Power outlook 2020: Gearing towards electric transformation

With the power sector poised to take rapid strides this year, industry players discuss on the current market scenario and the innovative solutions being developed for the sector.

Power access and affordability, and quality and reliable power are some of the important buzzwords in the power sector currently. With new technologies and innovations playing a huge role in addressing these issues, companies are looking forward to the dawn of the new decade. Last year, India reached a generation capacity of 365 GW. And this figure is only set to increase this year, as companies gear up to increase access to quality power on a regular, reliable basis.

Opportunities abound
With digitalisation, IoT, automation and other technologies and tools impacting the industry in a big way, companies are optimistic about investing in India’s power sector. I. Syed Sajjadh Ali, Managing Director – ES India (APAC Region), Eaton Power Quality Pvt. Ltd., says, “In India, there has been tremendous progress over the last couple of decades, and beyond just putting infrastructure in place and getting connections where possible, there are so many opportunities. However, there’s still a long way to go.” He adds further, “Our vision is to improve the quality of life and the environment through the provision of management technologies as well as products and services. We further look to grow in different parts of the world, and we have a good presence here in India. We’ve localised production as well. Our investments in India have been going on for many years, and currently, we have about 5,500 employees here. We have a very large innovation centre here, spreading across almost 390,000 square feet, with almost 2,000 engineers working on building capacity. Our electrical business in the country is also starting to establish itself in a very dynamic market, so we are very encouraged by what we’re seeing in terms of the current challenges and opportunities. We’re expanding our electrical facilities quite significantly. So, the opportunities here are good and our company is very committed to growth.”

Manish Gupta, Regional Manager, OMICRON Energy Solutions Private Limited, opines that digitising the complete network and digital substations are gaining traction in the sector. Conventional testing, too, is transforming. He says, “If we only change the mindset towards testing in equipment, it can save a lot of downtime for the network. The utilities need to understand that this directly translates into revenue for them due to reduced downtime and substantial savings. We are now focusing on how we can optimise the complete testing of a substation, which means that instead of testing assets one after the other, we can test it simultaneously. With the power of automation that we offer through our solutions, we can reduce the testing time to as low as 90 seconds in some cases.”

Per capita power consumption to get a boost
The Indian power sector has been evolving over the last few years, but per capita consumption is still low compared to other countries. Hitesh Karandikar, Director, ERDA, says, “The per capita consumption of electricity in India is very less compared to the European countries, the US and China. Increasing per capita consumption of electricity is a sign of a good economy.” Rising per capita power consumption means that electricity access and usage is increasing and the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity is in sync, which translates into equitable distribution.

To improve power access and supply, upcoming technologies in the sector must be adopted. Gupta says, “Although we talk about new technologies, there are very few utilities that are progressive enough to open up to new technologies. They need to start thinking differently and adopt new technologies proactively. Rise in power consumption plays a significant role for India.”

Battling hurdles with technology
Besides mounting financial losses, operational inefficiencies and low fuel availability faced by state DISCOMs, there are other challenges too being addressed by the sector. Gupta explains, “The challenges in the Indian power sector can be looked at in two parts: innovation in terms of the existing practices, and innovation in terms of the solutions. Fortunately for OMICRON, we have been one of the most innovative companies to come out with diagnostic solutions for the industry. When we talk about innovation, it should not be linked to the cost of purchase of the equipment; it should always be linked to the cost of operation. We must look at the value addition and benefits the diagnostic equipment offers to the customer. Another aspect is that in India, we are still about 10 years behind when compared to the international practices in diagnostics. We still follow conventional methods.”

He adds that another major challenge in the sector is the pricing of power, as affordability is a big issue. Although India has surplus power generation, it’s still not reaching all the corners of the country. He says, “India has more than enough power suppliers, but there is definitely a big scope of improvement in the quality of power. There are also a lot of challenges the government faces in terms of providing subsidies. This means that the distribution companies have to then offer their services for free or at an extremely subsidised rate. Another aspect is quality. The distribution network must be developed further to ensure efficient T&D. There are definitely some improvements there, but we need to work on it to ensure that it conforms to international standards and practices. When it comes to the cost of power, electricity is very expensive overseas. But the consumer is willing to pay for it because he is assured of the quality of power, which is not true as far as India is concerned. Hence, that is one of the major challenges for them to invest more in technology here.”

