OREANDA-NEWS. July 22, 2011. In a significant development, North Delhi Power (NDPL) and US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), today, announced the signing of a pact wherein USTDA will extend a financial grant of USD 686,447 to NDPL towards implementation of smart grid technology in its distribution network of North & North West Delhi. The agreement was signed at a roundtable organised by US – India Business Council (USIBC) in New Delhi.

NDPL is one of the first Indian utilities to initiate the implementation of smart grid technology in India to accelerate the development of common standards, technology solutions and processes for intelligent networks.

Sunil Wadhwa, managing director, NDPL, said, “We welcome the association with USTDA. The smart grid solutions are designed to enhance the efficiency and reliability of power distribution and to increase the ability of consumers to manage and use energy in a more cost-effective and energy-efficient way. It will also enable us to optimise our power line grid planning, operations and maintenance, enabling us to deliver power more efficiently. We also expect the technology to contribute to fewer and shorter outages and increase reliability.”

NDPL took several innovative initiatives that significantly reduced network losses and pioneered substation and distribution automation in India. NDPL is also taking a leadership role in policy advocacy for smart grid initiatives in India.

NDPL is presently working on several new projects including the possible deployment of an advanced metering infrastructure which will allow remote management of metering services and automated meter reading with two-way communication with consumers. The new technology will enable consumers to better manage their energy use by providing more detailed and online information about their consumption with the opportunity to actively optimise consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emission as well as their overall cost of energy consumption.