Residential electricity consumption in India is changing due to rapid electrification, improved supply, increasing urbanisation and growing incomes. However, there is a lack of data and understanding of how people use electricity. As India embraces the smart meter technology, there is an opportunity to bridge the information gap and use this smart meter data to understand the nature of residential electricity demand.

In this context, Prayas (Energy Group), Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), and CLASP organized a roundtable to bring together researchers and practitioners to deliberate on the opportunities that smart meters present for a better understanding of electricity demand and management strategies in the residential sector. PEG, CEEW, and CLASP have been collecting electricity consumption data, using smart meters, from a sample of households spread across different parts of India, under different initiatives. Insights from the data collected were presented at the roundtable to add context to the deliberations.

The roundtable took place on 18th February 2020 in New Delhi and was attended by about 40 participants from 15 organizations.