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Good morning Vas,

Thank you for your information on the plans by EESL to re-tender some of the original/historic tenders, it is appreciated.

An interesting development.

LTI.

Good afternoon tonyj,

In reply to your post at 19:35 on Sunday, 2nd August, 2020, since the inclusion of the NIIF and IntelliSmart, towards the end of 2019, I think, I have looked on their inclusion as taking the investment weight off EESL's shoulders and allowing EESL to do what EESL does best. Leaving the NIIF and others to sort out the investment side of the projects.

There is also a section on this area of investment, within the UK Investor Magazine Webinar, under Business Update.

- New revenue models expected to be taken up:-

- Building an AssetCo model - which has been very actively pursued by government, electricity authority, utilities, banks, EESL/NIIF who have now built a energy devices funding vehicle. ( Possibly a reference to the SPV - Special Purpose Vehicle.)

- World Bank ( and IFC ) DEG/KEW, FMO and private entities such as Macquarie, Eversource and infra funds are keen to co-invest.

- GOI propose to integrate all of this together and have a Smart Meter as a Service ( SMaaS ) model, with 7-10 year OPEX leasing models with no upfront CAPEX by the utility, so the country can roll out quicker - GOI target 250m meters in 4 years.

- Co-ordinate the same with IFC.

So the major investment should come from other companies/organisations and not necessarily from EESL.

LTI.

Good evening Vas,

I think that will depend on how the 50/50 split has been structured between EESL and the NIIF.

Also in the report you posted on Saturday 01st August, 2020, at 14:17, it mentions:-

" In terms of funding the company's capital expenditure, during the current fiscal, Kumar said: " We estimate our CAPEX at Rs 5,000 crore, out of which Rs 1,000 crore of equity will be required."

The report goes on to say:- " We have already requested our promoters to provide some and also, we have created a SPV ( Special Purpose Vehicle ) for smart meters. Out of all the investment in smart meters, 50 per cent will come from EESL and the rest from NIIF. ( National Investment and Infrastructure Fund.)"

http://energynext.in/2019/10/eesl-and-niif-partner-for-smart-meters-deployment-across-india/

As the EESL IPO does not seem to be happening until early next year, the Joint Venture with the NIIF and also the inclusion of IntelliSmart, may well have been the reasons why the JV was structured like it is. To keep the smart meter/smart grid wheels turning, should any delays happen.

There is a possibility that the smart meter program will continue without the EESL IPO being completed. I would think.

Just another thought.

LTI.

Good morning Vas,

Thank you for the EESL update, in connection with their IPO plan. It is appreciated.

And a recognition, again within the report that you posted, that despite COVID 19, utilities with smart meters installed are seeing an increase in billing and revenue collection/recognition.

As they put it in the report:- " A smart meter digitally records and wirelessly shares stats like house-hold electricity consumption and voltage levels to the distribution companies."

Also:- " A contactless delivery system is best in the current scenario and we can only do it with a smart meter."

Some other interesting information also included within the report, about the EESL IPO.

Thanks again Vas.

LTI.

Good afternoon all,

I notice that multi-bagger has posted this article on the ADVFN website. It is good to know he still has an interest in CyanConnode's future.

LTI.

...... with Anil Daulani, about smart metering enabling the smart grid.

http://eprmagazine.com/interview/smart-metering-enabling-the-smart-grid

LTI.

Good morning Vas,

Thank you for the additional information on the present ongoing situation between India and China. It is certainly a fast, and regularly changing situation.

The world is in an uneasy position at the moment.

LTI.

Good morning Vas/tonyj,

The Beijing Instruments/CyanConnode initiative, initially, is as much about expanding into areas that Beijing Instruments want to expand into, just as much as CyanConnode want to expand into similar areas.

China, as with most countries, wants/needs to expand its profile abroad, through its Chinese companies and Partners. Especially with the present situation. It depends on how many doors will close and how many doors will open.

Businesses need to find a way through, generally. Or at least, we hope it can. Politics is politics. But the situation between India and China, in the upper regions of Jammu and Kashmir, especially, goes back a number of years, as we are aware.

