India Smart Utility Week 2021 - Power Line Magazine

The seventh edition of the India Smart Utility Week 2021, organised by the India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF), is being held on a digital platform from March 2 to March 5, 2021.

ISUW 2021 is bringing together India’s leading electricity, gas and water utilities, policy-makers, regulators, investors and top global smart energy experts and researchers to discuss trends, share best practices and showcase next-generation technologies and products in the smart energy, smart mobility and smart cities domains. The International Conference and Exhibition on Smart Energy and Smart Mobility for Smarter Cities is powered by Amazon Web Services.

ISUW 2021 will include plenaries, interactive workshops, keynotes, technical sessions and presentations of technical papers, as well as bilateral smart grid workshops with the EU, USA, Switzerland, Sweden and France.

The ISUW 2021 conference will have sessions on varied themes such as Innovations in Utilities during the Pandemic; Regulatory Support for Revival of Utilities; Cyber Security for Digital Utilities; Business Models for Energy Storage Systems; Disaster (and Pandemic) Resilient Utilities and Cities; New Revenue Opportunities for Discoms; and Disruptive Technologies and Innovations. Commenting on the highlights of the event this year, Reji Kumar Pillai, President, ISGF, and Chairman, Global Smart Energy Federation, says, “We had an overwhelming response to the call for technical papers, of which the top 30 technical papers will be presented at the event. ISUW 2021 will also feature parallel sessions on Water Distribution and City Gas Distribution, including green hydrogen. The India City Gas Distribution Forum, an initiative of the ISGF, will be launched at ISUW 2021.”

R.K. Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Power (MoP) and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and Minister of State, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, will be delivering the inaugural address on March 2, 2021. Other eminent speakers at the event are Alok Kumar, Secretary, MoP; Mrityunjay Kumar Narayan, Joint Secretary, MoP; Ghanshyam Prasad, Joint Secretary, MoP; Rakesh Sarwal, Additional Secretary, NITI Aayog; Upendra Tripathy, Director General, International Solar Alliance; Rajnath Ram, Adviser, Energy, NITI Aayog; R.P. Gupta, Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Tarun Kapoor, Secretary, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas; and K. Sreekant, Chairman and Managing Director, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited, among others.

The 5th Edition of the ISGF Innovation Awards will also be held as a part of ISUW 2021. The ISGF Innovation Awards, instituted in 2017, are aimed at recognising and celebrating organisations (utilities and technology companies), projects, products and personalities that have set new benchmarks in the electricity, gas and water sectors. The ISGF has selected and recognised more than 150 such organisations/individuals so far through these awards. The ISGF Innovation Awards 2021 will be conferred on the winners on March 5, 2021.

The ISGF is a public-private partnership initiative of the Government of India, with the mandate of accelerating smart grid deployments across the country. With more than 170 members comprising ministries, utilities, technology providers, academia and research, the ISGF has evolved as a think-tank of global repute on the smart energy and smart cities domains. The ISGF has been organising the India Smart Utility Week (ISUW) since 2015 and it is considered one of the top five international events in the areas of smart grids and smart cities. With the launch of 100 smart city projects by the Government of India, water and city gas distribution utilities will also need to equip themselves with the latest technologies for improved operational efficiency and successful integration into smart city systems. However, the lack of effective policies and regulations at both the central and state levels, along with inadequate safety guidelines, standards and business models act as barriers to its growth. All the previous editions of ISUW (formerly known as India Smart Grid Week) were a huge success and attracted the attention and participation of distinguished experts from more than 50 countries every year.