• Investment World
• eWorld
• Brand Line
• Mentor
• Life
• Brand Quest
• The New Manager
• BL Club
• Smartbuy
• Books

Stocks

• Quotes
• SE Diary
• Scoreboard
• Open-End Mutual Fund

Cross Currency

• Rates
  
  

Shipping

• Ports
  
  

Archives

• Yesterday
• Datewise
• Resources
• In Focus
• In Depth
• Events 2007

Group Sites

• The Hindu
• The Hindu ePaper
• Business Line
• Business Line ePaper
• Sportstar
• Frontline
• The Hindu eBooks
• The Hindu Images

Shamik Paul

Bangalore, March 20 The UK-headquartered IT and business services company Logica is eyeing a share in the Indian power sector pie after the Government announced big-ticket IT investments to modernise operations.

The company, which serves customers in the Indian financial and telecommunication sectors, is one of the bidders for the Accelerated Power Development and Reform Programme (APDRP) in the systems integration (SI) category.

The Indian Government has announced Rs 10,000 crore for establishment of baseline data and IT applications for energy accounting or auditing and IT-based consumer service centres under the scheme.

“With the APDRP, Logica consciously decided to enter the Indian power sector,” said Mr Rakesh Aerath, Innovation Head, Logica India.

“Earlier, there was not too much investment in IT in the power sector. Now it’s opening up,” he added.

Interestingly, the company is working on a go-to-market strategy with KLG Systel, an IT solutions provider to Indian enterprises, which could give its foray a further edge. KLG is the winner of Logica’s Global Innovation Venture Partner programme in India.

The programme was started in December 2008 and spans 8 countries.

According to its terms, the regional winners get the opportunity to partner with Logica in their respective countries, and the global winner on a world-wide basis.

“The details of the partnership have not been finalised as yet as the winner was announced very recently. But we are working on the strategies,” said Mr Abhay Gupte, Chief Financial Officer, Logica India. KLG was nominated for its solution connectgaia.com.

The solution is an energy management tool that provides user - industrial, commercial or utility - reports and in-built control methods, said Mr Kumud Goel, Founder and Managing Director, KLG Systel.

It uses advanced metering, sensors, IP communication technologies and an IT backbone to build intelligence into electricity network across multiple locations.

With the help of small devices placed next to meters, the solution can assess how much power is flowing into a particular network, and how much power is being consumed, said Mr Goel.

This real-time information flows into the network operation centre, enabling users to analyse the extent of power wastage and even theft if any, he added.

KLG is working with the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport undertaking, and also with some State Governments such as Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab, among other clients.

Globally, the energy and utilities sector accounts for about 16 per cent of Logica’s total revenue. “We will bring all our solutions to the Indian market such as smart metering, energy trading,” said Mr Aerath.

“We will also look at opportunities with private power companies such as Reliance Energy and Tata Power. It will depend on the opportunities,” he added.

More Stories on : Power | Outlook | Software

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu Business Line