Bangalore: Electricity supply companies grappling with power theft and meters being tampered with now have access to a technology that can track, on a real-time basis, energy consumption and losses, help manage load requirements and even deliver high-speed broadband connectivity over power lines.

An online energy meter developed by the little-known Bangalore firm Echrome Embedded Services Pvt. Ltd. comes with power line communication technology that enables communication of energy consumption and other information to the utility companies along with a feature for delivering data over power lines at a speed of 14 megabits per second (Mbps).

"Unlike the present system, where a meter has an RR number, our energy meter has an IP address so that each meter can be individually queried to find out the status," P.H. Srinivas, Chairman and Managing Director, Echrome Embedded Services, told The Hindu .

The deployment of the online energy meter can help identify the causes for transmission and distribution losses and, hence, devise a way of minimising it, prevent meters being tampered with and facilitate energy management through load balancing according to the requirement of a particular area. It can help track meter faults quickly and eliminate the need for utilities to hire private agencies to carry out meter reading, he explained. Echrome is working on increasing the data carrying speed over power lines from 14 Mbps to 200 Mbps by August.

With Internet penetration still low in the country, broadband over power line could be a good solution for rapid last-mile Internet connectivity. "Power utilities can use their existing infrastructure to deliver broadband to households and earn additional revenue," he said, adding that Echrome was in talks with electricity supply companies in the State to roll out the technology. Echrome's power line solution can also help track tax evaders in the manufacturing sector. Utility companies are already aiding income tax officials to track defaulters, but this is currently possible only in the case of big manufacturing set-ups.

By calculating the total energy consumed for manufacturing a particular item, the taxman can ascertain the quantity produced, the sales tax paid and thereby detect defaults.

Nike store

Nike on Wednesday opened an exclusive store on 80-ft Road in Koramangala here. The store offers the latest in Nike sports products.

Nike India General Manager Sanjay Mehra said, "This is just the start of a whole new retail revolution that Nike will launch in India. We are working aggressively towards expanding our retail footprint in India within this financial year. We will distinguish ourselves not only in terms of the retail spread but also in terms of the consumer shopping experience."

According to Nike India Retail Director Peter Van Den Ijssel, "This concept offers shoppers a fresh, fun and more convenient way to experience the brand."

The store was inaugurated by well-known sportspersons Ashwini Nachappa and Prakash Padukone.

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