Outlines quantum of opportunities for power transformer sector in the smart city space
 Since the time Indian government declared its ambitious target of building 100 smart cities, a primary list of which is already announced, companies from across the globe are making a beeline to grab the huge opportunity. Electrical equipment manufacturers consider smart cities as a great business proposition for their business.
A smart city uses digital technologies or information and communication technologies to enhance quality and performance of urban services, to reduce costs and resource consumption, and to engage more effectively and actively with its citizens. Energy sector is one of the many that has been developing smart city technology apart from government services, transport and traffic management, healthcare, water and waste. Commenting on the opportunities for power distribution transformers out of smart cities, Gurmeet Singh Virdi, Director, Virdi Electric Works Pvt Ltd said, “There are immense opportunities for power distribution transformers out of smart cities. Virdi Electric is geared to meet the ever growing demands from smart cities in the making.”
Smart energy solutions include smart grid automation and flexible distribution, smart metering management and gas distribution management. Schneider Electric offers a range of power products like transformers, switchgears, primary and secondary equipment which are used in smart cities. Any smart city has two components that are physical infrastructure and the software part of it. Schneider Electric has expertise in smart city by having both in-house software and physical layer which is hardware. Schneider Electric Infrastructure Ltd manufactures transformers, MV switchgears (AIS, GIS), RMUs, compact substations, feeder automation, substation automation, and relays. Kanwaljeet Singh, Business Development, Energy and Smart Cities, Schneider Electric India, “All our physical products go in field of new or existing city are smart enough to integrate with software level which is first step towards a smart city creation. It enables all the fields of smart city whether it is water, electricity, public services, and transportation. The government’s focus on the new strategic initiatives with the volume and attractiveness of the opportunity combined has created the time and opportunity for smart cities in India.”Schneider Electric has supplied and is supplying it various ranges of power and distribution transformers across segments like metro projects, railways, discoms, industries, airports, ports, renewable, and conventional generation.
Empowering the smart cities Energy demand is growing at rapid pace in most of developing countries which means more focus shall be on power generation, transmission and distribution sector. Distribution transformers will play a key role empowering the smart cities. According to Mr Singh, “Smart cities will require rapid urbanisation and development of roads, metros and other infrastructure projects across the country and that is expected to generate a huge demand for transformers as power generation and maintenance is required in all manufacturing sectors.”
Today’s life style is dependent on host of smart electronic gadgets having smart features with greater connectivity. On this context, Mr Virdi said, “Transformers distribution empowers smart cities by making all the appliances work efficiently and effectively with the help of transmitting stable electricity. In absence of good quality transformers, the electric appliances and gadgets run at great risk of getting ruined. Also, transformers help in saving of the energy.”
Latest technologies With the existing challenges of safety, space and poor voltage regulations, a lot of innovations are happening in transformer domain and Schneider Electric has been instrumental in bringing in new technologies to India from its global platform. Technologies like smart grid transformers, ester oil transformers and self extinguishing cast resin transformers are going to be key going forward which clearly address the end user requirement today.
“Energy demand is growing at a rapid pace in most of the developing countries which means more focus shall be on power generation, transmission and distribution sector. Thus we can see a significant growth in transformer Industry worldwide,” said Mr Singh from Schneider Electric.
Ester oil or vegetable oil transformer shall be instrumental for power transformer range. These transformers are having very high flash point compared to conventional design. Smart grid design transformers shall be very critical in oil-type distribution range with in-built booster Transformer to take care of voltage fluctuations. In case of dry type transformers, Schneider Electric has transformers which comply with international standards IEC as per which transformers are self-extinguishing (F1 as per IEC 60076-11/16) in case of fire. These transformers are E3 Class as per IEC 60076-11/16 which means they have longer life in city like environment with high pollution, humidity and condensation. Virdi Electric has a variety of electric transformers to cater to smart cities. “From wide range, HT transformers are built to cater to the needs of smart cities. Each and every component of the HT transformer is manufactured and assembled with precision and utmost care,” informed Mr Virdi.
