What is the role of ABB India in India’s electricity sector’s transformation?
ABB is the leading technological solution provider in Electrification, and we continue to support smart transformation initiatives taken by India’s electricity sector. Customers are looking to increase their share of green power through renewable sources which is leading to change in the Overall energy mix. ABB’s strong Technology & innovation is helping to meet customer’s growing appetite for higher uptime, higher efficiency, and sustainable solutions within their network. As the market develops, Technology is expected to keep pace with the changing trends. Advanced features like Monitoring, Measuring, Predictive asset management, Life cycle management, ESG are becoming the norm, we at ABB will continue to support customers to adapt & integrate these advancements.
How are Digital solutions gaining importance in today’s electrical networks or systems?
Digital solutions are increasingly vital in modern electrical systems due to their ability to enhance efficiency, monitoring, and control. These solutions enable real-time data analysis, predictive maintenance, and integration of renewable energy sources, ultimately optimizing operations, ensuring sustainable and reliable power distribution. Additionally, they facilitate remote management, smart grid implementation including the incorporation of IoT technologies for a more intelligent and responsive electrical infrastructure. Newer Solutions like ABB Ability™ Asset Manager with its simplicity and flexibility in asset-performance management, provides the customer with a strong, convenient & friendly interface. This possibility of monitoring and optimizing site equipment behaviour anytime, anywhere via an intuitive graphic interface, results in greater reliability and availability.
What are the major pillars of ABB’s technology deployment approach for India?
ABB strongly believes in bringing the latest technology to help customers overcome their current challenges within Electrification. This is supported by our dedicated Technology centers in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Nashik keeping customer at the centre of all that we do. ABB globally spends over 1 B$ on R&D and in developing new technologies. We continue to invest strongly in India inline with the “Make in India” initiative of the government and take great pride in developing & nurturing the solid talent base here in India. Our emphasis remains on “Partnering for Long Term growth” which makes us the supplier of choice due to our strong partners in Industrial Distribution & Retail.
What are the (sector-wise) high-potential areas where Indian power systems can improve?
Power System Scenario in India is changing for the better. Renewables have contributed in making power available seamlessly on a large scale. While availability has improved, customers now demand reliability and are looking for answers on better efficiency, better energy & asset management, and the ability to do all this sustainably. While the industrial & large commercial customers have started implementing energy & asset management through tools like ABB Ability, the domestic consumer is now far more aware of wireless, IoT automation & BMS. As technology progresses and ESG guideline become the norm, Advanced & Newer Solutions will make it easier for the customer to monitor, measure & manage the energy eco system.
How do you define the term ‘Complete Electrical Solution’ from the ABB’s viewpoint?
ABB is one of the Leading technological solution providers globally. Keeping the customers at the center, we provide products & solution from Grid to Socket and everything in between. There are many large projects executed by us where we protect the transformers at the incoming, enable efficient switching, protection of loads on the shop floor and provide comprehensive BMS to manage the Building Environs.
We do all these with extensive use of leading-edge technology products & solutions tailored to the customer need. Such ABB complete solutions give customers a coordinated System with a strong reliable electrical network and peace of mind.
What kind of innovative designs and products are you supplying for industrial control rooms? Do you help in retrofitting projects?
Today innovation is not just about protection, switching or control but is more about software enabled devices, logic building, energy & asset management. With renewable generation being added on the LV side, the Grids are continuously evolving and so are the solutions. DC switching is getting greater acceptance & traction, thanks to energy transition which is taking place around the world.
To make it easier for the customers to upgrade their existing switchgear, ABB Offers a slew of retrofit solutions. Such Upgrade solutions can be used with either ABB make of switchgear or also any other make. Complete retrofit can be carried out within a short time frame, even when upgraded with advanced ABB devices.
How can ABB help the Indian energy storage projects?
Thanks to energy transition we see a strong potential for energy storage. The storage today in its current form is mainly hydro or battery. Newer technologies are also likely to evolve in the future. The battery remains crucial in terms of operation and protection design. ABB has the latest solutions in Switching, protection & controlling of them by using the best-in-class technology.
Utility scale stationary battery storage systems, also known as grid-scale front-of-the-meter storage systems, play a key role in integrating variable energy resources while providing the required flexibility. Battery storage increases flexibility in power systems, enabling optimal use to be made of variable electricity sources such as photovoltaic and wind energy. Batteries can provide services for operating systems, defer investments in peak generation and grid reinforcement.
With increasing EV penetration, energy transition will continue to evolve & grow. And we at ABB have already partnered with Customers on Storage solutions globally and will look to bring the same solutions in India.
How efficient and strong is ABB’s service network in India?
We at ABB, are well aware of value of a good Pre & After Sales Service support to customers and how it can play a key role in gaining customer confidence as well new customers or segments.
To cater today’s demanding environment, we possess an efficient service process and strong, widespread service network across the country, so that we provide timely response & resolutions to our valued customers. Our service processes are capable of addressing service requests of all the stake holders of our business chain, like Consultants, Panel Builders, OEMs, Contractors, End users etc. For this, we use digital online tools to provide faster response & real time updates to our customers. To effect qualitative service deliveries & onsite performances, a strong, ABB owned service engineers & Certified partners network are available across the country. Apart from reactive actions, various pro-active initiatives like Panel Builders / OEM training are being conducted to ensure good engineering practices are followed & together, we deliver excellent systems to our Valued customers. Also, we provide Care, Modernisation & Advisory Services to our customers to ensure Safe, Reliable & Efficient operation of their electrical assets in a Sustainable way.