Thread by @DrTongia

(1/n) #SmartMeters are great, but not a panacea.

Short thread on what's real, what's not, & how to bridge the top-down push with state/discom ground realities (esp. preparedness).

My @htTweets OpEd:
hindustantimes.com/analysis/can-s…

cc: @NsgmIndia @MinOfPower @CEA_India @IndiaSmartGridF

(2/n) [DISCLAIMER: I helped set up India's smart grid space. Am ~evangelist, but also a realist]
Discoms have high losses, partly due to theft/poor billing (and collection); other reason is tariffs < costs. A smart meter (esp. in prepaid mode) offers promise to cut down losses.

(3/n) But it's wrong to claim ONLY smart meters cut down losses - Haryana, Ajmer, etc. prove so. Smart meters can't detect theft alone - requires analytics and political will. 1st Q: are discoms harnessing the data they already have? 2nd Q: what of theft "above" the meter?

(4/n) This leads to the biggest problem: preparedness and discom capacity. Drop-in solutions (even under an OpEx mode) won't work if underlying databases and platforms (consumers, billing, GIS) etc. aren't proper. This was true of R-APDRP; is true of anything that's an ecosystem.

(5/n) We must deploy smart meters, but should prioritize geographic concentration based on intersection of preparedness & need. Platforms (like billing/Meter data management) must be full discom/state. But hardware can come in phases. It must be standards-based and interoperable.

(6/n) Smart Meters need not just discom but CONSUMER buy-in. They want carrots--not just sticks--like quality power and potential to save money, esp. by shifting loads to meet time of day (ToD) pricing. But ToD needs regulator support, who need realistic cost-benefit analyses.

(7/n) The physical challenges of universal smart meter procurement and deployments are hard enough - the financial/economic is another layer. Communications (esp. via cellular) is one of several weak links (before even touching cyber-security and privacy).

(8/n) Smart meters absolutely can help reduce losses and improve billing & collection, but these are "yesterday's" problems. We need to design for ongoing and future challenges like scaling renewable energy, electric vehicles, consumer choice, competition, etc.

(n/n) Smart meters must be supported as an invaluable tool, but they are not a silver bullet to overcome what are essentially governance failures in electricity. Bold targets help guide and give focus, but if implemented or operationalized wrong, they can be distortionary.