T&D India (Apr 2017): The Face of Smart Grid

Asmart meter is undoubtedly the face of a smart grid though there is much more than to a
smart grid than just the measuring device. The most important aspect of a smart meter is
that it is the principal channel of communication between the consumer and the power utility.
It is not only about accurately understanding electricity consumption but a smart meter also
empowers a consumer to dynamically control electricity consumption. The goal of flattening the
peak load curve can be achieved by the meaningful use of a smart meter.
India is in its early days of smart meters. But going by the government’s plans of rolling out
25 million smart meters, the momentum is poised to pick up in the medium term. The 14 pilot
Smart Grid projects are at various stages of implementation. Though none of them has been
commissioned—in fact, some have been scrapped for inordinate variations in estimated and
actual costs—some learning from the exercise is already evolving. Firstly, the architecture of
static meters with SCADA will be replaced by smart meters working in conjunction with radio
frequency (RF) and General Packet Radio Service (GPRS.) Hence, meters will “talk” to the
data concentrator unit (DCU) through RF and onward communication from the DCU to the
control centre will be done via GPRS.
Some metropolitan cities have already imbibed features of Smart Grid architecture in their
distribution circles. For instance, Delhi is expected to lead the way in introducing “time of
day” metering where tariffs will vary according to the time of the day. Off-peak hours will have
lower tariffs and this will give consumers the facility to plan their power consumption so as to
minimize their energy bills. Once ToD metering is rolled out on large scale, and there is wide-
spread availing of ToD features by consumers, the peak load will definitely flatten. Net metering
is another feature that smart meters can offer, giving consumers a chance to export surplus
power—typically coming from captive grid-connected rooftop plants—to the grid.
It is very heartening to note that domestic companies are fully equipped to manufacture indige-
nous smart meters not only meeting international standards but also having localized features.
For instance, India would need meters that are “tamper-resistant” given that unethical activities
like power theft—in many forms—sadly persists. One must also appreciate that government
transparent e-procurement modalities, in conjunction with mass procurement, have made elec-
trical equipment affordable. The LED bulb is an outstanding example and the smart meter will
very well be another.
If the financial health of power distribution utilities improves—and it should thanks to the UDAY
scheme—smart meters can be a reality sooner than one could ever imagine.
April 20174T&D India
Edit page
The face of Smart Grid
We’re rapidly entering a world where everything can be monitored and measured.
But the big problem is going to be the ability of humans to use, analyze and make
sense of the data. — Erik Brynjolfsson (American Educator)
Printed by Abhishek Mishra, published by Abhishek
Mishra on behalf of Amber Media LLP and printed at
M/s Sanmitra Offset Printers, Gala No.219/B, Sussex
Industrial Estate Premises Co-op Society Ltd, D.K.
Cross Marg, Byculla (East), Mumbai 400027 and
published at 412, Veena Chambers, Clive Road No.4,
Masjid (E), Mumbai 400009. Editor: Venugopal Pillai
Editor
Venugopal Pillai
Chief Editorial Advisor
Harish Rao
Creative Director
Nitin Parkar
Head – Business Development
Abhishek Mishra
Manager – Sales
Hemant Kumar
Head – Subscription,
Circulation & Production
Raghuvansh Pandey
Feedback may be sent to
editor@tndindia.com

contents
April 20176T&D India
7 NEWS
l First pole of 800kV HVDC Line goes commercial
l Siemens, SAP reach reseller agreement
l Mizoram becomes 27th state to join UDAY
10 interview l Indian grid operators appreciate the need for SVC systems
Alok Sharma, Line Manager: Sales & Tender Management (FACTS & HVDC) and Project Management (FACTS),
Siemens Energy Management Division
Cover Photo: Siemens
22 expert view l Making energy meters smarter and greene
Abhed Mishra, System Applications Lead, LPRF Solutions, Texas Instruments India Pvt. Ltd.
26 Lead story l BHEL’s supercritical journey
29 photo news l India’s largest floating solar plant commissioned
34 New Launches
l Current controller from TI l Greater performance to iQ platform
l New portfolio of Gigabit Ethernet chips l New range of Usha air coolers
l Opple LED lighting for children l Smart fans from Havells
12 Power Equipment l NTPC exceeds XII Plan capacity-addition target
l BHEL crosses “developer” milestone
Focus: Smart meters
36 Renewables
l Tata Power Solar expands manufacturing capacity
l THDC India commissions its second wind project
l Fortum commissions solar plant in Rajasthan
14 Orders & Contracts l Siemens-Sumitomo wins HVDC order in India
16 face-to-face l Funding of smart meter rollouts is the real challenge
Anish Rajgopal, Director,Chemtrols Group
20 INTERVIEW l Smart meters with AMI can improve efficiency of utilities
Amit Vaidya, Director- Strategic Customer Team, Sensus India Director- Strategic Customer Team,
Sensus India
38 Special report l Breezing performance by wind power
13 Achievement l ABB powers India’s first ventilated road tunnel

T&D India April 20177
T&D News
n a very significant development,
Power Grid Corporation of India
Ltd announced that the first pole
of the ±800kV Champa-Kurukshetra
HVDC transmission line started
commercial operations effective
March 24, 2017. This line will enable
power transfer of 1,500 mw.
The line is part of the Western
Region-Northern Region HVDC
interconnector transmission system
that will help transfer of 3,000 mw
from IPP projects in Chhattisgarh
to the northern region. Pole-1 of the
system includes a 2,576-km 800kV
line from Champa in Chhattisgarh
to Kurukshetra in Haryana, with
HVDC terminals at both extremities.
The first pole was commissioned at a
total cost of Rs.6,300 crore. By June
this year, the second pole of 1,500
mw is likely to be commissioned.
The overall project aims at
transferring 3,000 mw from IPP
projects coming up at Raigarh,
Champa, and Raipur in Chhattisgarh
to demand centres like Haryana,
Punjab, UP, Rajasthan and adjoining
areas, in the northern region.
Upgrade: This transmission
system is further being upgraded
to 6,000 mw capacity with addition
of 2nd HVDC bipole (termed as
CK-2) of 3,000 mw, ±800kV HVDC
terminals under “Transmission
System Strengthening in WR-NR
Transmission corridor for IPP Projects
in Chhattisgarh” at an additional
cost of about Rs.5,200 crore, which
is expected to be completed by
December 2018.
This second HVDC bipole project
was awarded to Alstom (now GE) in
August 2014. The contract valued
at Rs.3,250 crore involves the new
±800kV, 3,000-mw transmission link
that will run in parallel with the now-
commissioned first HVDC link that
was also awarded to Alstom.
As part of the second project, GE
will build two ±800kV, 3,000-mw
converter terminal stations, and
design, manufacture and deliver on
a turnkey basis ±800kV UHVDC
thyristor valves, 32 converter
transformers, 400kV gas-insulated
switchgear, substation equipment,
and communication and supervisory
control and data acquisition systems
(SCADA). The project also covers
the commissioning and successful
operation of both the terminal
stations and their integration with
the first bipole (now commissioned).
All equipment will be manufactured
by Alstom’s facilities in India, United
Kingdom, France and Italy.
A release from PGCIL observed
that the above transmission system
has been designed using HVDC
technology and shall facilitate in
meeting controlled power flow
requirement, flexibility of operation
as well as maintaining system
parameters within limits through
its control mechanism. The link
augments the inter-regional capacity
of northern region with western
region, thereby facilitating economic
dispatch of power and exchange of
surplus power between northern
regionandwesternregion,depending
on the availability of generation and
load demand in each region. n
First pole of 800kV HVDC Line goes commercial
I
Panoramic view of a back to back HVDC Converter station (Copyright GE)
Metallic return
conductors
A release from GE observed that the Chama-
Kurukshetra transmission scheme is the first
800kV scheme in the world to use dedicated
metallic return conductors eliminating the
need for ground electrodes and increasing the
system’s reliability. HVDC was the preferred
solution for bulk electrical transmission over
longdistancestoconsumptionareas.AnHVDC
systemisallaboutmakingexistingpowergrids
more effective in a world where cost-efficient
transport of electricity and environmental
impact are becoming increasingly critical. It is
the answer to one of the biggest challenges:
moving more power, faster. This system can
transmit up to three times more power over
long distances than traditional alternating
current transmission. HVDC is also more
efficient with lower losses than traditional
AC transmission solutions. Traditional HVDC
technologies use transmission voltages of up
to 600kV, while UHVDC has the capability to
transmit at voltages of 800 kV and beyond, the
release observed.
File photo of first of the nine 800kV
HVDC power transformer deployed in
the first phase of the Champa-Kuruk-
shetra HVDC line. The transformers,
manufactured and tested in Alstom’s
(GE) manufacturing facilities India, were
supplied by EPC contractor Alstom TD
India, now known as GE TD India.

TD India April 20178
TD News
iemens and SAP have signed
a global reseller agreement
through which SAP will
globally resell Siemens’ market-
leading meter data management
solution, EnergyIP. This cooperative
effort is intended to address
multiple digital end-to-end business
scenarios for energy and utility
clients worldwide. The solution
will be available directly from SAP,
simplifying purchase and support
processes for customers. It will be
marketedunderthename,SAPMeter
Data Management by Siemens, and
is expected to be generally available
during the second quarter of 2017.
As part of the agreement, SAP and
Siemens also plan to further align
development road maps in an
effort to provide the foundation for
next-generation business models
supporting all future energy market
players, a release from Siemens
said.
Emerging business models focus
on delivering reliable and efficient
power, while transitioning to an
increasingly distributed energy
landscape. SAP and Siemens plan to
help utility customers integrate real-
timeprocessingofBigDatagenerated
by millions of connected meters and
sensors to provide better insight and
control for all energy producers and
consumers – from the large-scale
power plant to small micro grids.
“Siemens and SAP have long
standing relationships with utilities
and municipalities. Our smart grid
application platform, EnergyIP,
combined with SAP for Utilities
solutions will reach nearly half of all
power utilities in the world and will
bring our customers a high level of
intelligence and insight to make data
not only valuable but actionable in
today’s information-driven world,”
said Thomas Zimmermann, CEO of
the Siemens Digital Grid Business
Unit. “End-to-end digital business
scenarios will be the key drivers to
reallychangetoday’senergysystem,”
Zimmermann added in the release.
“SAP views today’s announcement
as a unique opportunity for our
customers to leverage the know-
how and the solutions of the two
market leaders SAP and Siemens
for IT/OT integration,“ said Henry
Bailey, global vice president of the
SAP Utilities Business Unit, adding,
“Real-time access to device and meter
data combined with customer and
commercial data will help provide
utilities with a comprehensive view
on their customers and technical
devices. We anticipate that this will
change the landscape in how utilities
will operate in the future.” n
Siemens, SAP reach reseller agreement
n order to provide uninterrupted power supply during the
upcoming summer, Tata Power Delhi Distribution (Tata
Power-DDL) has made adequate power arrangements of up
to 2,000 MW (along with contingency planning) through long-
term tie-ups and power banking arrangements.
In a release, Tata Power DDL said that it has also added 18
High Tension Feeder (11kV) comprising 113.29 km network
in its distribution network. In low tension lines, addition of
1150 LT feeders have also been made to further add 550.13 km
network. The transformation capacity has also seen an addition
of 171 MVA and 150 RMUs (ring main unit) for better power
reliability.
Tata Power-DDL has added four new grids with installed
capacity of 150 MVA in the last 12 months, it said. These include
the Sanjay Gandhi Transport Nagar Grid, Rohini Grid and
Dheerpur Grid. It has also added power transformers to existing
grid substations.
The release noted that the power utility has also put new
lines like Loop-in loop-out of 33kV Shalimar Bagh Wazirpur;
33 KV twin cable circuit from Peera Garhi 220kV to Rani Bagh
Community Centre Grid; and completed strengthening of some
single to twin cable circuits. n
Tata Power DDL braces up for summer demandAppointments
Hartek Group• has announced the appointment of power industry
veteran Jeet Chhatwal to its Board of Directors. A noted power
sector expert, management consultant and leadership trainer
with 37 years of experience in the Engineering, Procurement and
Construction (EPC) domain in the power, oil and gas sectors,
Chhatwal will be responsible for setting the pace for the Hartek
Group’s current operations and scaling up its future growth in
his capacity as Additional Director, a release from Hartek Group
said.
Theboardofdirectorsof• AmaraRajaBatteriesLtdhasappointed
S Vijayanand as the company’s chief executive officer with effect
from April 1, 2017. The Hyderabad-headquartered Amara Raja
Batteries made this announcement to stock exchanges.
SEMAC,• a leading consultant in design engineering in India,
has announced the appointment of Pawan Maini as the
company’s CEO to lead SEMAC’s multiple entities across
businesses in planning, design, project management, design
build and construction spanning across India and international
geographies. Pawan’s appointment is a strategic step ahead of
SEMAC’s focus to strengthen its services the Building sector,
particularly the Industrial sector and to further diversify into
infrastructure, a release from SEMAC said.
I
S

