Speech

Smart meters roll-out: sharing the UK’s capabilities

Transcript of the speech by British Deputy High Commissioner Bengaluru, Ian Felton at smart meters workshop in Bengaluru, 1 September 2015.

Ian Felton

I would like to welcome you all to the smart meters roll-out: sharing the UK’s capabilities workshop.

It gives me immense pleasure to see a packed hall with experts from BESCOM and other utilities, research organisations, companies from both UK and India. We have participants from Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

A warm welcome to you all.

I would like to welcome all the speakers from UK to Bengaluru and to this workshop.

Thank you for coming share your expertise and knowledge and to engage with your opposite numbers.

I hope you enjoy your time in this wonderful city.

The UK DHC team in Bengaluru focus on our top priorities of trade, science, and govt-govt relations.

Ministerial visits in the next week will back up this strong engagement, here and in Delhi for the annual UK business meeting.

One of the UK priorities this year is reaching a global deal on climate change.

This year’s COP in Paris is crucial to reach a global deal on climate change.

It is of course a huge challenge to continue to limit the global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius.

In the UK we have seen a growth in both demand and supply for low carbon technology like smart meters, smart grids and renewable energy technology.

It was my great pleasure to recently visit one the UK companies leading the way.

I’d like to recognise Vikas Kashyap, VP Asia for Cyan Technology and to thank you for my visit to your site in Cambridge in July this year.

Ladies and gentlemen this is exactly the type of company that is showing how smart technology can work in practise – be reliable – save money – and help consumers and suppliers make intelligent choices on power usage.

Cyan is a good example of how a Cambridge technology spin-off is racking up a strong pipeline of orders. In the UK our emissions are falling (down 9.7% year-on-year in 2014), the largest on record for a growing UK economy.

Mainly due to 23% reduction in coal use, record warm temperatures and continued falls in energy use. Smart meters too have a small % contribution towards this reduction. Thank you for your interest in this workshop.

I wish you all a productive day of listening, learning and interacting with each other.

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Published 2 September 2015