The government of India is planning to use artificial intelligence solutions to tackle the emerging challenge of power distribution losses across the country.
The government is now reaching out to major information technology companies and startups to help them develop AI-enabled solutions to handle this issue.
This new development falls under the government’s Rs 3.03 lakh crore reform-based and result-linked scheme, with a corpus of Rs 4 crore sanctioned for the first year by the electricity ministry.
Read More: Lawmakers Warn Clearview AI Could End Public Anonymity
Distribution loss is one of the most prevalent issues that India’s energy sector has been facing in recent years, and this initiative of the government would considerably help solve the problem. According to reports, the country witnessed a high transmission and distribution loss of more than 20% in 2019, one of the world’s highest.
Power Secretary Alok Kumar said, “Huge data will be thrown up when we implement smart meters in a time-bound manner. We are conscious that this data should be analyzed intelligently in a way that it leads to good actionable points for the utility managers and for the policymakers.”
He further added that the average distribution loss in India is 20%. However, many utilities experience losses of 40-45 percent, with a few companies losing more than 50%.
According to the government, the developer of the solution will leverage technologies including artificial intelligence, machine learning, and IoT to analyze data made available through consumer, transformer, and feeder metering.
The government plans to select multiple technology providers, companies, and startups to tackle the power distribution issue in the country. A government official said, “Increased technology interventions will aid in facilitating operational and financial sustainability of the distribution companies.”
The government will allow the selected companies to make judgments on loss reduction, demand forecasting, differential tariff in a day, and renewable energy integration using innovative technologies.
