12 Business View - February 2015
Opening
Lines
India is looking to smart grid infrastructure to help
tackle an out-of-control electricity theft problem and
improve reliability. Theft costs the Indian power sector
$16.2 billion per year. India’s government has already
committed billions of dollars in funding for smart grid
infrastructure and cumulative spending is forecasted
at $21.6 billion over the period 2015-2025, according
to a new study by Northeast Group LLC.
“India loses more money to theft than any other
country in the world,” said Ben Gardner, president of
Northeast Group. “The state of Maharashtra – which
includes Mumbai – alone loses $2.8 billion per year,
more than all but eight countries in the world. Nation-
ally, total transmission and distribution losses ap-
proach 23 percent and some states’ losses exceed 50
percent. Most Indian utilities are financially unsustain-
able.”
India to Spend $21.6 Billion on
Smart Grid Infrastructure
