Kepco Knowledge, Data & Network (KDN), the information technology (IT) affiliate of the state-owned Korea Electric Power Corp., announced yesterday that it had won the bid for the Stage 1 project of India's Restructured Accelerated Power Development and Reform Programme (R-ADPRP) in Kerala, India.
The R-ADPRP is a national electricity modernization project in India, supervised by the government and managed by the 25 autonomous local governments, in order to reduce the current 35 percent energy loss to 15 percent. The technical and commercial sectors account for much of the energy loss.
The Indian government will invest 12 trillion won ($10.3 billion) in the R-ADPRP project 2017 in the development projects, which is expected to be carried out in three stages. Kepco KDN's recent win, which is worth 60 billion won, was the portion that Kerala's government ordered. The order was to set up an IT system to prevent electricity theft and increase the rate of supply in the area. Kepco KDN is waiting for the results of another bid for a Stage 1 project in a different area.
"The electricity market in Korea is already saturated and we are at a point where we need new business projects," said Jun Do-bong, the chief executive of Kepco KDN. "The recent win in India is very meaningful for us, as we were able to enter into the overseas market with our smart grid technology, which is aimed at the future."
With the win, Kepco KDN said that it aims to win orders of about 5 trillion won in all of the project's three stages. The company also expects the effort will help its smart grid business to enter the Indian market, which they say is an ideal location for the stable Korean-type smart grid system, in which consumers can control electricity usage according to personal demand.
source: APEC-VC Korea
