Torrent Power funded Gujarat smart-grid project: Ecolibrium

Ecolibrium Energy, the energy management company floated by the Soni family, has said the smart-grid project implemented in the Gujarat Secretariat was funded by Torrent Power, a private sector distribution company, and that the state nodal agency for the energy sector, Gujarat Energy Development Agency (Geda), did not make any financial contribution to the project. In response to a Business Standard story on the start-up company's first big break coming from the Gujarat government in 2010, Chintan Soni, managing director, said: "To implement the project, a tri-partite MoU (memorandum of understanding) was signed between Torrent Power, Geda and Ecolibrium Energy, where it has been clearly laid out that Geda will not incur any expenses and will merely provide access to its facilities for installation of the project."

Soni further clarified, "We would also like to hereby reiterate that we did not receive our first project from Gujarat government."

When Ecolibrium approached Torrent Power for funding the project, the latter agreed. According to Soni, a separate agreement was signed with Torrent Power to detail the understanding.

Soni said the company started development of the smart grid solution in 2009-10, and had approached Geda for piloting of the technology. "We got to know about the Renewable Energy Search programme supported by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and approached CIIE (Center for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship) for incubation support by presenting our solution of smart grid along with our business plan in October 2009."

The screening committee at Renewable Energy Search comprising industry, academia and representatives from MNRE, accepted the proposal for incubation support at CIIE under the Renewable Energy Search programme. "To help expedite the project, in January 2010 CIIE wrote to Geda requesting it to give us a chance to implement the project. The project was carried out to pilot a useful concept - which actually resulted in savings for the Gujarat government without any investment of resources from Geda," he added.

Ecolibrium has since received a separate smart micro-grid pilot project from MNRE, which has been implemented at its Solar Energy Centre in Gurgaon.