now, about 8.5 million smart meters are in service. Under the government’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), smart meters are being deployed through the public-private partnership on a total expenditure (TOTEX) model.</p>
<p>In an exclusive interview with Mercom, Ganesh Lakshminarayanan, CEO of <a href="https://www.airtel.in/business/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Airtel Business</a> (India), shares his thoughts about smart metering solutions in India’s power sector and Airtel’s offerings in the smart metering space.</p>
<p>Here are the excerpts from the interview:</p>
<p><strong>Can you tell us about Airtel’s Cellular IoT services and their application in smart metering?</strong></p>
<p>Airtel’s traditional strength lies in connectivity. This can be offered to end users through mobile devices, and it can also be offered to an enterprise to power their smart devices.</p>
<p>Airtel connects 27.9 million devices on its network across a plethora of use cases, including smart metering.</p>
<p>Airtel empowers all its IoT customers with the Airtel IoT Hub, a platform to centrally manage and control the SIMs and devices deployed on the field. The platform gives customers complete control of all aspects of the SIM lifecycle – provisioning, billing and payment, network configuration, issue management, and support – and is at the core of our engagement with IoT customers.</p>
<p>We are also building an ‘IoT-grade’ network, which means that our network is being designed to support the scale and behavior of IoT devices. We are investing in rolling out our Narrowband IoT (NBIoT) network, which is geared towards low throughput devices such as smart meters, which require deep indoor and rural coverage. We are using these strategic investments in our IoT platform and network to build differentiated offerings for our smart metering customers.</p>
<p><strong>How is Cellular IoT integral to smart metering?</strong></p>
<p>Utilities in India are undergoing a digital transformation driven by government-mandated initiatives aimed at bringing in economic efficiencies and eliminating manual interventions.</p>
<p>The government of India has laid down its plans to implement a pan-India Smart Grid, which will enable India to meet its future energy demands while curtailing aggregate technical and commercial (AT&amp;C) losses. The first step in establishing the smart grid is deploying advanced metering infrastructure, replacing 250 million conventional meters with smart meters.</p>
<p>Airtel is working with utility providers to deploy millions of meters powered with NBIoT connectivity. Cellular IoT provides utilities with a standards-based communication offering for connecting the meters, which ensures there are no interoperability challenges between different service providers.</p>
<p>Another key benefit of licensed cellular networks is the plug-and-play nature of the offering. These networks do not require customers to incur any upfront capex for network rollout and eliminate costs and challenges associated with deploying, managing, and operating these proprietary networks.</p>
<p>All smart metering deployments entail long-term contracts with a cumulative deployment and service period of ten years; thus, cellular communication technologies provide the right mix of security, reliability, and commercial viability required by system integrators (SIs) bidding for these contracts.</p>
<p><strong>What do you mean by end-to-end IoT solution for smart metering? What does this entail?</strong></p>
<p>In simple terms, a smart meter stack can be thought of in four layers. The first is the meter hardware, and the second is the communication network or the connectivity. Third is the cloud infrastructure for data storage and analytics. Lastly, the application layer where all the intelligence resides, i.e., Head End System (HES) for data ingestion, Meter Data Management (MDM) for data analytics, and integration with DISCOMs system for billing, load, and demand forecasting.</p>
<p>In this stack, Airtel has always been present across communication and cloud infrastructure layers. For our customers in the IoT space, we now have bundled connectivity and cloud, thus making it easier and economical for them to deploy their IoT solutions. Furthermore, we have now built the capability to offer Head End System (HES) application, MDM application, and prepaid billing software as a bundled offering with IoT connectivity, with the applications being hosted on the Airtel cloud.</p>
<p><strong>How can smart metering in general and cellular IoT in particular help electricity consumers and power utilities?</strong></p>
<p>Many state utilities in the country suffer from poor financial health, high debt, high AT&amp;C losses, and poor distribution infrastructure. The RDSS introduced in 2021 aims to reform the power distribution sector and restore the financial stability of the DISCOMs.</p>
