Our investment
Description of the investment.
Description of the investment.
Among multilateral development banks and DFIs, BII is an early provider of debt financing for smart metering projects in India. This investment will support improved grid efficiency and enhance the quality of service for customers in the context of growing electricity demand. Smart metering can also contribute to lower greenhouse gas emissions by reducing technical losses and improving system efficiency. In addition, it enables better integration of renewable energy through tools such as time-of-use tariffs, helping to balance demand throughout the day.
Impact information
Applies to investments made from 2019 onwards. The tabs in this section define what we expect to achieve through the investment, assessing the potential impact of the investment against six dimensions of impact. You can find more details on our methodology of assessing impact here.
Applies to investments made from 2019 onwards. The tabs in this section define what we expect to achieve through the investment, assessing the potential impact of the investment against six dimensions of impact. You can find more details on our methodology of assessing impact here.
What?
| Impact |
|---|
Reliable electricity: Improve grid efficiency and service quality (SDG 7.2) Reduce greenhouse gas emissions and better integrate renewables (SDG 13.a) |
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How?
| Primary | Secondary |
|---|---|
|
Demonstrating the commercial viability of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) can help unlock further investment into power sector efficiency and support wider decarbonisation. |
Improves the financial sustainability of the power sector by strengthening billing and collection, reducing commercial losses and enabling further investment in grid infrastructure. The project also contributes to lower greenhouse gas emissions by improving system efficiency. This includes reducing technical losses through better fault detection, enhancing demand forecasting, and enabling consumers to manage energy use through real-time consumption data. Improved revenue collection can also support additional investment in transmission and distribution infrastructure, further strengthening system efficiency over time. |
Who?
| Stakeholder | Geography | Characteristics |
|---|---|---|
| Consumers |
India |
Grid connected customers |
| Planet |
Global |
How much?
| Scale | Depth/Duration |
|---|---|
|
Pilot results indicate a potential 11–36% reduction in losses and a c.20% increase in revenues, but the impact on service quality remains uncertain. The climate impact - through reduced energy consumption and improved integration of renewables - will also be difficult to quantify |
The depth of the impact is unknown given this is a new scheme in India and findings from pilot studies in other states cannot credibly be transferred to West Bengal and Manipur. |
Contribution/additionality
| Contribution/additionality |
|---|
|
Commercial long-term financing is not available on a sufficient scale given the limited track record and high-risk perception; we expect to mobilise commercial investment by syndicating part of BII's loan. |
Risk
Execution RiskThere is a risk that the rollout of smart meters in India may slow due to external factors, such as changes in policy or regulatory priorities. This could undermine both the investment’s direct impact and its potential to catalyse wider market development. Stakeholder Participation RiskEnd-consumers may resist pre-paid smart meters, albeit mechanisms to protect vulnerable groups are in place (allowance of basic free electricity, restrictions on when disconnections can occur, and multiple warnings). No mechanism to track this and hence it needs to be tolerated. |
Impact score
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Impact score (at point of investment)
The Impact Score is a tool to help us manage our performance against our strategic impact objectives. It is designed to incentivise investments that support our productive, sustainable, and inclusive objectives. The Impact Score shown is based on the 2022-2026 Impact Score methodology. You can find out more here. The Impact Score is published for investments made from 2022 onwards. The Impact Scores are calculated at the point of investment. We publish the Impact Scores of new investments annually, once the information has been externally assured by an independent third party. |
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6 |
Environmental and social information
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Environmental and social summary
A high-level description of the environmental and social aspects of the investment. This may include a summary of key environmental and social risks identified during environmental and social due diligence (ESDD); key elements of an environmental and social action plan (ESAP); or ways in which we plan to support the investee improve environmental and social standards, such as through their environmental and social management system (ESMS); as well as any other priority areas agreed with the investee.
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Environmental and social risk
A risk category rating, which indicates the level of environmental and social risk associated with an investment. For an explanation of the categorisations used, see here. We consistently provide an environmental and social risk category for all investments screened from 2023 onwards.
