Polaris Secures Contract to Install 5 Million Smart Meters in UP

Polaris Smart Metering on Jan 29 said it has secured two smart meter projects totaling Rs 5,200 crore in Uttar Pradesh. "Madhyanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (MVVNL) has awarded the contracts for installing over 5.1 million smart meters in the important clusters of Lucknow and Ayodhya/Devipatan, which the company plans to install over the next 27 months," Polaris Smart Metering said in a statement.

As per the agreement, Polaris Smart Metering will supply, commission, install and maintain smart meters for consumers and system metering across the consumer base in these clusters for the next 10 years, it said.

These smart meters will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology, enabling prepaid billing, real-time energy monitoring, accurate metering, and improved grid management capabilities. This contract comes under a Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Own-Transfer (DBFOOT) agreement.

Meanwhile, Polaris has also received Letter of Awards (LOAs) from West Bengal and Manipur worth over Rs 2,400 crore to install more than 2.3 million smart meters across these two states.

The primary objective of this project is to reduce losses for discoms (power distribution companies) and to empower consumers by introducing smart prepaid meters, enabling them to have better control over their energy consumption, the company said.

Yashraj Khaitan, CEO of Polaris Smart Metering, said: "Our smart metering solutions will empower consumers with actionable insights into their energy consumption while simultaneously delivering substantial benefits to the state governments in terms of improved grid efficiency, reduced pilferage, and improved environmental sustainability."