The main process line of the Virdi’s HT transformers is:Core: The core is made with laminated and low loss electrical steel sheets that is imported, grain oriented, cold rolled and sheets of high grade steel. The cores are assembled in a manner that they reduces the noise caused by vibration; individual stamping are coated with insulation varnish which is resistant to heat and oil on both sides. The core is connected to the clamp which ensures that it is effectually earthed. The core legs are bounded with heavy duty insulating tape. The yokes are rigidly and securely clamped between the folded steel channels. Clamps on top and bottom are firmly attached to each other by the means of tie rods. Tie rods serves the dual purpose of transferring the load from the bottom to the top clamps and securing the winding in place. This prevents tensile stress being setup in the core legs, which could adversely affect the iron losses.  Winding: Transformer windings also known as ‘Coils’ are precisely designed to meet three basic requirements: thermal, mechanical and electrical. These windings wound concentrically and are cylinder shaped. Both HV and LV type windings are wound with adequate securing and brazing tapes in order to get a sturdy, robust and self-supporting structure.
Winding Connections: Tapping and phase leads run in paper covered conductors. Adequate barriers are used to separate the phase leads from the tapping. Rigidly brazed tubes are used to maintain the required clearance from coil to tank.
ConclusionSustainability Outlook has developed a Smart Cities Opportunity Assessment Model (SCOAM) which pegs the opportunity for smart cities in India over the next 5 years at $ 45 – $ 50 billion. As power supply infrastructure plays key role in making a city smart through reliable and efficient power supply, various state-of-the-art electrical equipment including transformers will be in greater demand.
—————-The government’s focus on the new strategic initiatives with the volume and attractiveness of the opportunity combined has created the time and opportunity for smart cities in India.
Kanwaljeet Singh, Business Development, Energy and Smart Cities, Schneider Electric India————————–
—————There are immense opportunities for power distribution transformers out of smart cities.
 Gurmeet Singh Virdi, Director, Virdi Electric Works

Outlines quantum of opportunities for power transformer sector in the smart city space
 Since the time Indian government declared its ambitious target of building 100 smart cities, a primary list of which is already announced, companies from across the globe are making a beeline to grab the huge opportunity. Electrical equipment manufacturers consider smart cities as a great business proposition for their business.
A smart city uses digital technologies or information and communication technologies to enhance quality and performance of urban services, to reduce costs and resource consumption, and to engage more effectively and actively with its citizens. Energy sector is one of the many that has been developing smart city technology apart from government services, transport and traffic management, healthcare, water and waste. Commenting on the opportunities for power distribution transformers out of smart cities, Gurmeet Singh Virdi, Director, Virdi Electric Works Pvt Ltd said, “There are immense opportunities for power distribution transformers out of smart cities. Virdi Electric is geared to meet the ever growing demands from smart cities in the making.”
Smart energy solutions include smart grid automation and flexible distribution, smart metering management and gas distribution management. Schneider Electric offers a range of power products like transformers, switchgears, primary and secondary equipment which are used in smart cities. Any smart city has two components that are physical infrastructure and the software part of it. Schneider Electric has expertise in smart city by having both in-house software and physical layer which is hardware. Schneider Electric Infrastructure Ltd manufactures transformers, MV switchgears (AIS, GIS), RMUs, compact substations, feeder automation, substation automation, and relays. Kanwaljeet Singh, Business Development, Energy and Smart Cities, Schneider Electric India, “All our physical products go in field of new or existing city are smart enough to integrate with software level which is first step towards a smart city creation. It enables all the fields of smart city whether it is water, electricity, public services, and transportation. The government’s focus on the new strategic initiatives with the volume and attractiveness of the opportunity combined has created the time and opportunity for smart cities in India.”Schneider Electric has supplied and is supplying it various ranges of power and distribution transformers across segments like metro projects, railways, discoms, industries, airports, ports, renewable, and conventional generation.
