Industry reports note that India is striving ahead to install 250 million smart meters by 2027 and thus presents a $20 billion opportunity for the country’s energy sector.
Around 1.12 lakh smart meters are being installed on a daily basis in the country, said Shashank Mishra, Joint Secretary at Ministry of Power on Tuesday. He further noted that this is a significant number as compared to only 15,000 smart meter installations that was completed in the last year.
Addressing the event on Smart Metering hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry, the power ministry official said, “Smart meter use cases showcasing benefits for consumers and DISCOMs will help us achieve higher numbers.”
Industry reports note that India is striving ahead to install 250 million smart meters by 2027 and thus presents a $20 billion opportunity for the country’s energy sector. Smart meters essentially refer to digital devices that measure and record electricity consumption in real-time and relay the information to the utilities, unlike traditional meters that are dependent on manual readings. They provide precise, time-stamped consumption data, voltage levels and power quality metrics.
Ghanshyam Prasad, Chairman at Central Electricity Authority who also addressed the gathering today noted that the potential of data analytics in smart metering presents an opportunity that needs to be harnessed. "Data analytics is next generation in the case of smart meters. We need to leverage it and grab this opportunity," he said.
Prasad further said that the efficiency gains through smart metering would be reflected in the ARR (Annual Revenue Requirement) petitions filed by power distribution companies and from there reflect in consumer tariffs.
The event also witnessed the unveiling of a theme paper on ‘Protecting the Future of Energy: Cybersecurity & Privacy in Smart Metering Infrastructure’ today. It delves into the cybersecurity and privacy aspects of smart metering infrastructure and its implications on individual consumers and the broader grid infrastructure, at a time when such concerns are on a rise. The paper points out that by implementing robust security measures and staying abreast of emerging technologies, utility companies can protect their smart meter networks and ensure the continued reliability and safety of the energy grid.
“For the continued success of smart metering, it is critical to ensure cybersecurity with the right firmware on all communication modules along with well run key management systems with adequate cryptography. The CII theme paper goes into the details of this and lays out how best practices can be adopted by AMISPs and Discoms," said Dr Sukhet Singhal, chairman, CII Taskforce on Smart Metering and Group CEO, Secure Meters.
The paper also recommends compliance with national and international standards for data privacy and cybersecurity to establish comprehensive cybersecurity protocols for critical infrastructure. Smart metering systems must comply with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) guidelines and international standards such as ISO/IEC27001 and NIST Cybersecurity Framework, it states.
According to the recommendations, utilities can leverage from best global practices which require utilities to actively engage with customers and educate them about types of data collected and the security measures in place regarding privacy of their customers.
To ensure successful implementation, India can integrate these global practices into its smart meter policies, under NSGM and RDSS, while also leveraging the Digital Personal Data Protection Act. Addressing the diverse needs of urban and rural areas with customized encryption, authentication, and privacy measures, along with consumer education, will strengthen the overall system. States, like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat and Karnataka, can serve as pilot regions to set the stage for nationwide adoption, while learning from the UK’s encryption, Germany’s access controls and the EU’s privacy standards to build a resilient, trusted smart grid ecosystem.