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ICT Empowered Grid

SMART-GRID IN
INDIAN CONTEXT
Ashok Jhunjhunwala, IIT Madras
ashok@tenet.res.in

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ICT Empowered Grid

INDIAN CONTEXT

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ICT Empowered Grid

Euro1 = Rs65

As Indias Economy continues to grow

Indias average GDP growth during 2006-09: 8.6%
Yet per capita income dismally low at Rs 46,500 last year
7% worlds GDP: economy fourth-largest in world in PPP terms

Increasing demand for energy from a low base

energy production just 4% of and consumption only 5% of worlds
But affordability is the key
solutions that sell in india has to be at Indian prices

% of world
Population

17

GDP

Consumption

Net national Income Growth

14.5

per-capita electricity (kWh) 704

2752

average energy (TOE)

1.82

Personal Disposable Income 14.7

India

0.53

World

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Indias Fuel-wise
Generation-Capacity
(MW)

ICT Empowered Grid

Generation capacity

continues to increase
Keeping pace with

countrys rapid (8 to 9%)

economic growth

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ICT Empowered Grid

Dominant Fuel Sources

Coal: good for base-load
significant domestic reserves
proven reserves of 105 billion tonnes
could last 200 years at current level of production
Not good for environment

Natural gas share up from 4.4% to 10% in last 15 years

emit half as much CO2 per kWh as compared to coal-based plants
Hydroelectric potential of 600 billion kWh per annum
Capacity of 148.7 GW
only 23% realised so far
High initial costs and developmental risks
Nuclear: small

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ICT Empowered Grid

Renewable Energy sources (RES)

High Potential: Achievements small

By 2012 to go up to 23,476 MW

perennial energy source

Wind power to contribute 74%

lower reliance on imported fossil fuels

Amongst five largest in world

Constraint: High Initial Cost

lower CO2 emissions

Source

Potential (MW)

Achieved (MW)

Bio-mass

62,000

866

Wind-power

45,000

11,807

Small Hydro-power

15,000

2,735

Co-generation - Bagasse

5000

1334

Waste to energy

5000

65

Rural Distributed Power

30,000

Captive Distributed: industrial /

commercial

20,000

405

Total

182,000

17,222

Solar Power

4-7 kWh/sq m/day

10

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ICT Empowered Grid

Power Supply Shortage

Even Plant Load Factor have also

continued to increase along with

generation
Plant load factor still low
Indias Per-Capita yearly Electricity

Consumption is only 704.4 kWh as

opposed to world average of 2,752 kWh

Availability far behind Requirements

Meerut, barely 50 Kms form Delhi,

has 12 hour power-cuts in summer

months
Most of 600000 villages connected
17% villages unconnected

Over 60% have power for 4 to 10 hours

Quite a few for less than 4 hours a day

Energy ( MU)

Peak (MW)

Requirements

933741

136193

Availability

837374

118676

Surplus

-96367

-17517

Surplus %

-10.3%

-12.9%

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ICT Empowered Grid

Euro1 = Rs65

But average deficit is deceiving

As evident from the fluctuating

prices at Power Markets

Day variation of Rs 2000 to 4500

per MWh
Prices varies from Rs 2000 to
12000 per MWh in one week

Huge power shortage during

peak hours

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ICT Empowered Grid

TOWARDS SOLUTIONS
For Indias energy problem

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Transmission and
Distribution Losses
Varies between 20% to 45%
Average in between 30 to 35%
Combination of leakage and losses

Requires technology and processes to plug this

Transmission Losses are indeed measured in real time

Reasons for losses can be figured out
Measure power at distribution transformer output line as

well as the consumer-meters in real time?

An unusual difference implies something is wrong

Requires electronic meters with communications
Indian homes uses mechanical meters: cost reasons

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ICT Empowered Grid

Yes, there is huge energy saving

potential

Known technologies could result in huge electrical power savings

Constraints
Low affordability in the nation
High Investment on new appliances, better processes
Todays estimated saving potential: 183.5 billion kWh

Require new
low cost
solutions

2007-08

Consumption
(B kWh)

Conservative
Savings

Agricultural Pumping

92.3

27.8

Commercial Buildings

9.9

2.0

Municipalities

12.5

2.9

Domestic

120.9

24.2

Industry (including SMEs)

265.4

18.6

Total (Billion kWh)

501

75.4

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Why continue to use AC

appliances?
Lighting
LEDs, 10 to 100 times more efficient as compared to tungsten

bulb, use only DC power

CFL is neutral to AC or DC power

Motor: a small DC motor can be 2.5 tomes more energy efficient as

compared to a AC motor

Historically brush replacement needed but not anymore

A fan is primarily a motor a dc fan also allows better speed control

A refrigerator is essentially a motor
An air-conditioner is primarily a motor
A washing-machine / grinder is a motor

Electronics: all electronics (mobiles/TV/Computers) use low voltage DC

Need a ac/dc power adaptor to charge
World switched to AC primarily for transmission of power
Any ac / dc conversion or vice-versa implies 7 to 15% losses

Has time come to switch back at least at customers premises?