TD News
he Government of India
and the state government
of Mizoram recently signed
a Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) under the scheme Ujwal
Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY)
for operational improvement of
the State’s Power Distribution
Department. With this, the total
states and Union territories covered
under UDAY will be 27. Mizoram
would derive an overall net benefit
of approximately Rs.198 crore by
opting to participate in UDAY, by
way of cheaper funds, reduction
in ATC and transmission losses,
interventions in energy efficiency,
etc. during the period of turnaround,
an official release said.
The MoU paves way for improving
operational efficiency of the power
distribution department of the state.
Through compulsory distribution
transformer metering, consumer
indexing and GIS mapping of losses,
upgrade/change transformers,
meters etc, smart metering of high-
end consumers, feeder audit etc.
ATC losses and transmission losses
would be brought down, besides
eliminating the gap between cost
of supply of power and realisation.
The reduction in ATC losses and
transmission losses to 15 per cent and
2.50 per cent respectively is likely to
bring additional revenue of around
Rs.166 crore during the period of
turnaround, the release said.
Demand-side interventions in
UDAY such as usage of energy-
efficient LED bulbs, agricultural
pumps, fans and air-conditioners
and efficient industrial equipment
through PAT (Perform, Achieve,
Trade) would help in reducing
peak load, flatten load curve and
thus help in reducing energy
consumption in Mizoram. The gain
is expected to be around Rs.30
crore. The scheme would also allow
speedy availability of cheaper power
to 22,007 households in the state
that are still without electricity, the
release added. n
Mizoram becomes 27th state to join UDAY
T
IS and International Copper
Association India (ICA India)
has taken the initiative
to spread awareness among
power utilities and transformer
manufacturers to help them adopt the
standard and update their technical
specifications. In an attempt to
proliferate sustainable development
in India conducted a workshop
on “Standardization, Certification
Quality Control of Distribution
Transformers. The workshop was
conducted in association with
Indian Transformer Manufacturers’
Association (ITMA) and Central
Power Research Institute (CPRI) in
Bhopal, a release from ICAI said.
This seminar is very specific
to bring all stakeholders - BIS
officials, distribution transformer
manufacturers, regional power
utilities and testing agencies at
one platform to discuss the issues
related to certification process. With
the introduction of IS 1180(Part-1),
latest amendment in August
2016 it is expected that many
manufacturers would upgrade their
facilities to conform to the required
specifications.
The event was well received
by consultants, transformer
manufacturers, power utilities and
general industries using distribution
transformers.
Transformers play a crucial role in
thepowerdistributionnetworkandany
premature failure creates disruption
of power supply to consumers.
High efficiency transformers create
economic benefits for society in
addition to the reduced greenhouse
gas emissions, improved reliability
and potentially longer service life.
With this in mind, many countries
have taken policy initiatives to
establish mandatory and voluntary
programmes to conserve energy and
to help domestic markets by adopting
energy-efficient transformers. The
seminar emphasised the importance
of testing of transformers, and how
to utilise transformers to increase its
efficiency and reliability, the release
from ICAI said. n
ICAI seminar on quality control of distribution transformers
B
V-Guard plans majority
stake in GUTS
THE board of V-Guard Industries Ltd has
planned to acquire majority equity stake in
Hyderabad-based GUTS Electro-mech Ltd.
In a communication to stock exchanges,
V-Guard announced that its board of directors
accorded approval to the investment proposal
in its meeting on March 28, 2017.
Established in 1983, GUTS manufactures
switchgear at its factories in Hyderabad,
Telangana and Hardwar, Uttarakhand. The
V-Guard announcement said that GUTS is a
pioneer in several products in India like din-rail
mountable voltage dependent RCCB, din-rail
mountable voltage dependent RCBO (RCCB
+ MCB), ELR with digital display, etc. The full
product range of GUTS includes RCCB, RCDs,
MCCBs, changeover switches, permanent
magnet relays, current transformers, etc.

interview
Tell us in simple terms what is meant
by reactive power control, and the
role of static Var compensators in
the same.
Introducing reactive power
compensation into the system with
devices like static var compensators
or STATCOMs leads to a significant
improvement of stability and
performance of existing and future
transmission systems.
How does SVC stabilize the grid in
times of imbalance?
The SVC has several possibilities to
support the grid. One very important
feature is that SVC enhances the
reliability and assists in fault recovery
which reduces the incidents of black/
brown-outs. The voltage profile is
optimized during operation where
SVC reduces the voltage fluctuations
and/or damps power oscillations.
Tell us in general about FACTS
(flexible alternating current
transmission systems) and the
importance of SVC as a subset of
FACTS. How does it complement
other solutions within FACTS?
SVC is just one part of the FACTS
family. Luckily nearly the whole
FACTS family is available in
India. Siemens has installed
series compensation systems like
FSCs or TCSCs as well as parallel
compensation systems like SVCs
or STATCOMs which are already
in service for years (FSC and TSCS
projects) or have been just energized
(SVC projects) or are currently under
execution (STATCOM projects). In
India, you can see that a reliable
and detailed network planning and
expansion is going hand in hand
with all available FACTS solutions
by Siemens.
Please discuss the recently-installed
SVC at Ludhiana in Punjab that
we understand is the biggest by
Siemens so far.
Yes, the SVC in Ludhiana is with a
1 GVAr swing range, the biggest
SVC Siemens has built so far. In
the past years, we can see a trend
Very recently, Siemens
built a Static Var
Compensator (SVC)
system for Power
Grid Corporation of
India at Ludhiana.
This was the biggest
SVC commissioned
by Siemens anywhere
in the world. We have
Alok Sharma giving us
technical insights into
SVC systems and how
it forms a crucial part
of the larger flexible
alternating current
transmission systems
(FACTS). Sharma is
confident that Siemens
SVC solutions will
bring stability and
control to the fast-
expanding power grid,
and also support the
Make in India initiative.
An interaction by
Venugopal Pillai.
Indian grid operators appreciate
the need for SVC systems
— Alok Sharma, Line Manager: Sales Tender Management (FACTS HVDC) and
Project Management (FACTS), Siemens Energy Management Division

in the market that the size of the
installations is increasing. Siemens
has experiences over decades of
designing and executing SVCs all
over the world and therefore Siemens
was confident from the beginning
that SVC Ludhiana would be a
success story. Siemens is very happy
that Power Grid Corporation of India
(Power Grid) is the customer for such
a remarkable project. Siemens and
Power Grid are working together in
FACTS projects for a very long time.
Thishasledtoahighleveltechnology
driven relationship where Siemens
is well prepared for the next world
record setting installations.
How many SVCs has Siemens
installed in India in recent years?
The first Siemens SVC energized
in India is the biggest SVC in the
world. In the past, the focus was on
series compensation where Siemens
has been a reliable partner and will
remain so in future for the upcoming
projects.
What is the current order pipeline
for SVC systems in India? Is
Siemens also involved with state
power transmission utilities apart
from national player Power Grid
Corporation of India?
This was the only SVC project so
far but there are many STATCOM
projects in India where Siemens
will once again execute the biggest
in India. The actual project includes
four SVC PLUS installations with a
total swing range of 2 GVAr which
is again the largest for Siemens
worldwide. Siemens with its local
footprint and competencies is
prepared for projects all over India.
To answer your question, yes,
Siemens is in close contact with the
state power transmission utilities
as well to support them for the
actual challenges like integration of
renewables into the system.
Please discuss the localization
of Siemens when it comes to
SVC systems, given that critical
components of SVC systems
supplied so far have come from the
Kalwa and Goa factories.
Siemens is fully committed to the
Make in India initiative from the
Indian government. Compared to
all of our competitors, Siemens
has the highest degree of local
engineering and production. This
was and is still part of the FACTS
business philosophy in Siemens.
In parallel of the SVC or the
actual SVC PLUS project with
the customer, we have also been
running an internal project. We
call it our localization project. Due
to our local commitment towards
India and following the Make
in India initiative, Siemens is
upgrading the local production as
well as engineering capabilities in
parallel to the project management
capabilities, without any impact on
the project time schedule.
How do you see scope for more SVC
orders in India?
Actually there is a trend going more for
STATCOMtechnologywhereSiemens
is the world market leader with more
than 80 installations in service or
under execution worldwide. The need
for more of SVCs or STATCOMs is
known to the local authorities and
grid operators and more projects are
expected. As said before, Siemens
has supported the grid and the Make
in India initiative in past and this we
would like to continue with. n
[All photographs relate to the
Ludhiana SVC system recently
commissioned by Siemens for Power
Grid Corporation of India Ltd.]
interview
Siemens Energy Management Division

