GMR Power and Urban Infra (GPUIL) has received approval from the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) to part-finance a Rs 3,467.02 crore project for the installation and maintenance of 75.69 lakh smart meters across key zones in Uttar Pradesh.

The project, is being executed in partnership with Bosch Global Software Technologies as the technical collaborator, covers regions including Varanasi, Azamgarh, Prayagraj, and Mirzapur under Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam (PUVNL), as well as Agra and Aligarh under Dakshinanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam.

The company's subsidiary GMR Smart Electricity Distribution (GSEDPL) has been sanctioned a Rs 2,128 crore loan secured from IREDA, which will be distributed in tranches across three special purpose vehicles (SPVs) - GMR Agra Smart Meters, GMR Kashi Smart Meters, and GMR Triveni Smart Meters. GPUIL has provided corporate guarantees of Rs 440 crore each to the SPVs until the commercial operation date (COD) and plans additional guarantees pending shareholder approval. The financing structure combines debt, equity, and internal accruals.

This initiative aligns with the Indian government's mission to modernise the power distribution network by reducing energy losses and enhancing efficiency. The deployment of smart meters is expected to improve billing accuracy, customer satisfaction, and real-time power consumption monitoring, contributing to a more reliable and advanced metering infrastructure.