TNPDCL opens bids worth Rs 19,234 crore to install over 3 crore smart meters

CHENNAI: Taking a step forward in the much-delayed smart metering project, Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Ltd (TNPDCL) on Tuesday opened 6 separate bids to appoint Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) service providers for installing 3.04 crore smart meters across consumer premises and distribution transformers in two phases.

TNPDCL officials, however, declined to disclose the number of bids received for each tender or the names of the companies that submitted them.

In the first phase, 1.44 crore smart meters will be installed for all low-tension three-phase consumers, single-phase consumers with bimonthly consumption above 400 units, all high-tension (HT) consumers, and distribution transformers. The second phase, covering the remaining consumers, will begin only after the successful execution of the first.

The original plan was to roll out the project in a single phase at an estimated cost of ₹19,235 crore. Under the revised plan, 1.44 crore meters will be covered in the first phase including 93.59 lakh single-phase meters and 45.57 lakh three-phase meters for low-tension (LT) consumers. The second phase will cover the remaining 1.57 crore single-phase meters and 3.90 lakh three-phase meters.

A senior TNPDCL official said that the second phase would begin only after the first phase has been satisfactorily completed.

This is the third round of tendering for the project. TNPDCL reissued bids in March under 6 packages covering all 12 distribution regions, after earlier tenders were cancelled due to high costs and administrative delays. In one instance, a bid was scrapped after Adani Energy Solutions quoted a high price for one of the four packages.

The project is being implemented under the Union government’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS). The work will follow a Design, Build, Finance, Own, Operate and Transfer (DBFOOT) model. As per the revised plan, selected AMI service providers must install the meters within 27 months of contract award and maintain the infrastructure for 93 months. Tangedco will pay for the service through a per-meter, per-month rental model over 10 years.

IN A NUTSHELL

· Tenders invited under 6 packages to install over 3.04 cr smart meters

· Project Cost: Rs 19,235 crore

Phase I

· Low Tension

· Single-phase meters: 93,59,070

· Three-phase meters: 45,57,415

· High Tension: 14,117

Ø Distribution Transformers meters: 4,72,500

Phase II

· Low Tension

Ø Single-phase meters:1,56,93,811

Ø Three-phase meters: 3,89,703