Power Equipment
t was an eventful day for NTPC
when, on March 23, 2017,
the Central PSU announced
the commissioning of the second
800-mw unit at NTPC’s 2x800-mw
Kudgi supercritical power plant
in Karnataka, a 250-mw unit at
Bongaigaon in Assam and another
20 mw at the Bhadla solar power
project in Rajasthan.
Earlier in the month, NTPC
commissioned the second unit
of 660 mw of the Mouda super
thermal power station (Stage II) in
Maharashtra. The total capacity of
the Mouda plant, which incidentally
marked the entry of NTPC in
Maharashtra, stands at 2,320 mw.
NTPC also announced that the
first unit of the Kanti thermal power
station (Stage II) of 2x195-mw
attained commercial production
on March 18, 2017. This has taken
the capacity of the said power plant
to 415 mw. The plant is owned by
Kanti Bijlee Utpadan Nigam Ltd, a
joint venture between NTPC and the
Bihar state government, represented
by Bihar State Power Holding
Company Ltd.
NTPC announced that it has
exceeded the XII Plan target of
11,290 mw by commissioning 12,840
mw of new generation capacity. This
is the highest ever capacity addition
by NTPC in any five-year plan
period.
As of March 23, 2017, NTPC
Group (including subsidiaries
and joint ventures) had installed
capacity of 49,943 mw from 19 coal-
based, 7 gas-based, 10 solar PV
and one hydropower plant. It has
nine other power stations owned
by joint ventures and subsidiaries.
As of given date, NTPC had over
22,000 mw of new power generation
capacity under implementation at 23
locations, including 4,300 mw from
joint ventures and subsidiaries. n
[Note: In subsequent
developments, NTPC announced
the commissioning of additional
capacities. As of April 4, 2017, NTPC
Group’s total capacity, had reached
50,750 mw]
NTPC exceeds XII Plan capacity-addition target
I
he first unit of the 2x800-
mw Yeramarus supercritical
power plant in Raichur district
of Karnataka was recently put in
commercial operations. This was
significantforBharatHeavyElectricals
Ltd(BHEL)asitmarkedthePSUheavy
engineering firm’s entry in the power
development space. The Yeramarus
power plant is owned and operated
by Raichur Power Corporation Ltd,
a joint venture between Karnataka
Power Corporation Ltd (equity stake
of around 50 per cent), BHEL (26 per
cent) and IFCI Ltd (24 per cent).
This development is also
significant for BHEL as it represents
the highest rating (800 mw) of any
power generation unit commissioned
by the company so far. The project
is significant for Karnataka as it
represents the first supercritical
power generation unit in the
southern state, a senior official of
Raichur Power Corporation Ltd told
TD India, over phone.
BHEL did complete design,
engineering, manufacture, supply,
erection and commissioning of this
state-of-the-art supercritical project
on turnkey basis. It has supplied all
the critical equipment like boiler,
turbine generators, electricals, key
packages of balance of Plant, and
has also carried out the associated
civil works.
The major equipment for the project
has been manufactured by BHEL at
its Haridwar, Trichy, Bhopal, Ranipet,
Hyderabad, Jhansi, Thirumayam
and Bengaluru plants, while the
construction of the plant was
undertaken by the company’s Power
Sector- Southern Region (PSSR).
For KPCL and its joint ventures,
BHEL has so supplied and executed
4,010 mw of coal-based sets, which
account for 95 per cent of the utility’s
coal-based installed capacity. BHEL
is also presently executing KPCL’s
first gas-based combined cycle power
project of 370-mw capacity involving
a fuel-efficient advanced-class gas
turbine at Yelahanka, Bengaluru.
BHEL is the market leader in
the field of supercritical power
generation equipment. It has so
far secured orders for 48 boilers
(steam generators) and 41 turbine-
generators, which is the highest by
any power equipment manufacturer,
a BHEL release said adding that the
PSU firm has so far commissioned
12 supercritical boilers and 10
supercritical turbine-generators.
Edlapur project: Raichur Power
Corporation Ltd was formed for the
implementation of the 2x800-mw
Yeramarus project as well as the
1x800-mw Edlapur project. While
the Yermarus project is progressing
well with commissioning of both
units expected in the near future,
the Edlapur project has been bogged
down with several pre-project issues
including environmental clearance.
The Edlapur project, it is feared, is
headed for official cancellation. n
BHEL crosses “developer” milestone
T

BB has provided ventilation
systems to India’s first
ventilated road tunnel—the
10.8-km Chenani-Nashri tunnel
in Jammu Kashmir that was
inaugurated on April 2, 2017. The
ventilation system will ensure that
users have access to fresh air as
they drive through it. The Chenani-
Nashri tunnel, on which work had
started in May 2011, is part of a 286-
km project on the Jammu-Srinagar
highway (NH-44).
For such long tunnels, ventilation
systems are essential to maintain
clean air, permissible carbon dioxide
levels and expel harmful vehicle
emissions. To ensure smooth travel
and safety of commuters, ABB has
designed, engineered and supplied
low harmonics variable speed drive
(VSD) system for tunnel ventilation,
a release from ABB said. The VSDs
and motors are installed at the North
(Nashri)andSouth(Chenani)portals
for air supply and exhaust. These
VSDs are also equipped with inbuilt
redundancy to ensure minimum
downtime. The new tunnel’s safety
controls were developed by ABB
in India, for effectively mitigating
any fire emergencies, the release
added.
The new road tunnel will cut
the distance between the towns of
Chenani (Udhampur district) and
Nashri (Ramban district) from 41 km
to just 9.2 km, reducing the travelling
time at least two hours. Besides,
it will be an all-weather route
between the two towns, bypassing
the ecologically sensitive Patnitop
area while also staying clear of over
40 landslide-prone spots on NH-
44. With the tunnel, the distance
between Srinagar (summer capital
of JK) and Jammu (winter capital)
will stand reduced to around 250 km
from the existing 300 km.
Work on the tunnel began on
May 23, 2011 with an estimated
completion time of five years.
However, harsh climatic conditions
set back the completion by around
two years. The completion cost of
the project was Rs.3,720 crore, with
an escalation of Rs.1,200 crore.
The highlight of the project is the
escape tunnel meant for evacuation
as a means of disaster management.
The main tunnel has diameter of
13m while the parallel escape tunnel
is of 6m. The two are connected
internally at 29 cross-connection
points at intervals of 300m.
The ABB release noted that the
company has built the world’s most
powerful ventilation system for
GotthardBaseTunnelinSwitzerland,
which opened to the public in
December 2016. It is the world’s
longest (57 km) and deepest (8,000
ft maximum depth) train tunnel. n
Achievement
ABB powers India’s first ventilated road tunnel
A
ABB has designed, engineered and supplied low harmonics variable speed drive (VSD) system for tunnel
ventilation. The VSDs and motors are installed at the North (Nashri) and South (Chenani) portals for air
supply and exhaust.
File photo of the Chenani-Nashri tunnel under construction. Nearly 1,500 engineers, geologists and
labourers, besides skilled works, worked on the project for nearly seven years.
Photo: www.nrv-norvia.com
Photo: ABB

Orders Contracts
consortium between
Siemens and Sumitomo
Electric Industries Ltd has
been awarded an order from Power
Grid Corporation of India Ltd to
supply a high voltage direct current
(HVDC) transmission system, an
official company release said.
The 200-km long HVDC
connection will be India’s first
DC link featuring voltage-sourced
converter (VSC) technology. VSC
is the latest innovation in HVDC
technology offering a very stable and
highly flexible reactive power control
independent of active power control
and additional features to support the
AC systems like blackstart capability.
Furthermore, this solution is ideal
to be combined with XLPE cable
technology.
Siemens will be supplying two
converter stations with two parallel
converters, each rated 1000 mw,
featuring its VSC HVDC technology
while Sumitomo Electric will be
responsible for the XLPE HVDC
cable system in the DC circuit.
The combined order volume for
Siemens and Sumitomo Electric is
approximately $520 million. The grid
connection is scheduled to go into
operation in the first half of 2020.
The Pugalur-Trichur ±320kV
HVDC system will connect Pugalur
in Tamil Nadu to Trichur in Kerala.
The Trichur converter station will be
connected via underground XLPE
HVDC cable to a transition station
also being built by Siemens.
Sumitomo Electric’s DC-XLPE
cable has unique characteristics
among industries to maximize
utilization of HVDC system, enabling
normal operation temperature at
90 degree, which is suitable for
the hybrid system with bulk power
overhead line. Sumitomo Electric
will supply a 128 km XLPE HVDC
cable system comprising four cables
for a route of 32 km each. From the
converter station at Pugalur power
will be transmitted via an overhead
line to the transition station.
Siemens’ scope of supply for the
turnkey project encompasses design,
engineering, supply, installation as
well as commissioning and major
equipment supplies of the complete
HVDC stations, including converter
valves, transformers, cooling
systems and control and protection
technology. n
Siemens-Sumitomo wins HVDC order in India
A
File photograph of a Siemens transformer serving
at an HVDC converter station.
Photo: Siemens
KEC International Ltd has secured new orders of
Rs. 1,943 crore that include power TD orders
worth Rs.1,224 crore in the international and
Rs.184 crore in the domestic market. The local
orders were placed by Power Grid Corporation
of India for construction of 400/220kV lines in
Chandigarh and Kerala. The cable business
secured various orders worth Rs.85 crore for
EHV cables. KEC also reported orders worth
Rs.450 crore in the solar EPC business. In a
subsequent development, KEC International
Ltd reported the winning of further orders of
Rs.1,781 crore that included power TD-related
orders worth Rs.1,702 crore. These, in turn,
comprised Rs.1,270 crore worth of orders in
international markets like Middle East, Africa and
Sri Lanka. Domestic orders included a Rs.432-
crore mandate from Power Grid Corporation
of India for construction of a 800kV HVDC
transmission line and other works.
Kalpataru Power Transmission Ltd, in a stock
exchange filing, has reported the winning of
orders worth Rs.1,200 crore. These include
a transmission line turnkey order valued at
Rs.402 crore from Transmission Corporation
of Telangana Ltd and a similar project worth
Rs.336 crore in Abu Dhabi. It has also won a
railway infrastructure project of Rs.464 crore
from Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd, in consortium with
two other companies. Railway EPC orders will
be a growth driver, observed the MD CEO of
KPTL in the filing.
Skipper Ltd has announced that it has landed
orders worth Rs.405 crore for the supply of
transmission towers to clients like Power Grid
Corporation of India, Transmission Corporation of
Telangana and Power Transmission Corporation
of Uttarakhand.
ILFS Engineering and Construction Company
Ltd has received letters of intents for rural
electrification works worth Rs.222.70 crore
from Ranchi-based Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam
Ltd. The works will be carried out under the Deen
Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY), in
Sahibganj and Pakur districts in Jharkhand. The
scope of work includes supply and erection of
all equipment and materials related to connecting
unconnected households, agricultural feeder
segregation, system strengthening, etc.
PennarIndustrieshasreceivedordersformodule
mounting structures from Tata Power, Waree
Energies, Adani Power, Greenko, among others,
the Hyderabad-based company announced to
stock exchanges. The company has also landed
orders for supplying collecting electrodes to GE
Power and Thermax, it said. These orders are
part of a large diversified set of orders, together
valued at Rs.202 crore.
Azure Power announced that it has won 46
mw of solar rooftop projects across eleven
states pan India for Indian Railways. The power
purchase agreement (PPA) will be signed with
Indian Railways for their respective zones and
coach factory for 25 years. The average tariff
for the project is Rs.4.63 per kwh with an
additional capital incentive of Rs.93.35 crore
upon commissioning.
In Brief

