Pune, Thane civic bodies seek knowhow to save power

The municipalities of Pune and Thane are in talks with Bangalore-based energy company Elpro Energy Dimensions for implementing a new technology that could result in power savings of up to 50 per cent.

The company has also been granted UNDP funding for pilot projects in five cities, including Mumbai.

Pune has a requirement of 750 mw and has a sheddable load of 350 mw. Currently, it faces load shedding in slots of three and four hours for urban and rural areas, respectively.

Maharashtra requires 12,700 mw of power, of which it generates around 9,200 mw and faces a shortage of 3,500 mw. However, transmission losses in the state amount to nearly 50 per cent.

Elpro has been working with a centralised control system using wireless technology for tracking and monitoring energy flows. The system is currently being tested out on a 65-km stretch on Bangalore's outer ring road. It has also installed the system at the Wipro Campus in Bangalore.

Pune municipal commissioner Nitin Karey said, "We are definitely interested in what the company has proposed to us. We have asked the Maharashtra Energy Development Authority (MEDA) to evaluate our needs. We currently have a street lighting bill of Rs 10-12 crore and we would obviously like to reduce it."

Elpro, which has been in the energy business for the past 15 years is also in talks with 25 other cities and towns, including New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Surat and Mysore.

The company recently received venture capital funding of $100,000 from FE Clean Energy US for the project that is expected to cost Rs 150 cr.

FE Clean is the manager of an energy fund created by Mitsubhishi Corporation, Japan Bank of International Cooperation (JBIC), Chubu Electric Utility, Japan, and the Asian Development Bank.

Elpro's new technology, called E-Tracks, monitors energy flows using feeder switches every 10-20 street lamps.

"This allows us to switch off or dim lights, at any point, any time. At night, for instance, when the voltage is generally high and the load is low, we can economise by switching to dim mode, resulting in power savings," said Nalin Kanshal, director business development for Elpro.

The Rs 1.87 cr project has resulted in an energy saving of 1.5 million kw /h for Bangalore city by rationalising energy utilisation and checking power theft.

"We know exactly how much power is being drawn at any given point in time so when someone hooks up to a feeder wire and tapping illegally, we know instantly as power consumption will go up. We also know instantly when a street lamp has fused as the energy drawn comes down," said Kanshal.