The Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is set to implement a pilot project for AI-enabled smart water meters aimed at large commercial and bulk consumers in the city. This initiative will begin with the installation of 1,000 meters, with plans to expand to cover approximately 100,000 connections, according to sources within the Board.
Manjula N.,chairperson of BWSSB,stated that the goal is to significantly reduce Unaccounted-for Water (UFW) through enhanced monitoring and early leak detection. “We will first do a pilot,analyse its results and go ahead with the project,” she noted. The ultrasonic flow meters will utilize high-frequency sound waves to accurately measure water flow and volume,enabling the Board to detect any attempts to bypass the meters and identify leakages promptly.
Unlike the controversial smart meter project undertaken by Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom),which faced backlash over costs, BWSSB will not mandate these smart meters for residential users. Instead, the focus will remain on large commercial and bulk consumers,which are estimated to number around 100,000 connections.
The project will be executed under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, specifically on a Design, Build,Finance,Operate and Transfer (DBFOT) basis. selected company will invest in and install nearly 100,000 smart meters without requiring upfront capital from BWSSB or consumers. The concession period for this arrangement will last 12 years,during which consumers will pay a nominal fee of approximately ₹50 per month for meter service.
Each smart meter is projected to cost between ₹12,000 and ₹13,000,contributing to an overall project budget of around ₹300 crore. BWSSB sources indicated that concessionaire will develop a comprehensive Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) ecosystem. This will encompass not only the ultrasonic smart meters but also communication networks, gateways, cloud-based data storage,meter data management systems, analytics platforms, and customer mobile applications.
As part of the agreement, concessionaire will be responsible for monitoring usage, generating automated bills, and collecting payments,which will then be deposited with BWSSB. After 12-year concession period, ownership of meters will transfer to the Board. The project has received recent approval,and BWSSB is preparing to issue tenders to select concessionaire for the initiative .
