In this businessline podcast, Ganesh Lakshminarayanan, CEO of Airtel Business India, discusses Airtel’s recent partnership with Adani Energy Solutions for connectivity in the smart metering ecosystem in India. 

The smart metering program in India aims to address challenges in the power industry, such as reducing losses and improving efficiency. Lakshminarayanan emphasizes the potential benefits of smart meters, including automated readings, real-time usage monitoring, and the ability to prepay for meter usage. He envisions a future where smart meters enable efficient matching of demand and supply, shaping consumer and industrial power usage for better distribution. 

Lakshminarayanan highlights the need to develop a robust ecosystem involving smart meter manufacturers, network connectivity, data storage, and analytics. Airtel is investing significantly in infrastructure to support the expected surge in smart meters, ensuring high uptime and secure communication. The partnership with IntelliSmart involves providing connectivity and cloud infrastructure for around 20 million smart meters. 

Regarding the challenges faced in the implementation of smart meters, Lakshminarayanan acknowledges the growing pains associated with scaling up the ecosystem. He believes that despite resistance and difficulties, the incentives for utilities, AMISPs, and telecom providers like Airtel are strong enough to drive successful implementation. Listen in.