Last date for booking: April 30, 2017
MAY
2017
Advertise in the Transformers
Special edition of
CONTACT
E; abhishek.mishra@tndindia.com
T: +91 (22) 6221 6616 M: (0) 98-210-06258

Face-to-Face
Can we start by understanding
the various services offered by
Chemtrols Group in the field of
power transmission and distribution
(TD) sector?
Firstly, we provide transmission
automation. We have done
automation for the transmission
network of Power Grid Corporation of
India in the eastern region, covering
six states and nine control centres.
In all the associated transmission
substations, we have placed remote
terminal units (RTUs). Hence, sitting
at Bhubaneswar, you can monitor
the entire transmission network of
Odisha. All these RTUs ultimately
connect to the central control unit,
which in the case of the eastern grid
is located in Kolkata. Continuous
monitoring prevents abnormalities
like power outages, etc.
We also do distribution automation.
We are currently doing this for five
states, as part of the Integrated Power
Development Scheme (IPDS) that
was earlier known as R-APDRP. The
states that we are currently engaged
in are West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh,
Telangana, Gujarat and Assam.
The third dimension is the Smart
Grid. We are doing the entire turnkey
solution for smart meters. We provide
smart meters, data concentrator units
(DCUs), software, etc. We integrate
all this as a complete solution.
We understand that you are involved
in some of the pilot Smart Grid
projects.
Yes, we are doing the Siliguri smart
grid project in West Bengal.
What is the current status of this
project?
Right now, the FAT (factory
acceptance test) for the meters is
going on. We intend to complete the
project by October this year.
Can you give us an idea of the size
of the project, in terms of number of
smart meter connections?
It is a Smart Grid project involving
5,500 meters. Except for around
300 meters that are three-phase, all
others are single-phase.
Of the 14 Smart Grid projects that
the government has embarked on,
some projects have been cancelled.
What is your view?
The reason for the cancellation of
some projects, for example Baramati
in Maharashtra and three centres in
Gujarat, has been on grounds of cost
Chemtrols Group,
amongst its various
business verticals, also
provides automation
solutions to the power
TD sector, and is
involved in one of
the 14 Smart Grid
pilot projects. In this
exclusive interview with
TD India,
Anish Rajgopal speaks
to Venugopal Pillai on
a variety of issues in the
smart meter industry.
Rajgopal feels that
large-scale smart meter
rollouts are critical as
they will bring India
closer to the Smart Grid
architecture. However,
devising sustainable
financing models for
such rollouts will be
the real challenge, says
Rajgopal.
Funding of smart meter
rollouts is the real challenge
— Anish Rajgopal, Director,
Chemtrols Group
Focus: Smart Meters

Face-to-Face
estimation and nothing else. The
original budget estimates and the
actual financial figures quoted by
most bidders were at great variance.
In some cases, these quotes were 1.3
or even 1.5 times the budgeted costs.
What has been the learning so far in
terms of the pilot Smart Grids that
have taken off?
In terms of the projects that are
going on, I think that since none of
them have been commissioned so
far, the learning is still on. However,
there have been some challenges.
One is the meter itself. Smart meter
is a new phenomenon to India so
even if there are manufacturers
equipped to produce smart meters,
the communication part is the key.
Some of them (manufacturers) are
doing indigenous development of the
communication part, while others are
tying up with foreign vendors. I think
that this is where most of the projects
have been delayed. We will also have
tostandardizeonthetechnologyused
in the communications part of the
smart meter. Currently, most of them
are using RF (radio frequency) as the
base technology for communication
between the meter and the DCU
(data concentrator unit); and GPRS
(general packet radio service) from
the DCU onwards. Some meter
manufacturers are of the opinion
that GPRS could be used throughout
(upwards of the smart meter) but
then you have to make sure that
connectivity exists, especially if
meter boxes are in remote places. I
think we are not ready for complete
GPRS-based communication right
now but it will happen sooner than
later.
With discoms currently straddled
with heavy commercial losses, how
do you see their transition towards
a Smart Grid ecosystem?
First of all, I would not like to say
that all discoms are in bad financial
health. The top 10-12 discoms in the
country are run professionally and
efficiently – Gujarat, for instance.
In terms of funding these projects,
I see some challenges. Right now,
the pilot projects are funded on
a 50:50 basis by Power Finance
Corporation Ltd and the respective
state government. In the future—
and we are talking of 25 crore smart
meters—the challenge is actually on
the funding part.
What are the various options being
considered by the government as of
now, in terms of funding Smart Grid
projects?
One of the financial model that
is being discussed actively is the
“payment” model. Here, the system
integrator will invest in the meters
and the infrastructure, and recover
money from the customer. However,
this model has met with resistance.
The second possibility involves
financing by the discom. Once smart
meters are installed, there will be
greater efficiency in meter reading,
billing, etc, which might even result
in reduction of operational costs.
Though discoms can recover money
as “payback” over a period of time,
there needs to be capital expenditure
upfront.
We expect a mixed model to come
forth. This would be similar to the
Smart Cities programme where
there are several financing models
based on a mix of capital expenditure
(capex) and operational expenditure
(opex).
What would you suggest therefore
as a workable financing model?
What we would like to have is a
ministry-appointed nodal body
similar to what Power Grid
Corporation of India is to power
transmission. We already have
a National Smart Grid Mission,
which is actually funded by the
government and also the discoms
themselves. NSGM should run the
project as a nodal agency, which
makes financing a government-
to-government transaction. As a
supplier or a solution provider, we
therefore feel secure. That could
be most effective model. NSGM
is currently a very effective nodal
body for monitoring but it would be
helpful if NSGM is also made into a
nodal implementation agency.
Do you think private sector utilities
will accelerate the process of smart
meter rollouts and move towards
Smart Grid architecture?
Definitely! Private players also tend
Chemtrols Group

Face-to-Face
to have the investment capacity and
they can also take smart meters to
the next level of in-home devices
that actually monitor household
electricity consumption.
However unhealthy it might be,
tampering of energy meters is
common in India. Do you think
smart meters should look at this
“tampering” aspect as well?
Tampering of conventional meters
is usually done by placing a strong
magnetic field around it. Smart
meters take this into account during
the testing stage. Manufacturers
ensure that their smart meters remain
unaffected by strong magnetic
fields. Secondly, modern meters use
ultrasonic welding in sealing the
meter box. To get into the meter, one
needs to break open the meter box, it
cannot be simply unscrewed. Today,
even if you look at an ordinary energy
meter—not necessarily a smart
meter—it is impossible to tamper
it. When it comes to power theft, it
takes place largely by tapping power
from overhead lines, not as much as
tampering with the energy meter.
Smart Grid, we feel is a progressive
term without an absolute
interpretation. In the Indian
context, what functionalities would
you expect the consumers to benefit
from, with smart meters?
From the consumer’s perspective,
one of the major functionalities
would be the time-of-day (ToD)
tariff. This feature is present
today predominantly in industrial
consumers, more than residential
consumers. Residential consumers
can decide when to run their heavy
loads (e.g. washing machines)
depending on the tariff. Similarly,
heavy usage of air-conditioners can
be planned accordingly.
Secondly, with in-home devices,
consumers can actually understand
the pattern of their electricity
consumption and even measure, and
compare, the energy efficiency of
their appliances.
On their part, discoms can also
devise tariff plans for consumers
based on their electricity
consumption, much like what is
happening to telecom now.
The entire concept of Smart Grid
revolves around the capability of
bidirectional control.
What is the role of multinationals
when it comes to smart meters?
In the field of smart meter, the entire
technology is available in the local
market. Domestic companies are
equippedtomanufacturegoodquality
smart meters. It is not like the solar
industry, for instance, where there is
heavy import dependency. Chinese
suppliers in the field of smart meters
could be a challenge. However, for
mission-critical applications, we
would not prefer to look at Chinese
suppliers. If multinationals were to
supply meters, they would have to
manufacture their meters locally.
Hence, the smart meter rollout will
largely support the “Make in India”
initiative.
What is your vision for Chemtrols
as a player in Smart Grids?
Chemtrols Group offers the full
spectrum of solutions for Smart Grids
that include power transmission and
distribution automation, as some
of the components. We also have a
presence in renewable energy, where
we do net metering for solar power
plants. We also provide smart meters
to discoms, provide transformer
automation and also can provide in-
home devices to the end consumer.
We aim to provide automation
solutions for the entire electricity
value chain. n
(Note: All industrial photographs
used in this interview are meant
for illustrative purpose only.)
Chemtrols Group
ACS commissions control centre in India
Advanced Control Systems (ACS) has announced the successful commissioning of two state
of the art distribution control centers which will manage network operations for a city of more
than 18 million people and more than 4.5 million metered electricity customers.
Located in Bangalore in southern India, the distribution utility has embarked on an ambitious
smart grid modernization program designed to elevate customer service by leveraging automation
technology throughout its asset base. Central to the success of this multi-year project is the
deployment of ACS’ leading PRISM™ real-time software platform, including SCADA, an Advanced
Distribution Management System (ADMS), and an Outage Management System (OMS).
It is believed that this PRISM deployment of SCADA, ADMS, and OMS on a single software
platform, all operating from a common topology model, is one of the largest such installations of
operational software technology anywhere in the world.

interview
India undertook 14 Smart Grid
pilots with a varied degree of
individual success. What do you
think has been the learning from
the entire exercise?
Yes, the 14 smart grid pilots in India
witnessed varied degree of success.
Some of the projects were canceled
due to the difference between the
estimated cost of the project vis-à-
vis the cost offered by the bidder.
Also these pilot projects, because
of their small scale, do not give
an accurate picture of challenges
during a major roll out. Therefore,
for any smart grid project it is more
viable to have a city wide rollout.
While starting with such pilot
projects, two important objectives
should be kept in mind, including
the important lessons to be learned
from the pilot implementation and
scalability for the main roll out. These
14 smart grid pilot projects have
covered the first level. The outcome
of these pilot projects were capacity
building for large scale deployment
for utility professionals, industry
people and for solution architects
who were involved in these projects.
Interoperability, standardization
on protocols, design system
architecture and reliability in
actual field conditions of smart grid
technologies was the key learning
from the entire exercise.
What are the essential attributes
of “Smart Grid” that India can
realistically look forward to?
What will be the role of the smart
meter?
From India’s perspective smart grid
technology has become the need of
the hour. The most important part of
any smart grid project includes:
Introduction of smart•
communications network
Smarter and communicating next•
generation smart meters andsmart
sensors
Part of the Xylem
Group, Senus is a
global supplier of utility-
grade smart meters
and communications
systems. Along with
next-generation smart
meters Sensus provides
FlexNet, a dedicated
and secure two-way
communications
network to gas, electric
and water utilities
worldwide. We have
Amit Vaidya, in this
exclusive exchange,
discussing the current
trends with respect to
smart meter rollouts in
India and the challenges
ahead. Vaidya is
confident that utilities
can improve their
efficiency immensely by
deploying smart meters
and AMI.
Smart meters with AMI can
improve efficiency of utilities
— Amit Vaidya, Director- Strategic Customer Team,
Sensus India
Focus: Smart Meters

