Google join hands with Reliance Energy

Google has now join hands with Reliance Energy for its Google Power Meter to allow the user to track its own electricity consumption information on iGoogle.

How it works?
According to Google.org, PowerMeter receives the information from utility smart meters & energy management devices and the electricity consumption is tracked on the user’s personal iGoogle. Data partners connect to Google PowerMeter via secure HTTP (HTTPS), and upload energy usage information to Google PowerMeter in an XML format based on Google Data API Specification.

Why Power Meter Required?

Most of us actually don’t know how much is the electricity our appliances are using, where is the wastage of electricity or how to manage the electricity bill. A study reveals that knowledge of home energy consumption results in 5-15% saving in electricity bill.

Power Meter Reach

Currently, all the users can’t have access to PowerMeter only limited group of people can have access to PowerMeter in India. Google is planning to expand in near future.

Google other associations

In initial stages, google will offer this facility in US, Canada and India. In US, google tied up with San Diego Gas & Electric for California partnership, TXU Energy for Texas, JEA for Florida and Wisconsin Public Service Corporation for Wisconsin. In Missouri, the White River Valley Electric Cooperative will work and Glasgow EPB in Kentucky.

In Canada, Google’s partner is Toronto Hydro and Today Reliance announces partnership with Reliance Energy. Reliance power distribution is more than 5,000 MW in India. Reliance and its associates has 5m consumers in Mumbai, Delhi and Orissa.
Google Ventures has also invested in a flush smart metering company Silver Spring Networks that will manufacture networking boards for power meters which will be used to monitor and curb electricity consumption.

PowerMeter is very innovation and powerful initiative from Google but need to see how this will be successful in India. Urban population can take advantage out of this, but what about rural population who don’t know how to access PowerMeter. As well as, google should also reveal information about power cuts so that government should take initiative in this front as well and provide power to check the consumption.

Nowadays, google is very active in promoting iGoogle through various means. Google is already promoting iGoogle through Airtel and Sify by showing it as starting page to Airtel broadband users and Sify Wi-fi consumers.