Tata Power, AutoGrid expands smart energy management system in Mumbai

Tata Power hopes to engage 55,000 residential and 6,000 large C&I customers in order to reduce peak capacity by 75 MW.
An industry-leading Virtual Power Plant (VPP) and Distributed Energy Management System (DERMS) provider, AutoGrid, and Tata Power, one of India’s largest integrated power companies, today announced a historic new initiative to deploy an AI-enabled smart energy management system focusing on behavioural demand response across its residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Mumbai. This innovative approach will boost India’s transition to renewable energy and net-zero Goals while assisting with difficulties related to peak demand.
The demand response management programme, which will serve Tata Power’s customers in Mumbai, the country’s most populous city, aims to involve 55,000 residential consumers and 6,000 large C&I customers to reduce peak capacity by 75 MW within the first six months of the rollout, starting in February 2023, and then continue to scale up to 200 MW by the summer of 2025.
With the introduction of a demand response programme for Tata Power Delhi Distribution’s residential customers in Delhi in 2021, the two businesses’ cooperation officially began. Tata Power considerably increased the initiative throughout the Delhi distribution region in 2022 based on the results of this engagement. To reach all consumer demographics, AutoGrid is now expanding this initiative throughout Tata Power’s distribution areas.
Tata Power will add an automatic demand response (ADR) programme with direct load management and consumer participation to its behavioural demand response (BDR) programme in addition to its own smart plug platform, EZ Home, which will allow for direct load control.
By opting to reduce their load in response to signals sent by text message and/or email during times of immediate need, consumers can receive incentives through Tata Power’s new demand response programme, which is based on the AutoGrid FlexTM platform. It may not be necessary to build expensive, highly polluting plants if customers combine their demands.
Praveer Sinha, CEO and MD, Tata Power, says, “Demand Behavioural Response System with AI capabilities has the ability to engage customers in the energy transition process and give them power. Tata Power is dedicated to popularising this cutting-edge solution and fostering a hi-tech energy-saving culture.”
Amit Narayan, Founder and CEO, AutoGrid, said, “India and Tata Power can reach ambitious sustainability goals by leveraging the flexible capacity available by adopting innovative approaches to leverage distributed energy resources.”
India has experienced a tremendous expansion of distributed energy resources over the past 20 years, including solar, smart meters, electric cars (EVs), and EV charging infrastructure. The country has a fantastic chance to increase grid resilience, take advantage of demand side flexibility, and improve sustainability, but previous attempts have been hampered by the lack of a single, scalable programme. Furthermore, insufficient regulatory approval prevents the large-scale use of these resources that the Indian market allows for. AutoGrid’s technology is in a unique position to take advantage of the opportunity in India because it has been demonstrated to scale DER management programmes from thousands to millions.