Environmental and social summary
We agreed on an ESAP with the company to strengthen its E&S management system for the West Bengal rollout. The plan focuses on E&S capacity, contractor management, worker conditions and road safety.
Environmental and social risk
Medium-Low
Reporting and Complaints Mechanism
The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism allows anyone outside BII to report alleged breaches of the business integrity or environmental and social provisions of BII’s Policy on Responsible Investing. This includes breaches made by BII, a BII investee, or a portfolio company of a fund in which BII has invested. The Reporting and Complaints Mechanism Rules are available here. Reports and complaints can be submitted by email to [email protected] or by mail. See more details on our Reporting and Complaints Mechanism here.
For any other general enquiries contact us at [email protected]
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Key facts
- Last updated
:
When the last quarterly update of the website database occurred.
- June 2026
- Project number
:
An identifier number shared by investments in the same project.
- D7050
- Status
:
The current status of the investment (green flag for active and red flag for exited).
- Active
- Region
:
The geographical region where the country is located. We currently invest in Africa, South Asia, South East Asia and the Caribbean. In 2023, BII’s investment mandate was extended allowing it to invest in regional funds linked to Ukraine, with the majority of activity expected to begin post-war. Investments outside these regions were made prior to 2012 under previous investment mandates.
- South Asia
- Country
:
The countries where the investment delivers impact. Where impact is delivered in multiple countries, this is indicated.
- India
- Sector
:
We prioritise those sectors that facilitate development and need our capital the most. Our priority sectors contribute towards many of the Sustainable Development Goals. They range from investing in the power infrastructure that will provide people with better access to electricity, to investing in financial institutions that direct capital to the individuals and businesses that need it the most.
- Infrastructure
- Sub sector
:
The sub-sector that the investment is made into; this provides a more granular level of detail than the ‘sector’ information
- Independent Power and Renewable Electricity Producers
- Investment policy :
- Growth
- Investment type :
- Debt
- Start date :
- December 2025
- Amount :
- $79.52m
- Currency of investment :
- INR
- Domicile
:
The company or investment fund’s place of incorporation.
- India
We provide capital in the following ways: directly – through direct equity, direct debt, guarantees and other non-intermediated financial instruments; and indirectly – principally through investment funds.
Type of investment portfolio that each investment is made under. Since 2014, we have run two investment portfolios: Catalyst and Growth. In addition, our Kinetic Portfolio enables us to manage concessional investment strategies.
For direct investments and fund investments, this is the date BII committed capital to the investments. This is typically the date on which legal agreements are signed by all parties.
For the portfolio companies of our fund investments, this is the date (either the month or the quarter) on which the fund committed capital to the portfolio company.
For direct equity investments, this is the date at which British International Investment exited the investment.
For debt investments, this is the date at which the final debt repayment was made.
For funds, this is the date at which the fund was terminated.
For underlying fund investments, this is the date at which the fund manager exited the investment.
The total amount committed, per financial instrument, per investment, on the date BII becomes subject to a binding legal obligation to provide funding or assume a contingent liability. This information is provided in US dollars.
For direct investments, this is the amount that BII has committed to the business or project. For fund investments, this is the amount BII has committed to the fund.
The currency in which the investment was made.
- Last updated
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Gender and climate finance facts
- Climate finance
:
Indicates whether the investment is climate finance qualified or partially climate finance qualified and the type of climate finance (adaptation, mitigation or both). We define climate finance using the multilateral development bank (MDB) and the International Development Finance Club (IDFC) Common Principles climate finance methodology. See Common Principles for Climate Mitigation Finance Tracking and Common Principles for Climate Change Adaptation Finance Tracking. We provide the climate finance qualification and type for commitments from 2020 onwards, which is when we launched our Climate Change Strategy.
- Fully qualified
- Energy value chain
:
This refers to the activity within the energy sector value chain that the investee company is involved in.
- Downstream (service or equipment)
- Climate finance