<p>A smart meter is not a panacea, but it is a good place to start. It helps DISCOMs reduce T&amp;D losses and operational expenditure, allows for better demand forecasting, and ultimately increases revenue. This ecosystem mandates real-time transmission of data from these meters to the Meter Data Management System for data analytics and better demand-supply forecasting.</p>
<p>Given the geographical and topographic spread for deployment of meters across the country, licensed cellular networks emerge as the most feasible communication infrastructure for connecting these meters.</p>
<p>The government is already working on Time-Of-Day tenders to supply electricity. You can expect more of those projects to come through when these meters become mainstream. On the consumer end, smart meters offer more transparency and insights into their usage. Once these projects acquire scale, they will also offer consumers the flexibility to select the vendors from whom they wish to procure electricity.</p>
<p><strong>How does Airtel’s IoT solution for smart metering distinguish itself from competitors?</strong></p>
<p>Airtel is working with utility providers to deploy millions of meters powered with NBIoT connectivity. Not only does Airtel act as a one-stop shop for providing the end-to-end smart metering solution, but we have also been building capabilities to bring deployment efficiencies for our customers. For instance, Airtel has developed tools customized for large-scale implementations, such as the ability to do deployment feasibility from the platform, which helps our customers save critical resources by avoiding expensive field surveys. Lastly, we have built analytics tools that enable our customers to effectively track and monitor their communications uptimes and SLAs.</p>
<p><strong>How do you view the adoption of smart metering in the power sector going forward?</strong><strong> </strong></p>
<p>Our view is that the smart metering program will come through. There is a determined policy push and stakeholder buy-in for the initiative at all levels. Smart meters don’t solve all the problems of state utilities, but they are a significant first step toward better financial health. It is a three-step journey.</p>
<p>The first step is to get smart meters in 250 million homes. That is the starting point of the digitization of India’s power sector and the establishment of a pan-India smart grid. Once the 250 million meters come through, we will see the demand-supply mismatch ease up at the consumer end. This will ease up the load on the grid, and generation companies will be able to produce/ supply the grid accurately as per demand. The third step is the democratization of consumption with initiatives such as Time-of-Day pricing, resulting in better offtake of renewable energy.</p>
<p>There is no denying that there are challenges around deployment speed, availability of pervasive networks, and consumer adoption, but everyone has an incentive to implement these things faster. With the kind of investment that is coming into the sector, we should see the momentum pick up sooner rather than later.</p>
<p><strong>There are several states where smart meters have yet to be pressed into service. Apart from private DISCOMs, have any state-owned utilities shown interest in Airtel’s smart metering solutions? </strong></p>
<p>Smart meter rollouts have begun in earnest. As things stand today, more than 220 million smart meters have been sanctioned across the country. However, deployment progress remains relatively slow, with only 8.5 million smart meters being made live. The smart meter installation process is not easy, as the tendering process takes time, applications need to get deployed and co-exist with the legacy system, systems are integrated with billing software, and then there is work fieldwork around the actual replacement of conventional meters.</p>
<p>While private DISCOMs were early adopters of smart meter solutions, the introduction of RDSS and the mandates from the Ministry of Power have transformed the complete landscape. Several state utilities are now deploying at a breakneck speed. Airtel has been working with AMISPs (advanced metering infrastructure service providers) across Bihar, Punjab, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh for the deployment of these meters. 2024 is expected to be a watershed year for smart metering, with deployments happening across nearly all states.</p>
<p><strong>What should the government do on the policy side to increase the adoption of smart meters by utilities?</strong></p>
<p>I think that over the past ten years, the government has taken significant measures to improve the financial health of the DISCOMs to ensure India’s energy security.</p>
<p>While all these initiatives are visionary, successful adoption and timely implementation will be imperative. This requires a tremendous push on account of consumer education and awareness, which will need to be a joint responsibility of both the government and the DISCOMs.</p>


