Schneider Electric introduces EcoStruxure grid in Hyderabad
Reiterating its commitment towards efficient, sustainable, and reliable energy, Schneider Electric, the global specialist in energy management and automation, launched its digital architecture, EcoStruxureTM Grid in Hyderabad. The architecture is an open IoT-enabled framework for digital transformation of distribution utilities and utilises disruptive technology to generate higher efficiency. EcoStruxureTM leverages the IT/OT convergence, ensuring higher efficiency in grid operations, enabling overall digital transformation and optimal asset management.
Prakash Chandrakar, Vice President, Energy Business, Schneider Electric India, said, “The challenges related to power infrastructure in India mostly come from its distribution with high T&D losses. These can be addressed through digitisation, which offers tremendous opportunities for improving the quality and efficiency of power distribution. The EcoStruxure Grid drives process optimisation by leveraging IoT and cloud capabilities combined with automation, software & analytics, leading to optimal efficiency for power discoms. This makes the energy value chain more intelligent. At Schneider Electric, our endeavor is to make a meaningful contribution towards the state government’s mission of achieving uninterrupted and quality power supply, which leads to plugging leakages and results in substantial savings.”
While Telangana is striving to become power surplus, at the same time, the newly formed state is witnessing strong demand from agriculture, domestic and industrial sectors and the metro city of Hyderabad. The overall energy requirement in the state is set to see a quantum jump. Speaking at the launch occasion, Mr. Raghuram Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director, Southern Power Distribution Company of Telangana Limited, stated, “The discoms and transco have implemented a number of projects under various schemes to stabilise the network. This has helped us to provide quality power to all consumers. Further, we will extend 24X7 power supply to agricultural consumers from January 1, 2018, making Telangana the first state to do so. We are also undertaking grid modernisation projects to provide 24X7 affordable and reliable power to all, extend network access and ensure smooth integration of renewable energy.”
Grid modernisation addresses reliability and resilience of aging infrastructure, as well as the flexibility to accommodate a growing presence of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) connected to the grid. Schneider Electric future-ready grid management solutions, helping players in the energy sector bring innovation to every level of business.
Schneider Electric is currently working with various state discoms to provide digital technologies as well as modernisation solutions for the grid. Last year, the company commissioned a SCADA-DMS project for the Bihar Power Distribution Company that helped the state utility reduce its overall costs by curbing power theft and losses, reduce unscheduled downtimes, improve customer usage mapping, detecting faults at a faster pace, and gaining capabilities to scale up to meet increasing power demand.