GUWAHATI: At a time when privately owned power utilities are the pioneers in implementing state of the art technical innovations across the power sector, Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL), a public utility, has been awarded the Platinum Award in the category "Adoption of Emerging Technology by a Utility" for the project " Implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Based Meter Reading Solution" in the event "Indian Smart Utility Week 2021" organised by ISGF( Indian Smart Grid Forum). The award was received by Rakesh Agarwala , Managing Director, APDCL on behalf of the organisation in a ceremony held at the National Capital on Friday.
The evaluation for the award was done by a distinguished panel comprising of P Uma Shankar, former Power Secretary, Government of India, V. Subramanian, former Secretary, MNRE, Government of India and others.
85% of APDCL's consumer base is in rural areas. Accurate meter reading of rural consumers have always been a challenge for APDCL. Via the AI based meter reading solution, APDCL meter readers use the Artificial Intelligence based e-suvidha App to capture consumers' meter readings without any human intervention. This results in correct meter reading collection and proper billing leading to increase in billing efficiency as well as decrease in the AT&C losses of APDCL.
The solution has been in operation across APDCL since January 1, 2021. It is expected that implementation of the Artificial Intelligence based meter reading solution will bring about a financial turnaround for APDCL, stated a press release.