In a first such initiative in India, Gurgaon is all set to get a smart grid to improve electricity distribution in the city. Gurgaon has faced a lot of issues with power distribution of late, with frequent black outs and power cuts especially during peak hours.
Now all that could be a thing of past if this smart grid is put into place. It envisions to turn property owners’ prosumers, by generating electricity through solar panels placed on their property’s rooftops and supplying it to the cities local electric grids. They can then draw power from the same grid during night time, when the solar panels won’t be able to generate electricity. It is indeed a unique attempt and if implemented properly would help keep the bills of the consumers quite low. Further, according to this plan, all electric cables would be laid underground and various power generating units like wind power, solar power would be interconnected. Underground cables would lessen the impact of power failures especially during monsoons where in overhead cables are harmed due to weather conditions. It will also help check power thefts and help clear road spaces currently earmarked for electric pillars and structures. Technology would be heavily integrated into making metering accurate and error free. “The Government of India has backed this project putting it at fast speed. It has already chipped in INR 273 crore for this project. The first phase of the project is estimated to cost up to INR 1,382 crore and be completed within eighteen months of award of contract.” The whole project which is being projected to make Gurgaon a smart city has been divided into three phases. The first phase would cover areas from sector 1 to sector 57, in the second phase area spanning from sector 58 to sector 115 would be covered. The final phase would see the industrial area of Manesar being included into the smart grid. A Smart grid would go a long way in improving life quality of Gurgaon, as the use of polluting generators would decrease, electric supply would be more stable and overall power infrastructure would be of International level.
