To find innovative solutions for quality power supply ‘Powerthon-2022’ launched by RK Singh
The participants at the Powerthon 2022 will be tasked with finding innovative solutions to nine key concern areas identified after discussions with 14 discoms in nine states..
The Union Power Minister R K Singh announced on Monday the launch of Powerthon-2022, a hackathon to find technology-driven solutions for ensuring quality power supply.
Powerthon – 2022 has been launched by REC Limited in collaboration with SINE, IIT Bombay. For Powerthon-2022, REC has signed an MoU with the Society for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SINE) under IIT Bombay as ‘Incubator and Technology Partner’.
According to power ministry statement, the Power and New Renewable Energy Minister, R K Singh, virtually launched the Powerthon-2022, a hackathon competition under RDSS (Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme). The statement noted that the competition has been launched in an effort to find technology-driven solutions to solve complex problems in power distribution.
Power Minister urged technologists to come up with more than just solutions to existing problems. He encouraged technologists to also come up with other problem statements and ideas for reliable power supplies.
During his keynote address, RK Singh mentioned this program is much needed in the power sector. He further stated that there will be a standing committee and that this innovation will be an open and ongoing scheme.
In addition, licenses will be awarded for ideas and concepts, as well as fostering the development of prototypes.
Participants in this hackathon will include technology solution providers (TSPs), start-ups, educational institutions, research institutes, equipment manufacturers, state power utilities, and other state and central power sector entities.
Participants will be briefed on the challenges/problem statements currently facings the power distribution sector. Moreover, they will have the opportunity to showcase their technology-driven solutions that could help solve these complex problems.
Using advanced emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, and the Internet of Things, the participants will be finding innovative solutions to nine themes identified after discussions with 14 discoms in nine states.
The nine themes include — demand/load forecasting, AT&C loss reduction, energy theft detection, prediction of DT (distribution transformer) failure, vegetation management, customer experience enhancement, renewable energy integration, and power purchase optimization.
The competition will have an Expert Group and Technical Committee, which will evaluate the proof of concept (POC) and select the TSP. The selected TSPs will then be mentored and a pilot run for the thematic area will be conducted by the selected TSP. Following the pilot run success, RDSS will explore scale-up options, the statement said.
In line with the Ministry of Power’s RDSS (Revised Distribution Sector Scheme), Powerthon-2022 is being launched. RDSS is a reform-based and result-linked scheme that aims to reduce AT&C losses to 12-15 per cent, eliminate the ACOS-ARR (actual cost of supply and actual revenue realized) gap by 2024-25, and increase the quality and reliability of power supplies.
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