Moving intelligence to network•
edge
Analytics – helping in•
taking proactive decisions
All of these will help utilities to
monitor their smart meters and
sensors on real time basis. Smart
metering is the beginning of smart
grid journey. However, smart
meters alone cannot represent the
comprehensive vision of smart grid.
Smart communication networks
will also play a vital role in rolling
out AMI programmes for smart
grids. There is a lot depending on
a network — metering and billing,
distributionautomationanddemand
response to name a few. This is
why it is so important to have an
efficient and robust network. With
this next generation smart meters
and metering communication
infrastructure, utilities can monitor
the consumption profile of each type
of consumer. These will help utilities
to do energy audit at consumer
level, manage their demand during
peak hours and also can provide
flexible tariff to consumers which is
need of the hour.
Another important aspect to
be considered in India is energy
theft. With the adoption of smart
metering and smart communication
infrastructure, utilities will really
be able to monitor energy theft on
real time basis. These smart meters
will send an alarm or indication
to utilities across the network for
immediate action.
When making decisions on an
investment in a Smart meter and
network technology, utilities must
fully consider the broader impact
that their choices will have on utility
operations long-term.
India’s electricity consumer profile
is very diverse, even in urban areas.
What are therefore the challenges
for Smart Meter rollouts?
Therearetwotothreechallengesthat
utilities are facing. One is the mix of
customer type. In a single city there
are different types of consumers with
different consumption patterns and
different premises with clustered
or independent meters. Thus, the
smart metering rollout cannot
depend on the type or consumption
pattern of the consumer.
Second is the communication
infrastructure. A communication
infrastructure should be such which
is common across the city and covers
the entire city. Having multiple
communication technologies and
different meter types will add on
more complexity. Therefore, for
smart meter rollouts one should
avoid complexity of solution and
one should avoid installing multiple
communication technologies.
The other challenge is that cyber
security. Data is an important
factor in any smart meter rollout
programmeandshouldbeprotected.
The communication network
carries entire consumer data to
the control centre which is prone
to cyber threat. There are many
international standards which can
be adopted to take care of the cyber
security threat.
Much of India’s power distribution
is still under state government
discoms, not all of whom are in
good financial health. Will this
have bearing on India’s Smart
Grid ambitions?
State discoms are in a bad financial
state at this moment. However, the
Central government is helping them
to overcome the loss by introducing
different schemes, such as UDAY,
under the Ministry of Power.
The government now has started
taking steps to promote improving
operational efficiency, reducing
power cost, energy theft and how
to have power 24x7. Adoption
of smart meters and smart grid
technology will help to improve
customer service, reduce losses and
transform loss making utilities to be
financially sustainable.
Utilities in India have seen
advantages by deploying static
meters and SCADA in past. It
helped in reducing the losses
and increase efficiency. Similarly
adoption of smart meters and AMI
technology will help state utilities
to bring down the loss further and
improve operational efficiency. As
such, one of the progressive utilities
BSES Yamuna Power Ltd, who
is in the very early stage of smart
grid transformation, is looking to
evaluate AMI technology by doing
technology trials to understand the
challenges of smart communication
infrastructure. n
interview
Sensus India

Expert View
mart’ as a word is used for
any device or individual by
its virtue. Irrespective of the
type of meter, whether it is electricity,
water or gas, the use of word “Smart”
has a lot of significance associated.
Smart Meters are different from
the traditional meters, not only
architecture wise but also because
of the features they offer.
Although in most of the places
still the antique mechanical meters
are installed and used, it won’t help
in comparing smart meters with
them. Several benefits can be listed
down on comparing conventional
Electronic Energy Meters to Smart
Energy Meters. The most important
and significant ones are unique
access worldwide, monitoring
and control, future ready from
communication perspective.
India taking the lead in defining
a Smart Meter Standard has done
so far an amazing job. In a world of
so many technologies for different
application needs, the Central
Power Research institute of India
and Power Ministry could narrow
down to 6LowPAN on abstraction
layer and IEEE802.15.4/15.4g
on MAC and PHY layer. And
DLMS on Application layer for
communication.
This enables the entire smart
meter installation going forward
to be uniquely addressable and
accessible worldwide through IPV6
address. Each Smart meter with
inbuilt load control relay provides
control to utilities and consumer
as well. With DLMS as a standard
application protocol and having
pluggablecommunicationcapability
the smart meters will enable any
Making energy meters smarter and greener
S
Abhed Misra
Focus: Smart Meters

Expert View
future communication technology
module also to be plugged and used
readily.
EVOLUTION OF ENERGY METERS
Let’s take a quick look at the
journey of the energy meters in
India specifically. From the old
mechanicalmeterswehavemovedat
a supersonic speed, comparative to
other parts of world, to making Smart
Meters. The point to notice here
is the recent focused development
and improvement resulted by the
focused effort and investment
from different stakeholders (like
government of India, certification
and Standards agencies) being
spent on overcoming the painful
challenges of no electricity in major
portion of India, heavy ATC losses
and theft.
YoumaywonderhowSmartMeters
lead to electrification of more areas
in India however the losses and
theft is obviously addresses. The
answer is even obvious; the money
saved by reducing losses and theft is
used for the rural and remote areas
electrification. But it’s not that easy
as it looks.
Along with the constructive efforts
of making the entire grid and meters
smarter and there are efforts by some
set of people being spent on cracking
the entire ecosystem too, whether it
is tampering the meter or weaken
the grid condition by putting heavy
reactive loads without capacitor
banks, whether it is stealing the
power from street light or burning
the meter and overloading the
distribution transformer.
Texas Instruments being very
closely involved over past decades
and importantly in many worldwide
platforms (defining standards and
future technologies), have led the
mission to make the meters and
grid not only smart but greener.
Hence not only reducing the losses
and theft but also making the
entire ecosystem greener, which
ultimately is saving more money
than anticipated.
With multiprotocol wireless SOC’s
like CC13xx and CC26xx from
companies like Texas Instruments,
the meters have become adaptive
just like Smart phones. Just like
any smart phone keeps upgrading
its operating system including
newer features and applications, the
smart meter equipped with wireless
modems based on multiprotocol
SOC’s also allow the utility to
upgradethefirmwareinfieldthrough
wire and wirelessly to newer protocol
or upgrade of existing protocol stack.
Apart from this with connectivity on
BLE and 6LowPAN protocols smart
meters can connect to smart phones
and then to cloud, there by not
only sharing the measured and
logged information locally but
remotely too.
Focus: Smart Meters

Expert View
FUTURE
Smart Meters have been deployed
in India from a long time. But the
volumes are distributed. With some
utilities taking the lead in mass
installation of smart meters other
utilities decided to wait and observe,
which seems ok from the precaution
perspective. However, the times
have changed. With all the past
experience put together from various
power utilities, meter manufactures
and semiconductor partners like
Texas Instruments, a new smart
meter standard specifications
have been released from BIS and
power ministry, which outlines and
defines the different architectures,
communication protocols and other
additional features, which have to
be part of smart meter.
It is understood and accepted by
all the stake holders in the power
sector that with technologies like
IP connectivity, load control, theft/
tamper alarm and pre-payment,
any further delay in using them is
only going to cost more and more
money. Leveraging the smartness of
smart meters for various benefits is
trending now.
It is still a long road to go but the
start has been made and it is very
certain that the journey is going to
be full of milestones and will prove
to be guiding force for utilities
around the world.
Companies like Texas Instruments
are powering the next level of Smart
Meter which enables them to take
decision of load control based on
prevailing conditions of fault and
supplied power. With ultralow
power metering SOC’s and high
performance multi-protocol wireless
SOC’sthenewfeaturesinfused,make
the Smart meters even smarter.
With latest generation of Metering
SOC’s the meter can run on battery
for months even if it is tampered with
neutral disconnect (not allowing the
internal supply of meter to work).
With next generation wireless
SOC’s the same IC and hardware
can be used to support multiprotocol
like Zigbee, BLE and 6LowPAN in
field too. This gives all the utilities a
very big edge to adapt and upgrade
to the latest technologies exploiting
the maximum benefits of the same,
in their use case perspective. Now a
Smart Meter can communicate over
IPV6 networks (every meter having
unique IPV6 address worldwide)
giving the consumer and utility
absolute information and control
respectively.
The credit goes to all the power
utilities, Indian standard defining
bodies and meter manufacturers
who voice their challenges to
leading solution providers like Texas
Instruments to design and come up
with innovative solutions for not only
smart meter but smart grid too. n
About the author: Abhed Mishra
is System Applications Lead, LPRF
Solutions, Texas Instruments India
Pvt. Ltd.
Focus: Smart Meters

Nylon Cable Glands (Standard type)
Product Overview
Thread:• PG, Metric, G and NPT
thread
Brass with nickel plated for A. C.•
F parts, UL approved Nylon PA66
(Flammability UL 94V-2) for E
part, EPDM rubber for B.D. parts,
(Accept to make super rubber:
resist high temperature rubber,
resist strong acid/alkali, etc).
Protection degree:• IP68
Working temperature:• -40°C to
100°C
Features:• The claws and seals of
excellent design, can hold cable
firmly and have a wider cable
range. Resistant to salt water,
weak acid, alcohol, oil, grease and
common solvency. n
Brass Cable Glands PG type - Metric Thread
BRACO ELECTRICALS [INDIA] PVT. LTD.
[An ISO 9001:2008 by TUV Nord, Germany, Crisil : SE-2B, SSI Certified Company]
Mfrs. Of Cables Glands, Cable Lugs, Terminals, Copper Bus Bars Crimping Tools
3/14, Gold Mohar Building, 174, Princess Street, Above Indian Art Studio, Mumbai – 400002. INDIA.
Tel. : +91-22-22113543/ +91 9987770186 | Mob. : +91 9870024900/ +91 9320314900 | Fax : +91-22-22083137
Skype: sunilbraco | E-mail : sales@braco.in / sunil@braco.in | Web. : www.braco.in
Product Overview
Thread:• PG, Metric, G and NPT
thread
Materials:• UL approved Nylon
PA66 (Flammability UL 94V- 2)
for A. C. E parts, (Accept to make
flammability UL 94V-0); EPDM
rubber for B.D. parts, (Also accept
to make super rubber: resist high
temperature rubber, resist strong
acid/alkali, etc).
Protection degree:• IP68
Working temperature:• -40°C to
100°C
Features:• The claws and seals of
excellent design, sealing nut have
a “click” sound and re-open, can
hold cable firmly and have a wider
cable range. Resistant to salt water,
weak acid, alcohol, oil, grease and
common solvency.
Colours:• Black(RAL9005), gray
(RAL7035), other color available
upon request. n
pRODUCT profile

