A pilot project, envisaged by the North Delhi Power Limited (NDPL), plans to make consumers a smart user, with a say in when to buy power and at what cost.

It will allow consumers to buy cheaper power, monitor consumption patterns and make changes to reduce usage and power bills.

To achieve all this, NDPL will spruce up two feeders in its network area to make them the “smartest feeders in the world” by mid-2010. Chief Executive Officer, NDPL, Sunil Wadhwa told Newsline “The goal is to move towards an entirely smart grid which can be defined as an energy Internet. We are taking two feeders to start with, out of the 700 in our network area.” The areas these feeders supply to are in Model Town and Pitampura.

The discom intends to equip the feeders — as well as consumers who are supplied power through these feeders —with advanced technology such as smart meters and appliance meters which come with a host of benefits. Smart meters use wireless technology to transfer information between a consumer and a discom. While its most conventional use is to allow consumer to view his monthly usage in the form of a graph, Wadhwa said smart meters can also be used by consumers to buy cheaper power during off-peak hours.

Using the appliance meter, a consumer can programme his washing machine to function after 10 pm when power is cheaper. This will help the discom, as well, to effectively manage the huge gap in demand and supply. An NDPL official said: “The pilot project should result in lowering demand as consumers become more involved in their consumption patterns and make suitable changes. The other interesting benefit will be lower energy bills as various appliances can be switched on during off-peak hours.”

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