Empowering the smart cities Energy demand is growing at rapid pace in most of developing countries which means more focus shall be on power generation, transmission and distribution sector. Distribution transformers will play a key role empowering the smart cities. According to Mr Singh, “Smart cities will require rapid urbanisation and development of roads, metros and other infrastructure projects across the country and that is expected to generate a huge demand for transformers as power generation and maintenance is required in all manufacturing sectors.”
Today’s life style is dependent on host of smart electronic gadgets having smart features with greater connectivity. On this context, Mr Virdi said, “Transformers distribution empowers smart cities by making all the appliances work efficiently and effectively with the help of transmitting stable electricity. In absence of good quality transformers, the electric appliances and gadgets run at great risk of getting ruined. Also, transformers help in saving of the energy.”
Latest technologies With the existing challenges of safety, space and poor voltage regulations, a lot of innovations are happening in transformer domain and Schneider Electric has been instrumental in bringing in new technologies to India from its global platform. Technologies like smart grid transformers, ester oil transformers and self extinguishing cast resin transformers are going to be key going forward which clearly address the end user requirement today.
“Energy demand is growing at a rapid pace in most of the developing countries which means more focus shall be on power generation, transmission and distribution sector. Thus we can see a significant growth in transformer Industry worldwide,” said Mr Singh from Schneider Electric.
Ester oil or vegetable oil transformer shall be instrumental for power transformer range. These transformers are having very high flash point compared to conventional design. Smart grid design transformers shall be very critical in oil-type distribution range with in-built booster Transformer to take care of voltage fluctuations. In case of dry type transformers, Schneider Electric has transformers which comply with international standards IEC as per which transformers are self-extinguishing (F1 as per IEC 60076-11/16) in case of fire. These transformers are E3 Class as per IEC 60076-11/16 which means they have longer life in city like environment with high pollution, humidity and condensation. Virdi Electric has a variety of electric transformers to cater to smart cities. “From wide range, HT transformers are built to cater to the needs of smart cities. Each and every component of the HT transformer is manufactured and assembled with precision and utmost care,” informed Mr Virdi.
The main process line of the Virdi’s HT transformers is:Core: The core is made with laminated and low loss electrical steel sheets that is imported, grain oriented, cold rolled and sheets of high grade steel. The cores are assembled in a manner that they reduces the noise caused by vibration; individual stamping are coated with insulation varnish which is resistant to heat and oil on both sides. The core is connected to the clamp which ensures that it is effectually earthed. The core legs are bounded with heavy duty insulating tape. The yokes are rigidly and securely clamped between the folded steel channels. Clamps on top and bottom are firmly attached to each other by the means of tie rods. Tie rods serves the dual purpose of transferring the load from the bottom to the top clamps and securing the winding in place. This prevents tensile stress being setup in the core legs, which could adversely affect the iron losses.  Winding: Transformer windings also known as ‘Coils’ are precisely designed to meet three basic requirements: thermal, mechanical and electrical. These windings wound concentrically and are cylinder shaped. Both HV and LV type windings are wound with adequate securing and brazing tapes in order to get a sturdy, robust and self-supporting structure.
Winding Connections: Tapping and phase leads run in paper covered conductors. Adequate barriers are used to separate the phase leads from the tapping. Rigidly brazed tubes are used to maintain the required clearance from coil to tank.
ConclusionSustainability Outlook has developed a Smart Cities Opportunity Assessment Model (SCOAM) which pegs the opportunity for smart cities in India over the next 5 years at $ 45 – $ 50 billion. As power supply infrastructure plays key role in making a city smart through reliable and efficient power supply, various state-of-the-art electrical equipment including transformers will be in greater demand.
—————-The government’s focus on the new strategic initiatives with the volume and attractiveness of the opportunity combined has created the time and opportunity for smart cities in India.
Kanwaljeet Singh, Business Development, Energy and Smart Cities, Schneider Electric India————————–
—————There are immense opportunities for power distribution transformers out of smart cities.
 Gurmeet Singh Virdi, Director, Virdi Electric Works