Just a thought.

LTI.

Good afternoon all,

According to Vas's post, at 13:01, on 20th July, 2020, the report states:-

" Documents accessed by Business Standard, showed DFE ( Dongfang ) did not participate in the tender. Techno Electric had the winning bid, with L&T as meter supplier and British company, CyanConnode, with its arm in Gurugram, RF supplier."

So far, so good.

So it would seem irregular, at the least, for a Company ( Techno Electric ) to win a tender with two companies that met the original tender requirements and price and then be allowed to proceed with the contract, with two different companies who from what we are led to believe, did not initially tender.

Also I noticed from Vas's post from Thursday 30th July, 2020, at 20:31, the report states:-

" After this tender was issued, all new/ongoing contracts are being reviewed and as part of that review, one of the sub-contractors of the above project, which though the company registered in India and having manufacturing facilities in India, was found to be a subsidiary of a Chinese company. The said sub-contractor was directed to be removed from the project, since the continuation of the sub-contractor would have led to the requirements of taking prior permission testing of every equipment supplied, thus leading to unacceptable delays in execution."

As I made CB aware of on Wednesday 29th July, Dongfang Electronics have been working in India for some years now. So the different organisations responsible for the vetting of these companies, would/should have known the origins of each individual company, with such a sensitive security issue at stake. It should not have been a suprise. You would have thought.

Interesting times.

LTI.

Good evening Vas,

As I commented when you originally posted the circumstances surrounding the Jammu and Kashmir tender, now that it is out in the open, we will have to wait see where the cards fall.

I might suggest that RECPDCL will not need a replacement RF communication, but M/s Techno and Engineering may well need a replacement, if your latest news report is taken on face value. What will happen about Allied Engineering Works, an Indian Company and the original meter manufacturer/supplier, is not mentioned.

So still not clear on how the project will proceed.

But thank you for the update, Vas. It is much appreciated.

LTI.

Hello CB,

" Sounds like India have literally just taken this company on ........ " Not necessarily correct.

If you had read the ISGF Bulletin that I try to post every month, instead of dismissing it out of hand at every opportunity, you would have noticed that Dongfang have carried out a project reported in the ISGF Bulletin.

So they have already participated in an Indian Smart Meter Project, already. Which is why I drew the comparison with the UK.

I am sure you know where to find the information.

LTI.

Good afternoon CB,

I seem to remember that the UK government recently had a similar problem with a contract concerning a Chinese company, that was later considered to be security sensitive.

LTI.

http://hindustantimes.com/india-news/congress-asks-why-chinese-company-allowed-into-power-sector-in-j-k/story-Et4JHWsHrBiuvEuZgWwFEK.html

LTI.

......... has an aspiration to install " ..... 79 million smart meters across the country over the next seven years, to automate the billing process as millions of customers complained at spiking bills in recent weeks."

http://thejakartapost.com/news/2020/06/17/pln-to-install-79-million-smart-meters-in-indonesia-after-billing-fiasco.html

The State owned electricity company, PLN, president director said:-

...... that the plan was a more efficient alternative to re-calibrating old meters, which often misread power consumption. " The cost of re-calibrating a meter is about the same as changing a meter " he said, adding that the calibration had to be done in special test labs.

From the CyanConnode UK Investor Magazine Webinar presentation report, under " Target Countries " concerning Indonesia:-

" Strong relationship with government-owned meter assembly business."
" Multiple opportunities."

PT. Smart Meter Indonesia ( SMI ) may be one of the smart meter manufacturers that play a part in PLN's smart meter installation aspirations:-

http://smartmeterindo.com/?lang=eng

LTI.

Hello Vas,

Thank you for the additional information on Jammu & Kasmmir. The contract award has been in the public domain, as you say, since the Summer of 2019. But the information you have posted today, indicates why progress has not been more broadly reported. And indicates the reason for the delay in CyanConnode announcing a potential contract award.