T
o put it simply, the entry of
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd
(BHEL) in the supercritical
power generation space was quite
delayed. When the PSU engineering
major entered the arena, sometime
in 2007-08, the market was already
crowdedwithinternationalsuppliers,
mainly Chinese.
The term “supercritical” gained
currency in around 2004 when
NTPC planned to invite tenders for
supplying main plant equipment
to its 3x660-mw Barh supercritical
power plant (Stage-I) in Bihar. It
was expected that by the time the
tendering process would begin,
BHEL would be ready with its
supercritical technology. BHEL
was tying up technology with
multinational players like Siemens
and Alstom (now GE). BHEL was
not ready with its technology and the
Barh (Stage-I) project was ultimately
won by Russian EPC contractor
Technopromexport (TPE). It is
interesting to note that this project,
awarded in February 2005, is still
incomplete, with NTPC in a major
logjam with the Russian contractor.
Even as BHEL was getting ready
with its supercritical technology,
NTPC awarded another project
(Sipat-Stage I of 3x660-mw) to
foreign suppliers—Doosan Heavy
Industries of Korea (boilers) and
OSJC Power Machines of Russia
(turbine-generators).
BHEL was finally ready with its
supercritical technology and the first
project that it clinched was NTPC’s
2x660-mw Barh Stage-2 project in
Bihar. Both the units of this project
are since commissioned.
In 2006-07, the supercritical
equipment industry was gaining
momentum thanks to a flurry of
projects by private sector groups, and
also the ultra mega power project
series. BHEL lost out on several
projects to Chinese suppliers like
SEPCO, Dong Fang, etc, and also to
BHEL’s supercritical journey
Lead story
Supercritical equipment commissioned by BHEL
Date Developer Project State
Capacity
(MW)
Equipment
Nov-13 NTPC Barh Stage II (U-1) BIH 660 BTG
Aug-14 Andhra Pradesh Power Development Co Krishnapatnam (U-1) AP 800 B
Mar-15 NTPC Barh Stage II (U-2) BIH 660 BTG
Mar-15 Andhra Pradesh Power Development Co Krishnapatnam (U-2) AP 800 B
Dec-15 Prayagraj Power Generation Co Prayagraj (U-1) UP 660 BTG
Jan-16 Lalitpur Power Generation Co Lalitpur (U-1) UP 660 BTG
Mar-16 Lalitpur Power Generation Co Lalitpur (U-2) UP 660 BTG
Mar-16 NTPC Mouda Stage II (U-1) MAH 800 BTG
Apr-16 Lalitpur Power Generation Co Lalitpur (U-3) UP 660 BTG
Oct-16 Prayagraj Power Generation Co Prayagraj (U-2) UP 660 BTG
Mar-17 NTPC Mouda Stage II (U-2) MAH 660 BTG
Mar-17 Raichur Power Corporation Yeramarus (U-1) KAR 800 BTG
Note: List may not be exhaustive; BTG = Boiler, Turbine-Generator

other multinationals. Leading private
powerproducerslikeReliance,Adani,
Sterlite, GMR, etc placed large
contractors on Chinese equipment
suppliers. It was at this juncture that
BHEL decided to turn into developer
with a view to securing orders for
supercritical main plant equipment.
(See Box: BHEL turns developer)
In 2008, BHEL won its first order
through international competitive
bidding. It was for the 2x800-
mw Damodaram Sanjeevaiah
(Krishnapatnam) power project—
jointly promoted by Andhra Pradesh
Power Generation Corporation Ltd
and ILFS. BHEL won the mandate
for supplying boilers while the
contract for tenders was clinched by
a consortium of LT-MHI.
In 2010, the power ministry
started bulk procurement of
supercritical equipment, largely for
NTPC but also for Damodar Valley
Corporation. In this procurement
drive, the government insisted on
domestic manufacturing facilities
from suppliers. This forestalled the
involvement of Chinese suppliers.
Around this time, the order flow
on Chinese suppliers from private
power producers abated and BHEL
was seen winning major orders
even from IPPs. In fact, in the first
mega tender by NTPC that sought
boilers and TG sets for over 7,000
mw of capacity, BHEL was the most
successful with an estimated share of
nearly 40 per cent.
As of end-March 2017, BHEL had
a large market share in supercritical
power equipment orders. Its order
book, across different ratings like 660
mw, 700 mw and 800 mw, stood at
48 sets of boilers (steam generators)
and 41 sets of turbine-generators.
Of these, 12 boilers and 10 turbine-
generators have already started
commercial operations.
The recent commissioning of
the first unit of the 2x800-mw
April 201727TD India
In March this year, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) commissioned
its first ever 800 mw supercritical power generation set. This feat was
accomplished when BHEL announced that it had put into commercial
operations the Unit-1 of the 2x800-mw Yeramarus supercritical power
project in Karnataka, owned by Raichur Power Corporation Ltd. This
development was significant also because it marked the entry of BHEL in
the power development space. This special story takes a look at the highs
and lows of BHEL’s tryst with supercritical technology.
First supercritical unit
660-mw 800-mw
First in India
Owner Adani Group Tata Power
Supplier of Boiler Chinese Doosan, Korea
Supplier of TG Chinese Toshiba, Japan
Power Project Mundra Mundra UMPP
Location Gujarat Gujarat
Commissioning Date December 2010 March 2012
First by NTPC
Owner NTPC NTPC
Supplier of Boiler Doosan, Korea Doosan, India
Supplier of TG OSJC Power Machines, Russia Toshiba-JSW, India
Power Project Sipat (Stage 1) Kudgi
Location Chhattisgarh Karnataka
Commissioning Date June 2011 December 2016
First by BHEL
Owner NTPC Raichur Power Corporation
Supplier of Boiler BHEL BHEL
Supplier of TG BHEL BHEL
Power Project Barh (Stage 2) Yeramarus
Location Bihar Karnataka
Commissioning Date December 2013 March 2017
Note: The date refers to commissioning of the FIRST unit and not of the entire power plant

Yeramarus supercritical power plant
in Karnataka assumes significance
as it marks the advent of BHEL as
a power developer. The Yeramarus
plant is owned by Raichur Power
Corporation Ltd – a JV between
Karnataka Power Corporation Ltd
(approximately equity stake: 50 per
cent), BHEL (26 per cent) and IFCI
Ltd (24 per cent). The commissioning
of the first unit of the Yeramarus
plant is significant also because it is
the first 800-mw power generation
unit (considering both boilers and
turbine-generators) commissioned
by BHEL. It may be appreciated
that BHEL was indeed associated
with the 2x800-mw Damodaram
Sanjeevaiah power plant (Stage 1)
in Andhra Pradesh, the first unit of
which was commissioned in August
2014. In this project, however, BHEL
supplied only the boilers.
Who is the first?
Today, supercritical technology has
become the norm for all new coal-
fired plants. In the upcoming XIII
Plan period, all new coal-fired power
plants will be based on supercritical
technology. India began to think
seriously of supercritical technology
in around 2004. However, at that
time, domestic technology was
still developing. Hence, there was
reliance on imported technology. All
the same, it was expected that BHEL
would be ready with indigenous
technology that unfortunately got
delayed.Ideally,thefirstsupercritical
power project would be that of
NTPC with BHEL as the supplier
of main plant equipment. Hopes
were pinned on NTPC’s Barh (Stage
1) project but this project went to
Russian contractors. This project is
yet not complete. When BHEL could
not clinch India’s first supercritical
power project, it was expected that at
least NTPC would be the developer
of this landmark project. Accordingly,
it was felt that NTPC’s Sipat (Stage
1) project would get the credit.
However, this project, awarded on
Korean and Russian suppliers, also
faced delays. Rather unexpectedly,
Adani Power commissioned the first
660-mw unit of its Mundra power
project, and that too with a gestation
period of only three years. This, in
December 2010, became India’s first
supercriticalunittobecommissioned.
The first unit of NTPC’s Sipat (Stage
1) could be commissioned only six
months later. It is ironical to note
that the first supercritical unit to
commission in India was built with
Chinese equipment, making it a
rather dubious record. Meanwhile,
the total supercritical thermal power
capacity in India, commissioned as
of end-2016, stood at little over 38
GW, majority of which was under
private sector ownership. n
BHEL as developer
Sometime in 2008, when BHEL was ready with supercritical technology but was facing increasing
competition from overseas suppliers, BHEL mulled the “developer” route as a means to ensure orders.
The philosophy was that BHEL would form minority joint venture with state power generation companies
for their greenfield projects. Further, the understanding was that BHEL would be the deemed main plant
equipment supplier for the project.
This idea took root when BHEL formed a joint venture with then Tamil Nadu Electricity Board
(TNEB) to implement the Udangudi supercritical power project. Unfortunately for BHEL, and allegedly
due to delays on its part, the JV was called off in 2012 with practically no progress on the project.
The Tamil Nadu government decided to implement the project on its own. BHEL is now one of the
shortlisted contactors for this project, along with at least two Chinese contenders. However, it is very
ironical to note that there was tussle between BHEL and another contender that is an Indo-Chinese
consortium. Having lost its “developer” status in the project, BHEL was close to meeting the same fate
as contractor. According to reliable information available, BHEL has been appointed as EPC contractor
for the project.
BHEL later proposed similar joint ventures with state power generation utilities of Karnataka and
Maharashtra. In Karnataka, the joint venture – Raichur Power Corporation Ltd – was formed for the
2x800-mw Yeramarus project and the 1x800-mw Edlapur power project. Thanks to the JV route, BHEL
won the EPC contract worth Rs.6,300 crore for the Yeramarus project. This was in April 2010. Later, in
September 2010, BHEL was awarded the Rs.3,601- crore contract for the Edlapur project.
The JV will TNEB was called off depriving it of a potential opportunity of being the co-developer
of the Udangudi project. The JV proposed with Maharashtra State Power Generation Company Ltd
(Mahagenco) for a supercritical power project in Latur district never moved beyond the MoU stage. In
the case of Raichur Power Corporation Ltd, while the Yeramarus project is progressing, there is strong
suspicion that the Edlapur project will ultimately be cancelled as environmental clearance-related issues
have set back the project by several years. The Yermarus project in most likelihood will be BHEL’s only
token as power developer.
Lead story