2024 Likely to be Watershed Year for Smart Metering in Power Sector: Interview


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					</table><p>Public infrastructure finance company <a href="https://recindia.nic.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">REC Limited</a> has signed a €200 million (~$215 million) loan agreement with German bank <a href="https://www.kfw-entwicklungsbank.de/International-financing/KfW-Entwicklungsbank/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KfW</a>. The loan will be used to undertake reforms in India’s distribution sector.</p>
<p>Under the Indo-German Development Cooperation, this marks REC’s sixth line of credit.</p>
<p>“This announcement not only showcases REC&#8217;s ability to secure strategic partnerships with international financial institutions but also underscores our integral role in driving positive change within the power distribution landscape in India. The collaboration with KfW is expected to have a transformative impact on the operational capabilities and financial resilience of DISCOMs, ultimately contributing to the broader goals of the RDSS scheme and the nation&#8217;s power sector reforms,” said T.S.C. Bosh, Executive Director, REC.</p>
<p>REC is the nodal agency to implement the Revamped Distribution Sector (RDSS) program, a government initiative to help distribution companies improve their operational efficiencies and financial sustainability by providing them with result-linked financial assistance. The program is designed to strengthen supply infrastructure based on meeting pre-qualifying criteria and achieving basis minimum benchmarks.</p>
<p>REC has set a target of achieving a green finance portfolio totaling ₹3 trillion (~$36 billion) by FY 2023. In addition to backing conventional renewable projects, the company has also financed technologies such as hybrid power, pumped storage, electric vehicles, solar modules, and wind turbine manufacturing.</p>
<p>In September 2023, the company <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/rec-approves-greenko-pumped-storage-project" target="_blank" rel="noopener">approved</a> funding of ₹60.75 billion (~$730.8 million) to Greenko to develop a 1,440 MW standalone pumped storage project.</p>
<p>Earlier that month, REC <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/rec-1-25-billion-finance-power-infrastructure-logistics" target="_blank" rel="noopener">raised</a> $1.25 billion aimed at financing power, infrastructure, and logistics sector projects.</p>
<p>VK Singh, REC’s Director (Projects), <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/rec-increase-renewable-loan-portfolio-fy30-interview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mentioned</a> that the company’s loan book in the renewable energy space has grown to ₹298.33 billion (~$3.58 billion), or  6% of its loan book of ₹4.74 trillion (~$56.88 billion) in FY 2022-23. This figure is expected to increase exponentially owing to approvals of ₹499.29 billion (~$5.99 billion) in the first half of FY 2023-24.</p>


REC Signs $215 Million Loan Agreement with KfW to Reform Indian DISCOMs


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					</table><p>Government-owned Power Finance Corporation (<a href="https://www.pfcindia.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PFC</a>) has approved projects worth over ₹1.17 trillion (~$14.04 billion) for various state distribution companies (DISCOM) under the Revamped Distribution Sector (RDSS) Program as of September 2023.</p>
<p>The public sector lender has also approved loans worth ₹70 billion (~$8.4 billion) and disbursed ₹31 billion (~$3.7 billion) under the Late Payment surcharge (LPS) program, fetching the DISCOMs more than a 50% reduction in legacy dues.</p>
<p>During the recent quarterly earnings call, the company stated that out of the total approved amount under the RDSS program, 53% or ₹620 billion (~$7.44 billion), has been earmarked for the installation of smart meters worth ₹100 million (~$1.2 million) and the balance for loss reduction volume.</p>
<p>PFC and REC are the nodal agencies for implementing both the government programs- LPS and RDSS programs &#8211; focused on the DISCOMs’ modernization, improving operational efficiencies and financial health.</p>
<p>During an interview with Mercom India, P K Sinha, ED (Projects) at PFC, <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/optimal-tariffs-and-efficient-financing-risks-interview" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spoke</a> about the clause placed by the government for the DISCOMs to reduce their Aggregate Technical and Commercial losses to 12% from 15% if they were to be eligible for funds under the RDSS program.</p>
<p>According to the National Electricity Plan, approximately ₹33 trillion (~$396 billion) worth of investments are required by 2032 in the power sector. The company claimed it is currently the largest lender of renewable sectors and has backed 25% of the current installed renewable capacity in the country.</p>
<p>While responding to a question, Parminder Chopra, chairperson and Managing Director of PFC, said, “Going forward, we expect to maintain a similar share for energy financing in the power sector.”</p>
<p>In the previous quarter, the company diversified its borrowing profile and issued its first three-year zero-coupon bond and raised ₹4.8 billion (~$57.6 million), and also managed to raise ₹28 billion (~$336.02 million) through its second public issue of table bonds.</p>
<p>In March of this year, PFC <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/japan-bank-loans-emissions-reduction-projects" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> a loan agreement with the Japan Bank for International Corporation for a ¥2.6 billion (~$20.2 million) facility, which will finance its renewable energy portfolio and offer competitive rates for the same.</p>
<p>The company has <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/pfc-registers-%e2%82%b966-billion-net-up-27-yoy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> a net profit of ₹66.28 billion (~$795.5 million) during the second quarter of the financial year 2024, registering a 26.7% year-over-year (YoY) increase.  PFC posted an income of ₹224.04 billion (~$2.69 billion), an increase of 15.9% YoY.</p>


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