Still, it is out in the open now, so we will have to wait and see what happens and how quickly it is resolved.

Thanks again Vas.

LTI.

..... tonyj, to offer my thoughts on what the " ..... Southern India ...... " order could be, with reference to your 16:58 post on Friday.

The RNS'S dated 16th December, 2019 ( LOI,) 6th January, 2020, ( Formal purchase order ) and 22nd June, 2020, ( Confirmation of delivery,) all mention South India and all mention Genus and it would seem are all related to the same order.

In the 30th June, 2020, Webinar Presentation, under the heading India Deployment Experience section, ( 07 ) it informs us that in 2020 CyanConnode received an order from the Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company ( TANGEDCO, Chennai.)

So with the cross-referencing of the RNS's I have mentioned, with the information within the Webinar Presentation, it could indicate that the " ...... Southern order .... " is from TANGEDCO ( Tamil Nadu.)

And Tamil Nadu State is about as far south as you can go, in mainland India, adjacent to Kerala.

As I say, just my thoughts.

LTI.

Good morning luckymaybe,

If you are comfortable with your investment at this time, as I am sure you are or you would not have committed to it, then I am confident you will see a healthy return.

Volume orders mean different things to different companies. A commitment of say 500k units per year, at the moment, from one or various clients, would be a major step forward for CyanConnode. And as we have seen recently, recognition of CyanConnodes products, by various geographic regions is growing and orders are being place.

So time will tell on orders, but interest is building.

LTI.

..... highlighted that in Thailand, the Provincial Electricity Authority, or PEA, had been " attacked " by a Maze Ransomware, but had not responded to the demands.

http://www.itwire.com/security/attackers-hit-thai-power-authority-using-maze-ransomware.html

Gautam Kumar, Chief Operating Officer at CyanConnode, wrote a report for the IEEMA Journal, during July 2020, co-authored by Nitin Chittora, Development Manager at CyanConnode, about Cyber Security Challenges and included a section on the layers of security that Utilities/Authorities should build into their networks/smart grids.

http://cyanconnode.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IEEMA_CC_Article.pdf

As mentioned in the report, these layers of protection, can come as Pre-shared keys, Public Key Infrastructure or also mentioned in the report is Asymmetrical Cryptography.

An interesting report, which indicates the lengths that CyanConnode have gone too over the years, in developing their range of Omnimesh solutions/products and the experience that they can provide to Utilities, Meter Manufacturers and Clients in general.

LTI.

Thanks for the reminder Vas,

Anil always makes for an interesting read.

LTI.

....... June 2020 edition has been published.

http://indiasmartgrid.org/upload/202007Mon133330.pdf

Tender News:-

- Madhya Pradesh Paschim Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Limited ( MPPKVVCL ) has a tender tabled for single phase and three phase smart meters, with RF Network Interface Card ( NIC ) and box - Submission Date:- 01/07/2020.

- Meghalaya Power Distribution Corporation Limited ( MePDCL ) has a tender tabled for 180,000 smart meters and associated services - Submission Date:- 03/07/2020.

- Jodhpur Vidyut Viteran Nigam Limited ( JVVNL ) has a tender tabled for the supply of single phase static energy meters with Meter Box, having DLMS protocol for additional LPRF port - 17/07/2020.

- There is also an expected tender for Daman & Diu Electricity Department for the supply of 60,000 smart meters - Date to be provided.

General News:-

- CyanConnode and JVVNL mentioned in connection with the recent order confirmation.

- EESL mentioned in connection with the installation of 2,000 Electric Vehicle Charging Facilities. No location(s) given. ( This product/solution was also mentioned during the CyanConnode Webinar presentation recently and mentioned by Vas last night.)

- Ahmedadad in Gujarat, is the number 1 in Smart City Implementation, in India.

- An initiative on Cyber Security in Solar Projects - USA.

- The PEA in Thailand has apparently been attacked using a Maze Ransomware. The PEA, MEA and EGAT are mentioned and the report highlights, in brief, how they each integrate with each other, within Thailand's smart grid infrastructure.

LTI.