The Assam government has awarded IntelliSmart a Rs 500 crore contract to install approximately six lakh prepaid smart metres across the state. According to Anil Rawal, MD and CEO of IntelliSmart, a Letter of Award (LoA) was awarded to the company by the Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL), to install the metres in 19 circles. Assam has the distinction of leading the country's smart metering drive on a competitive model, as this was the first time competitive bids were invited for any smart metering project on Totex mode (Capex + Opex). Rawal said that With the order, IntelliSmart becomes the first company in the smart metering industry to complete a smart prepaid metering project through a competitive bidding process. Rawal told the media that the project will be implemented in Totex mode under the Design-Build Finance Own Operate and Transfer (DBFOOT) arrangement, and the Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) system will be maintained for a total contract period of about nine years. Nagaon, Morigaon, KANCH, Cachar, Badarpur, Jorhat, Golaghat, Sibsagar, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, GEC-I, Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Barpeta, Rangia, Mangaldoi, Tezpur, North Lakhimpur, and GEC-II circles in Assam will be covered by the project. Smart metering will improve the financial and operational health of discoms while also empowering consumers by allowing them to control their consumption based on their capacity and needs and increasing transparency by providing regular data on their consumption. Gurugram-based National Investment Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) have partnered to form IntelliSmart Infrastructure Private Limited (IntelliSmart). It is working on smart metre implementation using the Build, Own, Operate, and Transfer (BOOT) model. Image Source Also read: Tata Power-DDL, Siemens to install over 2 lakh smart metres in Delhi Also read: Centre works on Rs 1.5 lakh cr plan to implement smart metering