National Smart Grid Mission: Institutional mechanism to oversee Smart Grid Initiatives

The National Smart Grid Mission (NSGM) was in news on 7 May 2015 as the Union Minister of state for Power, Coal & New and Renewable Energy (IC) Piyush Goyal gave information about it in the Lok Sabha.

The mission was approved by the Union Government on 27 March 2015.

The mission entails implementation of a smart electrical grid based on state-of-the art technology in the fields of automation, communication and IT systems that can monitor and control power flows from points of generation to points of consumption.

Key Features of National Smart Grid Mission (NSGM)
• It is an institutional mechanism for planning, monitoring and implementation of policies and programs related to Smart Grid activities and for this it has a three tier structure viz., Governing Council at the apex level, Empowered Committee at the middle and Technical Committee at the bottom.
• The Governing Council (GC) is headed by the Minister of Power and has Secretary level officers of concerned Ministries and departments as members. The Council approves all policies and programmes for smart grid implementation.
• The Empowered Committee (EC) is headed by the Secretary (Power) and has Joint Secretary level officers of concerned Ministries and departments as members. The role of the Committee is to provide policy inputs to the GC and approve, monitor, review specific smart grid projects, guidelines,  procedures etc.
• The Technical Committee (TC) is headed by the Chairperson (CEA) and has Director level officers of concerned Ministries & departments, representatives from industries and academia as members. The role of the committee is to support the EC on technical aspectS, standards development, technology selection guidelines etc.
• The mission has a NSGM Project Management Unit (NPMU) headed by a Director and is responsible for operationalizing the Smart Grid activities in the country under the guidance of the GC and the EC. The NPMU will be housed at the Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (POWERGRID).
• Projects such as, Development of smart grid, Development of micro grids, Consumer engagements and Training & Capacity building will be taken up under the mission.
• The total outlay for the mission during the 12th five year Plan (2012-17) is kept at 980 crore rupees with a budgetary support of 338 crore rupees. The mission provides for grant up-to 30 percent of the project cost and for selected components such as training & capacity building and consumer engagement 100 percent grant is allowed.
• Corresponding to the NSGM, a State Level Mission will be set up under chairmanship of the Power Secretary of the concerned State. Support for training & capacity building to State Level Project Monitoring Units (SLPMUs) for smart grid activities is provided by the NSGM.
• The Smart Grid Knowledge Centre (SGKC) being developed by the POWERGRID with funding from the Ministry will act as a resource centre for providing technical support to the mission in all technical matters, including development of technical manpower, capacity building, outreach, suggesting curriculum changes in technical educations, etc.

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