Agreed Biju, there is a divide. However one of the major players in this sector is creating a transformation like never before- the telecom sector and that too profitably!!.Also when broadband reaches the city periphery, can the nearby village be far behind. Look at e-chupal from ITC.
The Indian power sector can only be described as having nowhere to go but up. The present installed capacity is inadequate for the nation's needs, and there are plans for rapid growth. However, the present system requires operational, fiscal, regulatory, and even technological reform. In the midst of a system that loses money with every kilowatt-hour sold, what role can Information Technology (IT) play? The potential is certainly there - theft reduction requires theft discovery - but what will the future of the Indian power grid look like?
If you ask anyone what the needs of the Indian power sector are, they will likely say more electricity. A few may comment more but affordable power, but very few will say it needs IT. After all, like with many industries, IT is but a means, and not an end. But is there a unique role that IT can play in developing India's power sector?
Thing of the future. A future where the Indian power sector is performing as well as can be expected. Theft is reduced, growth is high, and the lights stay on. Will there be enough power supply to meet the needs? From the few hundred kWh per person of today to ten times more - how can we create and fuel such a system? It's likely a dramatic shift in the fundamental design of power systems is required. This future system is built upon IT and communications.
The old system of power, where every unit of power is treated roughly similarly, cannot continue. We intuitively recognize that different units have different costs of supply - night and day, rural or urban, peak or off-peak. But today's system cannot adequately recognize (or charge for) such differences, especially for laypersons. With flat-rate pricing for agricultural pumpsets, which consume perhaps 30% of our power, we don't even accurately know how much they use. This is where IT becomes inevitable. A smart grid will not only be able to manage loads and consumption incentives, it will also be more nimble, robust, and reliable.
Of course, the longer-term vision of a smart grid will take time to realize. Are there steps along the way we can take? A number of scholars, industry leaders, and power sector professionals believe there are, but we must be mindful of the end goals. Otherwise, we will be saddled with expensive interim solutions that provide only marginal or, at best, modest benefits.
As we consider the design and evolution of a smart grid, we need to be mindful of a number of issues:
1) IT is not a product, but a process. There is no easy "smart grid" solution that utilities can tender for and find the cheapest solution. Different utilities have different existing infrastructure, different market needs, etc. To make things more difficult, IT's very rapidly changing pace makes designing solutions challenging. Many of the ingredients for a system exist, but they are not well integrated, optimized, or standardized.
2) IT evolves rapidly - think of how outdated our mobile phone or computer from 3 years ago feels - but power sector equipment is often designed to last decades. To manage this process, we need solutions that are modular and scalable. We can't even predict what new features we might consider routine ten years from now, say, the ability to control one's water heater or air conditioner via mobile phone. All we know is the technology must be capable of such innovations, and this requires standards.
3) Open standards are a powerful means for innovative solutions that capture the power of the market and volume. Think of WiFi, the ubiquitous standard for wireless Ethernet found in every laptop computer. It started about a decade ago as an expensive modest-speed solution (over $800/node for 2 megabits/second speed). Today, it is perhaps $10, for speeds 50x faster. This is the power of IT!
4) IT cannot work alone - other changes in the system are required. Changes in pricing (such as time of day tariffs) might be one capability, but broader changes are required in how utilities think of the power grid. IT isn't about cutting down labor, but enabling operators and even consumers with more information for better capital expenditures, nimbler operations, and better customer service.
5) India can lead instead of follow in this space, especially given its IT strengths. IT for the power sector is an evolving process around the world. One of the first (and largest) such networks was deployed by the utility Enel, in Italy, but even their solution today isn't cutting edge. A number of European countries have legislation mandating smart metering solutions, and the recent US Energy Bill has similar directives for states to consider.
Ultimately, we must be mindful of the true stakeholders in the Indian power system - the citizens, be they farmers, household consumers, or industry. When we think of the rise of IT within India's power sector, it's not a question of if - it's when and in what shape this will evolve. These are unanswered questions that need open discussion, analysis, and collaboration.
Dr. Rahul Tongia is a Senior Fellow with the Center for Study of Science, Technology, and Policy (CSTEP), Bangalore, and a Senior Systems Scientist (faculty member) at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh. He is a specialist in infrastructure technology, policy, and design, and serves on the Technology Advisory Board for a leading US utility's Smart Metering Project. The views presented are his own, and not necessarily those of any of his affiliated institutions or collaborators.