photo news
ndia’s fast growing solar power
sector recently crossed an
important milestone with the
commissioning of the country’s
largest floating solar plant.
Chennai-based SWELECT Energy
Systems Ltd (formerly known as
Numeric Power Systems Ltd) built
and commissioned this 102.6-kW
facility at Kayamkulam in Kerala, for
NTPC Ltd. The plant, located in the
premises of NTPC’s Rajiv Gandhi
Combined Cycle Power Plant at
Kayamkulam, was put up in just 22
days. Partnering this project were
NTPC Energy Technology Research
Alliance (known as NETRA) and
Chennai-based Central Institute for
Plastic Engineering Technology.
The biggest advantage of setting
upsolarpowerplantsonwaterbodies
is the absence of land requirement.
Land-related costs, right from
acquisition to grading, are obviated.
A note by SWELECT also observed
that installation time of solar plants is
much lower than that of land-based
projects. Water-based solar plants
are also expected to show increased
power generation because of cooling
effect on photovoltaic panels.
Floating solar plants are also seen
as a means to checking evaporation
of water, so also keeping growth of
water algae in control. In fact, NTPC
has estimated a total potential of 800
MWp of solar power capacity using
water reservoirs in its existing power
stations.
The Kayamkulam floating solar
plant is equipped with PV modules
of “SWELECT – HHV Solar” make,
each with 72 polycrystalline silicon
cells, and capacity of 315 Wp. A total
of 324 modules were used giving
the power plant a total capacity
of 102.6 kWp DC. The efficiency
of the modules is at least 16.3 per
cent, a note from SWELECT said.
In the business for over 30 years,
SWELECT has commissioned over
2,000 rooftop installations and
over 65 mw of utility-scale solar
photovoltaic projects, the statement
added.
According to information
available, the first-ever floating
solar power project in India was
commissioned in December 2014
by Vikram Solar. The 10 kW floating
solar power installation at Rajarhat
near Kolkata was part of an RD
venture jointly undertaken with
Arka Renewable Energy College
in Kolkata and New Town Kolkata
Development Authority. It was
funded by the Union ministry of
new and renewable energy. The
solar power facility was designed
using 1 kW fibreglass PV modules
to produce a minimum of 14 MWh
of solar power annually. The overall
system has been designed to last for
at least 25 years.
In the context of water body-based
solar projects, it is worth mentioning
that Gujarat has proposed to set
up solar power plants along the
network of the Narmada canals. In
fact, a pilot project of 1-mw, situated
on the Narmada branch canal near
Chandrasan village of Kadi taluka in
Mehsanadistrict,wasinauguratedin
April 2012. Canal-based solar power
projects represent big opportunity in
Gujarat, considering that the present
canal network of Sardar Sarovar
Narmada Nigam Ltd is 19,000 km
that can potentially rise to 85,000
km on completion of the full project.
The sprawling canal system of
Damodar Valley Corporation in
eastern India also represents a big
opportunity for grid-connected solar
power projects. n
India’s largest floating solar plant commissioned
I Copyright: NTPC
Copyright: NTPC
Long view of NTPC’s 102.6-kw floating solar plant in Kerala
The floating solar plant is equipped with 324 modules, each of 315 Wp

S E T R U MPS C

S E C T R U MPS
ADVERTISE IN
Your cost-effective tool to reach out to
power TD stakeholders.
Contact: Hemant Kumar
T:+91(22)62216615
E: hemant.kumar@tndindia.com
E C T R U MPS

S E C T R U MPS
S
Advertisers’ Index
company Page No
Anand Engineering Corpration 30
Atlas Filtration Services 30
Calter (STI Industries) 31
Deccan Engineering Services 30
Electro Care (India) Pvt.Ltd. 31
Elektra Precisioion Systems 30
Excel Consultants 31
Excel Consultants 32
Gurud Industries 33
Trafosem 2017 (ITMA) 7
Jay International 30
Konkan Electric Corporation 33
Mathura Switchgears Pvt Ltd 30
Mennekes Electric India Pvt Ltd 39 (IBC)
Mtekpro Technologies Pvt Ltd 3
Myriad Industrial Solutions LLP 32
Neutronics Manufacturing Company 30
Om Indutries 31
R R Enterprises 32
Reliserv Solutions 31
Slimlites Electricals Pvt Ltd 2 (IFC)
Spark Electrosystems 31
Sterlite Power Transmission Ltd 40 (BC)
Supreme Electroplast Industries 33
TESLA Asia Pacific Ltd. 30
Trak Enterprises 32
Transpower India Electronics Pvt Ltd 32
Urja Infratech Power Projects (I) Pvt Ltd 31
Vinayak Corporation 31

New Launches
Current controller from TI
Texas Instruments has introduced
the industry’s first fully integrated
multiphase bidirectional DC/DC
current controller, which efficiently
transfers electric power greater
than 500 W per phase between dual
48-V and 12-V automotive battery
systems. The highly integrated
LM5170-Q1 analog controller
features an innovative average
current-mode control method that
overcomes the challenges of today’s
high-component-count, full digital
control schemes. Hybrid electric
vehicles use both a high-voltage
48-V battery and the standard
12-V automotive battery. Design
engineers typically manage these
dual battery systems using a digital
control scheme, which includes
multiple discrete components such
as current-sense amplifiers, gate
drivers and protection circuits.
These full digital control schemes
are bulky and expensive. To solve
this challenge while improving
performanceandsystemreliability,TI
offers a mixed architecture in which
the microcontroller handles higher-
level intelligent management, and
the highly integrated LM5170-Q1
analog controller provides the power
conversion.
Greater performance
to iQ platform
An iQ Platform enables total
integration of control and
communications from a single,
highly scalable hardware platform
and is capable of handling anything
from a handful of I/O up to several
thousand. With the new iQ-R series,
Mitsubishi Electric has brought
even greater performance to the
iQ Platform, delivering the ability
to integrate sequence, motion,
safety and process control to a
single back plane with benchmark
standards fo rprocessing power and
synchronisation capability in even
the most demanding automation
environments. The new iQ-R series
CPU offers dramatic improvements
in performance, setting new
benchmark standards for processing
speed. It offers reductions in
development cost, maintenance
cost and risk of system failure, while
providing an innovative upgrade
path that will enable users to take
advantage of ongoing developments
through software upgrades rather
than hardware upgrades. The
new iQ-R series boasts of several
sterling features beginning with the
fact that it is one of the fastest PLC
in the industry with a processing
speed of 0.98 ns. It has an advanced
networking using built-in dual CC-
Link IE (1 Gbps) ports and supports
Built-in Database and SD Card.
It has a dedicated Motion CPU
for Synchronous control over 192
axes and Advanced Synchronous
Position Control Functions.
New portfolio of Gigabit
Ethernet chips
A new portfolio of 48 Gigabit
Ethernet chips featuring advanced
capabilities, certified compliance,
comprehensive software support
and copy-ready evaluation tools
is now available from Microchip
Technology Inc., a leading provider
of microcontroller, mixed-signal,
analog and Flash-IP solutions.
The new suite of products, known
together as GigEpack, aims to
reduce complexity and remove
barriers in deploying high-speed
networks, opening up new uses
and applications. The GigEpack
includes the industry’s first single-
chip Gigabit Ethernet switches with
integrated HSR/DLR redundancy
for ultra-high reliability in critical
manufacturing applications.
Also included is the industry’s
first Automotive grade USB 3.1
Gen 1 to Gigabit Ethernet bridge
which supports Advanced Driver
Assistance Systems (ADAS) and
infotainment systems on a variety
of physical network layers. The
comprehensive portfolio of products,
designed for industrial, automotive,
and consumer applications,
includes three key elements that
ensure ease-of-use and fast time-to-
market. First, all products are UNH-
IOL (University of New Hampshire
InterOperability Laboratory)
certified. Second, all products come
with free software drivers that are
certified or third-party approved for
use with all major operating systems
running on smartly engineered,
copy-ready evaluation boards.
Finally, the GigEpack suite is backed
by Microchip’s free LANCheck®
online design service that reviews
customer designs, ensuring best
design practices are used.
New range of Usha
air coolers
Usha International has launched
a new range of air coolers with
attractive features like honeycomb
cooling pads that have a higher
water absorption capacity and a
dust filter to ensure healthy air flow
in the room. Two new coolers have
been added to the desert cooler
range. The Usha PrizmX is designed
in a trapezoid shape and provides

New Launches
a better cooling experience. The
Usha Air King has an anti -bacterial
tank that helps in reducing bacteria
and limits algae growth in the tank.
It comes with a digital panel and a
remote control with a smart sleep
function. Usha Atom and Usha
Slender are the new additions to
the personal cooler range. The
Usha Atom has been designed
with a 9-litre tank capacity and
has an easy to carry handle. This
compact cooler is fitted with an ice
compartment to further lower the
temperature and can be operated
on an inverter during power cuts.
Additionally, the company offers a
premium range of Usha Honeywell
air coolers. These coolers come with
a copper wound motor that provides
longevity and durability. Apart from
this, the inbuilt oscillating louvers
ensure even distribution of cool air
throughout the room.
Opple LED lighting
for children
Opple, an LED lighting brand, has
launched a unique and innovatively
designed light, Twinkle Star. This
is Opple’s newest addition to
their range of home luminaries.
The product has been especially
designed for children. Its creative
design comes equipped with a
twinkle shining effect that makes
one feel closer to the nature. It also
defines an ambient light and in turn
provides a soothing effect along
with stimulating one’s creative
imagination. Twinkle Star has
been designed keeping in mind
Opple’s Healthy lighting motto and
protects child’s sensitive eyesight
by ensuring maximum visual
comfort. It comes fitted with a 3
level brightness switch dimmer that
controls brightness in the room. Its
6 colour decorative sensor dimmer
makes the environment beautiful
and even more relaxing.
Smart fans from Havells
Havells India Ltd recently launched
a revolutionary range of fans for
contemporary homes. The new
range includes India’s first fan with
8 blades “Octet“with maximum air
delivery; “Futuro” India’s 1st smart
Bluetooth technology enabled smart
fan, which can be controlled by any
iOS or Android smart phone, and
Urbane, a technically advanced
under light fan equipped with LED
lights. Octet (in picture) comes with
eight blades, superior air delivery
and enhanced performance and is
synonymous with contemporary
looks and stylish design. The fan
blades will come with exclusive
‘water film’ technology giving it
a unique wooden look and finish.
With 8 blades the fan is ‘silent’
and gives air delivery in excess of
270 cmm, which is highest in the
segment. Futuro is India’s first
Bluetooth smart fan which can be
controlled by a smart phone, either
iOS or Android. In addition a remote
control has been provided. Urbane
is an aesthetically designed and
technically advanced under light
fan equipped with LED lights. It is
an indigenously designed model
available in vibrant electroplated
shades. The fan is also equipped
with color changing technology
and the consumers can change the
colour of light (with white, cool light
and warm light options) with the
help of a remote. n
[Information in this section has
been sourced from official press
releases of respective companies.]
Real-time demonstration for Verizon 5G
NI recently gave the world’s first public demonstration at 28 GHz of a real-time, over-the-air prototype
aligned with the Verizon 5G specification at the IEEE Wireless Communications and Networking
Conference (WCNC) in San Francisco. The system uses OFDM with eight component carriers in a
2x2 downlink MU-MIMO configuration with hybrid beam forming and a self-contained subframe,
yielding a 5 Gbit/s peak throughput, and is scalable to over 20 Gbit/s with eight MIMO streams.
Verizon announced the availability of its 5G Technology Forum specification in 2015.
Although the industry is developing products and technologies to conform to the
standard, no public over-the-air demonstrations have occurred at 28 GHz until now.
Developers built the prototype using NI’s mmWave Transceiver System with a new
version of the RF mmWave heads operating at 28 GHz and phased array antennas
developed by Anokiwave and Ball Aerospace. The 28 GHz frequency band is significant
because Verizon and its partners designated it for deployment in the United States. The
prototype system was completely written with LabVIEW system design software and
features fully modifiable real-time code for both the base station and the user equipment.