IoT plays a very important role in improving generation as well as transmission and distribution of electricity. Smart grid technologies are crucial to this, and elaborating on how OMICRON is helping the sector in this regard, Gupta shares, “We are contributing heavily to smart grid technologies. It is important to consider that we can now even afford to have unmanned substations, and not just the testing and diagnosis, but even the analysis can be performed remotely and offline. I hope to be able to use the combined cloud technologies by inserting the hardware in the cloud to perform testing through mobile applications. Service providers and the maintenance teams of a utility won’t have to physically carry any equipment. They can perform complete testing through mobile applications. We at OMICRON invest a lot into R&D. And the products that we have developed and introduced as well as the feedback we receive from our customers are a direct manifestation of our investments.”

Uday Yadav, President and Chief Operating Officer – Electrical Sector, Eaton, adds, “One of the two big challenges today is that there’s a lot of power leakage taking place, so the delivery of power must still be worked on. The country is installing more underground cables, and we too are working on similar lines. The other challenge is the reliability of power.” He adds, “There are different dynamics involved in the business model of DISCOMs. One has to realise and respect that and find ways of helping them. When you think about the intermittency of power and the advent of renewable power, that’s changing the whole dynamic of the grid. So where Eaton can really help is to plan that grid out, as we have intelligent software to do that. We provide this solution across the world, so we are trying to do it here as well effectively. We believe in sustainability, and one of the big challenges for the industry is in switchgears relating to the SF6 gas. We can share with the utilities our approach to providing products which are SF6-free. We are one of the few companies in the world who have these products out in the marketplace. ”

Yadav adds, “Having electrical power is as important as having water. We will do everything possible to support the establishment of smart cities, as well as providing power access to remote areas in India that don’t have access today or have access but don’t have high-quality, reliable power. It’s not just about delivering power; it’s about delivering power safely and efficiently. There are significant challenges with buyers, but we are ready to face that. And we have a great track record of safety as well.”

Tailoring solutions for the Indian market
Syed Sajjadh Ali says, “As one of the big players and a major supplier in the industry, we have to be cognisant and respectful of the conditions in local markets. So you have to tailor your solutions for that market in exactly those conditions. It can’t be a one-size-fits-all approach; we have very clear strategies and we know what kind of high technology the market needs that can result in optimisation of power. We adopt a very clear, strategic approach in our operations across the world, whether it’s in India or China or Brazil or anywhere else. We understand how to approach different markets. Here, our job is to help the utilities and help improve the country’s economy. So, we are carefully strategising on how to approach the market and do that.”

With regard to how Eaton’s products and solutions help deal with power leakage in the Indian context, Yadav adds, “There are two dimensions here. One is effectively helping the utilities and DISCOM plan capacity and manage the flow of electricity in different areas. We do this very well with one of the leading software programs of that kind in North America. For example, software is translatable anywhere, so we can help with its planning when it comes to the leakage itself, as and when the country moves to more underground deployment of power. We have ring main unit products that are designed to work underground. That’s one of the products we’re localising here in India. We have differentiating products: never before has anyone worried about leakage current in India. There is a regulation that a power connection can be given only when one has an affiliate circuit breaker of the system. But, practically nobody follows that. So, we are trying to educate the need to upgrade the electrical circuit to protect your life and reduce the consumption of electricity. India has surplus power, but power doesn’t reach everywhere as there is pilferage or leakage. These issues have to be addressed through engineering controls. Our products are the right solution for this.”

A bright future ahead
With such powerful technologies and solutions coming in to India and being developed especially for local conditions, it will be interesting to see how utilities harness them to improve their operations and tackle the challenges that permeate the Indian industry. Of course, regulatory changes too are needed to support the initiatives of the companies in the sector. But overall, one can see an optimistic future for the Indian energy sector.

“India has more than enough power suppliers, but there is definitely a big scope of improvement in the quality of power.”
Manish Gupta, Regional Manager, OMICRON Energy Solutions Private Limited

“It’s not just about delivering power; it’s about delivering power safely and efficiently.”
Uday Yadav, President and Chief Operating Officer – Electrical Sector, Eaton

“The per capita consumption of electricity in India is very less compared to the European countries, the US and China. Increasing per capita consumption of electricity is a sign of a good economy.”
Hitesh Karandikar, Director, ERDA

“The opportunities here are good and our company is very committed to growth.”
I. Syed Sajjadh Ali, Managing Director – ES India (APAC Region), Eaton Power Quality Pvt. Ltd.