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ICT Empowered Grid

Sun shines brightly over India

India can certainly use solar energy, as capital goods prices fall
Solar photo-voltaic provides DC power for about six hours a day
Rs 100 per Wh capital cost: with 10% interest and payback in 20 years, amounts
to Rs 12 per year(not computing costs of land)
Costs a little over Rs 7.25 / kWh assuming 10% losses
As opposed to Rs 3 to 5 per kWh for grid power

If not used immediately, would require feeding to grid

dc to ac conversion loss + grid T&D losses
Solar PV power price
Expensive energy being wasted
Or Energy Storage Systems
investment per kWh Rs. 1,00,000.00

computation

sun-hours/day

Just like several other renewable energy solutions like wind-power, power from
ocean-waves
10%
interest rate
number of days /year
20
depreciation (years)
gen/yr
Off-grid (local usage)
in day-time would maketotalapower
lot inofKwhsense
yearly payment

Euro1 = Rs65

Rs. -11,745.96
price per kWh

Losses

Rs. 7.25

6
300
1800
10%

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Euro1 = Rs65

Energy Storage
Batteries are expensive proposition for back-up
Lead acid battery: 1500 cycles if operated between 60 to 100% capacity
1 kWh back-up will cost Rs 16.3/ kWh assuming single charge / discharge per day
Assuming Rs 6000 per kWh battery and 10% interest rate

Li Ion battery: 5000 cycles if operated between 10% to 90% capacity

1 kWh back-up will cost Rs 20 per kWh assuming single charge per day
Assuming Rs 25000 per kWh battery and 10% interest

Solar requires different kind of storage

Storage price must work out to be small compared to solar generation
At current prices, it hardly makes sense
Alternative: Can energy be stored in any other way
Say in form of ice and to be used for cooling
Current costs much less than that of electrical battery

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ICT Empowered Grid

When do the demand peak in

India?

Sept 23rd

Depends on which time of year?

There are two peaks:
Day: 11 am to 4 pm
Evening: 7 pm to 11 pm

Evening peak is worst most of

the year

Homes/ shops add to late office hrs

May 19th

Day peak can be bad in

Summer months

Air Con is significant load

June
6th
May 2nd

Feb 9th

15

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Decentralized Solar PV
Would be ideal in day time
To complement grid
Direct usage in offices / shopping malls can reduce the day time peak
load requirement to a considerable extent
Some coupling to ice-battery (charged during off-peak hours)
Makes economic sense today, provided there is space for solar PV

installation

Some solar PV / solar thermal feeding to grid would be helpful

What about evening peak loads?
Solar can not help here
Reducing load by enhancing efficiency
Reducing consumptions by introduction of time of day metering
Using some storage (electrical / ice-battery charged during 5 PM to 7
PM)

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SOME SCENARIOS
reduce consumption of substantial quantities of diesel,
kerosene, furnace oil

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Euro1 = Rs65

What are the options when power fail?

Power-Sources:
Grid: Rs 5 per kWh: ram-bharose (as per gods will)
Diesel generator: Rs 17 per kWh when diesel is subsidized visavis
petrol, when generator runs at 80% efficiency: instantaneous
Costs will go over Rs 25 per kWh without subsidy
Primary use today in organizations / offices

Solar PV: Rs 7.50 per kWh when dc is used: day six hours
Electrical battery back-up: storage costs over Rs 15 per kWh
Ice-storage: ?

Usage
Electrical Load: lighting, motor and electronics
Cooling Load
What should one use when? How to optimize?
What to optimize? costs, energy consumption, CO2

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Simulations

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Rural Cellular Base Stations

Remote Base-stations providing communications
Electrical grid is off for 16 to 20 hours
Primary operation costs for operators: diesel costs
How to use battery back-up, diesel generator and solar power

optimally to operate the base station?

Will ice-battery help? Certainly!

Can we save energy at base station?

Especially energy needed for cooling
Will DC motors (for exhaust fans) and LEDs help?

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Solar PV for Rural Schools

Rural Schools are used only during day time
Primarily fan, some light and some electronics
Solar PV with a small battery (grid-connected) would be a

great solution
When sun-light is poorer, it is cooler and fan usage is lower
Why not use dc fans?
Why not use LEDs / CFL

What should be DC line voltage?

48V: Losses in line a consideration
What will be dc-dc conversion losses?

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Urban Office
Primarily used in day time
Solar PV can play a major role
Complimenting electrical grid

Use of dc fans, lighting electronics will help

What should be line voltage? Will the losses be high?
What will be losses in dc-dc conversion?
Will ice-battery play a major role?
charged during off-peak early hours

How to reduce evening loads?

Can offices start early and shut early?
Today many start only around 9:30 am and continue till after 8 PM
Adding to evening loads ac and lighting?
Can we change practice from 8 am to 6 PM?

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Smart-grids for India

Has to do much more than what is done elsewhere
Smart-grids in India is to be used to
Reduce Distribution losses
Enable decentralized power-generation and optimize usage
Explore alternate methods of storage, including storage of heat (cool)
Handle peak-demand better
Manage demand and supply to meet creatively at all points of time, by

using storage and high-cost instantaneous power-sources

At local level
At neighborhood level
At district level, at state level, at national level

Intelligently decide where to do load shedding if no other options

enable time of day metering with remote monitoring

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Smart-grids and efficient

appliances

Possible to come up with new low cost appliances

Help increase usage efficiency and reduce wastage
Come with new devices and appliances, may be dc powered
Come up with better methods of cooling / heating and cooling / heating

locally if required
Figure out where dc can be used
what should be the DC line-voltage

Always watch for costs / investments required

Smart-grids must help India move away from coal and oil

to renewable resources as its economy grows