An analysis of smart meter deployment in Sweden with applicability to the case of India

Abstract: The energy landscape as we know it today is undergoing a radical revolution. New strategies for grid management, smart grids, are vital to facilitate this development in the power sector. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), devices often denoted as Smart Meters, is the most mature and widespread of these technologies today. In a first stage, this thesis studies smart meters in Sweden reflecting on the first wave roll-out and while on the verge of a second wave technology deployment. The initial drivers behind smart meters are studied as well as the consequences that the deployment has had on different stakeholders. Furthermore,the thesis analyses the barriers and incentives perceived by the main energy stakeholders involved in the ecosystem today (regulator, end-consumers, distribution companies) and how these impact smart grid applications of smart meters in Sweden now and in the near future. In a second stage, the transferability of the lessons learned from Sweden to the current smart meter case of India is assessed. A comparison from the perspective of the main stakeholders identifies similarities and differences driven by local smart meter boundary conditions in the two countries. The study has revealed several issues that arise from the aim of a knowledge transfer between Sweden and India, ranging from a retrospective view of the current situation in Sweden to identification of barriers of different kinds that are present. From this, the thesis concludes that the main developments in the two countries are to that extent driven by their local parameters that the relevance of a knowledge transfer becomes questionable.