Renewables
ata Power Solar has
announced a significant
expansion and modernisation
of its cell and module manufacturing
facility in Bengaluru. The two-stage
expansion doubled the company’s
module capacity to 400 from 200 mw,
and increased its cell manufacturing
capacity by 65 per cent from 180 to
300 mw.
Tata Power Solar, as part of this
process, modernised and fully
automated its entire manufacturing
facility. The company was also able
to ramp-up to full capacity in record
time, significantly better than global
benchmarks, owing to its highly
skilled and trained team and also
improve efficiency of its modules,
the company said in a release. This
expansion has been the second in
less than three years.
Talking about the expansion, Anil
Sardana,Chairman,TataPowerSolar,
said, “We are happy to see our team
responding to Government of India’s
call of ‘Make in India’. A robust
domestic, qualitative manufacturing
base is the backbone of any nation
and is a strong foundation for long-
term viability of sector. The gradual
turnaround of the company and its
expansion in capacity has been a
hall mark achievement of Team Tata
Power, when other sector players are
still facing challenges of sustained
economics.”
Tata Power Solar has shipped
more than 1 GW modules to over
30 countries, of which more than
60 per cent was shipped in the last
five years. It has completed more
than 330 mw of ground-mount
utility scale and 140 mw of rooftop
and distributed generation projects
across the country till date, the
release noted. n
Tata Power Solar expands manufacturing capacity
THDC India commissions its second wind project
THDC India Ltd, a Central PSU under the
power ministry, has commissioned its second
wind power project. The 63-mw wind farm,
equipped with 30 Suzlon-made turbines of 2.1
mw rating, is spread over two sites of Kandoma
and Bhanwad, in Devbhumi Dwarka district of
Gujarat.
This wind farm, according to a statement by
THDCIL, was commissioned in a record time
of just three months as against the contractual
completion period of four months. The project
was awarded to Suzlon Energy Ltd on November
28, 2016 and work began after the securing the
developer permission and transfer permission
from the Gujarat government in December 2016.
The contract valued at around Rs.492 crore also
includes OM for a 10-year period, it is learnt.
“This has been the toughest project in
the history of THDCIL and was successfully
commissioned under the able and visionary
leadership of D. V. Singh, Chairman Managing
Director, THDCIL,” the statement noted. By
commissioning this project on March 31,
2017, THDCIL has become entitled to receive
generation based incentive (GBI) of Rs.63 crore
from Govt. of India, the statement added.
The new wind farm has taken THDCIL’s total
power portfolio to 1,513 mw that includes two
hydropower projects – Tehri (1,000 mw) and
Koteshwar (400 mw) – and two wind power
projects situated at Dwarka (63 mw) and Patan
(50 mw). THDCIL, it may be recalled, was earlier
known as Tehri Hydro Development Corporation
Ltd.
T
File photograph of Tata Power Soalr’s Bengaluru manufacturing unit

Renewables
ortumhascommissioneda70-
mw solar plant at the Bhadla
Solar Park in Rajasthan. The
solar plant is Fortum’s third and
so far biggest commissioned solar
energy project.
Fortum won a reverse auction for
the project in January 2016 and
the building of the solar plant was
conducted on schedule. The power
plant will operate based on a power
purchase agreement signed with
Central utility NTPC Ltd, with a
fixed tariff for 25 years. The PPA
has Power Purchase Agreement has
been made with National Thermal
Power Corporation Limited (NTPC),
India’s largest power utility.
Fortum currently has 85-mw
solar capacity in India, with three
solar power plants in the states of
Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
Fortum is currently building a 100-
mw solar power plant in Karnataka.
This solar power plant also will get
a fixed tariff for 25 years and is
expected to be commissioned during
the first half of 2017.
Fortum is targeting a gigawatt-
scale solar and wind portfolio in
India as part of securing its longer-
term competitiveness. Fortum seeks
to allocate its planned growth capital
in the range of 200–400 million euros
in solar projects in India, a release
from Fortum said. n
Fortum commissions solar plant in Rajasthan
F
File photograph of a Fortum solar power plant in India
Photo: Fortum Corporation
NTPC, in association with NETRA (the Centre
for RD in NTPC), has implemented robotic
dry cleaning of solar modules at NTPC’s Dadri
solar plant. This saves water and manpower, it
is learnt. Besides, an integrated solar thermal
hybrid plant is under process for installation at
NTPC Dadri. This hybrid plant is an RD project
developed by NETRA. It is the first of its kind
in India in which solar thermal energy will be
utilised to heat feed water and it will enhance the
efficiency of thermal power plant.
China’s largest solar equipment maker GCL-Poly
Energy Holdings Ltd plans to invest in India,
according to reliable media reports. As part of
its India entry plan, GCL-Poly Energy Holdings
Ltd is in talks with Essel Group to set up a solar
module manufacturing facility. The Hong Kong-
listed firm, which acquired bankrupt SunEdison’s
solar material business last year, also plans to
develop solar power projects in India.
TataPowerRenewableEnergyLtdhasannounced
the commissioning of its 100-mw wind farm
project in Nimbagallu, Andhra Pradesh. The
company had commissioned 36 mw wind
capacityoftheplantinDecember2016.Withthis,
the operating renewable portfolio of TPREL has
grown to 1,959 mw, comprising 907 mw wind,
932 mw solar, and 120 mw waste heat recovery
capacity, as of April 5, 2017. Meanwhile, TPREL
has won 320 mw of solar bids, of which 15 mw
was commissioned in February 2017, and the
balance 305 mw will be commissioned in FY18.
Gujarat Industries Power Company Ltd (GIPCL)
has commissioned 21 mw of wind turbines at
the Kuchhdi wind farm site in Porbandar district,
Gujarat. The wind farm, comprising ten turbines
of 2.1-mw each, has received the certificate of
commissioning by Gujarat Energy Development
Agency.
Azure Power has commissioned a 7-mw solar
plant capacity in Maharashtra and, according
to a company release, this is the first private
solar power project to be set up at a defence
establishments under Ministry of Defence,
Government of India. Azure Power won this
project under the National Solar Mission. The
power generated is sold to Ministry of Defence
establishments under a 25-year power purchase
agreement at a blended tariff of Rs.5.36 per
kWh. In addition, SECI will provide viability gap
funding of Rs.17.3 lakh for this project.
NTPC has put into operation 25 mw of additional
capacity at its Bhadla solar power project in
Jodhpur district, Rajasthan, taking the total
capacity of the park to 185 mw. This has also
taken NTPC’s total solar capacity to 545 mw.
NTPC, in a communication to stock exchanges,
said that it turned operator of commercial wind
farms. The Central PSU commissioned its first
wind turbine of 2 mw at the Rojmal wind power
project in Gujarat. The 50-mw Rojmal project,
costing around Rs.325 crore and approved by
NTPC’s board in December 2016, is targeted for
full commissioning by the end of June 2017. The
wind farm will be equipped with 50 turbines of
2-mw supplied by Inox Wind.
In Brief

hilst most attention in the
renewable energy sector
is being focused on solar
energy of late, it is wind that has
surprised observers with its breezing
performance. The Indian wind
industryhasaddedarecord5,400mw
of new generation capacity in FY17,
surpassing the target of 4,000 mw set
for the year. This is the first time in
history that wind power addition in
a single year has breached the 5-GW
mark. This feat is poised to be a big
morale booster for the wind industry
that is known to be caught in a web
of policy uncertainties and has also
been in the shadow of the more
glamorous solar power sector. The
previous highest addition in a single
financial year by the wind power
industry was 3,423 mw in FY16.
The year FY17 proved eventful
for the wind industry in terms of
new policy initiatives. Towards,
the close of the year, the Centre
embarked on tariff-based bidding,
marking a significant departure
from the conventional feed-in tariff
mechanism. Though official results of
the tender are not yet out, it is widely
expected that wind tariffs would be in
the region of Rs.4 per kwh, as against
the feed-in tariff band of Rs.4 to Rs.6
per kwh. Initiatives were also taken
with respect to new policies on re-
powering (replacing existing turbines
with those of higher capacity), wind-
solar hybrid plants, etc.
Returning to the performance in
FY17, it is worthwhile to note that
in the first nine months (April to
December), saw wind power capacity
addition of just 1,923 mw. This
means that in the last quarter, more
than 3,000 mw was added. In fact, in
March 2017 alone, a little over 2,000
mw was added. This is remarkable
considering that the annual average
wind power capacity addition during
the decade ending FY14 was under
2,000 mw.
In FY17, Andhra Pradesh led the
state-wise growth clocking addition
of 2,190 mw. This southern state
was responsible for over 40 per cent
of the total capacity added in FY17.
It is worth noting here that Andhra
Pradesh has not been affected by
the state’s bifurcation of June 2014.
Most of the wind-rich regions lie in
divided (new) Andhra Pradesh, while
the carved-out sibling Telangana
not having much resources on this
count. The wind power potential of
Telangana is less than 10 per cent of
thatin(new)AndhraPradesh.Gujarat
added 1,275 mw of new capacity in
FY17 followed by Karnataka with 882
mw. These three states accounted for
over four-fifths of the total added in
FY17.
India’s cumulative wind power
capacity is estimated to have reached
around 32 GW as of March 31, 2017,
making it the fourth-largest country
in the world. As of end of 2016,
China had an astounding 169 GW,
more than twice of second-ranking
USA. Germany was third with just
over 50 GW.
The Indian wind industry, unlike
the solar industry, benefits from a
healthy indigenous production value
chain. As estimated by the Union
ministryofnewandrenewableenergy
in its annual report of 2016-17, India
has a total manufacturing capacity
of around 10 GW of wind turbines
per year. There are 21 manufacturers
in the country together offering 55
models up to a maximum capacity of
3 mw per turbine. The indigenization
of wind turbine manufacturing in
India has reached 70 per cent and
the cost of Indian wind turbines is
amongst the lowest in the world, the
annual report observed. n
Special Report
Breezing performance by wind power
W
Annual Capacity Addition
MW
2004-05 1,112
2005-06 1,716
2006-07 1,742
2007-08 1,663
2008-09 1,485
2009-10 1,565
2010-11 2,349
2011-12 3,197
2012-13 1,700
2013-14 2,079
2014-15 2,312
2015-16 3,472
2016-17 (Estimated) 5,400
Capacity addition in 2016-17
State MW % share
Andhra Pradesh 2,190 40.5
Gujarat 1,275 23.6
Karnataka 882 16.3
Madhya Pradesh 357 6.6
Rajasthan 288 5.3
Tamil Nadu 262 4.8
Maharashtra 118 2.2
Telangana 23 0.4
Kerala 8 0.1
Total (approx.) 5,400 100.0
Installed Capacity
(As of 31-Dec-2016)
State MW % share
Tamil Nadu 7,694 26.8
Maharashtra 4,666 16.3
Gujarat 4,442 15.5
Rajasthan 4,217 14.7
Karnataka 3,154 11.0
Madhya Pradesh 2,289 8.0
Andhra Pradesh 2,093 7.3
Telangana 99 0.3
Kerala 44 0.2
Others 4 0.0
Total 28,700 100.0

n Published on 10th of every month

T&D India (Apr 2017): The Face of Smart Grid

Empfohlen

Empfohlen

Weitere ähnliche Inhalte

Was ist angesagt?

Was ist angesagt? (20)

Ähnlich wie T&D India (Apr 2017): The Face of Smart Grid

Ähnlich wie T&D India (Apr 2017): The Face of Smart Grid (20)

Kürzlich hochgeladen

Kürzlich hochgeladen (20)

T&D India (Apr 2017): The Face of Smart Grid