Smart grid and smart meter technology

Grid equipment and smart meters 6 companies

These companies make the equipment that carries power and the meters that measure it.

Grid equipment

Transformers, high-voltage lines, circuit breakers and grid control.

Hitachi EnergyHitachi Energy, with engineers in Bengaluru and Chennai, makes transformers, high-voltage lines and the software that controls grids. It does much of its engineering in India.Chennai · BengaluruHiring now

Ayr EnergyAyr Energy, with engineers in Hyderabad, makes transformers, and circuit breakers, which cut off the power when there is a fault.Hyderabad

Smart meters

Meters, and the networks that collect their readings.

Itron Inc.Itron, with engineers in Bengaluru, makes smart meters, and the networks and software that collect their readings.BengaluruHiring now

GridCrest (Kaynes)GridCrest, the smart-meter business of Kaynes Technology, the Indian electronics maker, with engineers in Kolkata, makes meters for India's roll-out.Kolkata

Landis+GyrLandis+Gyr, with engineers in Delhi, makes smart meters, and the networks and software that collect their readings.Delhi NCRHiring now

KimbalKimbal, with engineers in Delhi, makes meters for India's roll-out.

The tech, explainedSmart meter Power transformers and switchgear Energy management system (EMS) for grids

Software for electricity companies 5 companies

These companies sell software to electricity companies: to keep lines safe, read meter data, and turn homes and batteries into a resource the grid can call on.

BidgelyBidgely, with engineers in Bengaluru, reads a home's smart-meter data and works out which appliances are running, so electricity companies can show customers where their power goes.Bengaluru

PravahPravah, with engineers in Delhi, sells grid-intelligence software to electricity companies.Delhi NCR

AiDASHAiDASH, founded by Indian entrepreneurs, with engineers in Bengaluru, uses satellite images and AI to show electricity companies which trees threaten their power lines.

UplightUplight, with engineers in Pune, runs software that controls thousands of home batteries, water heaters and chargers together, and asks customers to use less power when the grid is under strain.

Stem Inc.Stem, with engineers in Delhi, runs software that controls thousands of homes and batteries together, so the grid can call on them like one power plant.

The tech, explainedVirtual power plant (VPP)Vegetation management Energy disaggregation

How it all worksPower gridFrom the plant to your meter, balanced every second.

See how it works →

What's changing

The virtual power plant.

A grid was once balanced by starting and stopping power stations. It can now be balanced by adjusting a million water heaters, batteries and chargers a little, run by software. India's smart meters are the first step; the next is AI models that forecast what homes and batteries will do, and dispatch them.