CyanConnode gets new smart meter order in India

(Sharecast News) - Narrowband smart mesh networks technology company CyanConnode announced a new order for the Indian state-owned utility Madhya Pradesh Paschim Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Company (MPWZ) on Monday, for 350,000 'Omnimesh' modules, with the majority of payments secured against a letter of credit.
The AIM-traded firm said the order was placed by MP Smart Grid, which is the project's special purpose vehicle formed by India Power Corporation (IPCL), and is for smart-metering communications in the towns of Ujjain, Dewas, Ratlam, Mhow and Khargone.

It said MPWZ serves more than three million consumers, with the company having previously announced and deployed two orders for the utility, totalling 120,000.

The latest order, which is the third order for MPWZ, would increase the total number of its Omnimesh-enabled smart meters to 470,000.

Under the order, CyanConnode said it would supply Omnimesh RF mesh and cellular communications modules, gateways, head end software and associated services, together with an annual maintenance contract.

The annual maintenance would be for an initial period of five years, after which it could be extended on an annual basis, subject to mutually agreeing terms and conditions.

It said it was the first Indian order where the Omnimesh head end software would be deployed to communicate with both RF mesh and cellular-enabled smart meters.

Most of the order would be paid for under a capital expenditure model, with the balance of the order being paid for under an operational expenditure model with equated monthly instalments over a five-year period.

The smart meters, which are being supplied by existing partners, would be deployed over 30 months, with initial deliveries beginning in the third quarter of 2020.

CyanConnode said the value of orders currently being deployed by the company in India was approximately INR 1.8bn.

The majority of the revenue for the contracts was expected to be recognised over the next two years, with payments secured against letters of credit.

"We are delighted to receive this large order, which will be our first order using a hybrid capital and operational expenditure payment model," said the company's India chief executive officer and managing director Anil Daulani.

"This is the third consecutive order from MPWZ, which demonstrates both our technological excellence as well as our ability to deliver projects efficiently. After seeing the benefits of Omnimesh enabled smart-meters at Indore city, MPWZ is now expanding the deployment to five other cities of the state.

"From the initial deployment of 120,000 Omnimesh enabled smart meters, MPWZ has benefitted from significant improvements and, based on the success of the Indore city deployment, we are very confident that we will secure further orders for Omnimesh."

At 1432 BST, shares in CyanConnode were up 10.35% at 4.8p.