Tech Mahindra, a leading provider of digital transformation, consulting and business reengineering services, and Power Ledger, a blockchain-based peer-to-peer electricity trading platform provider have announced a series of technology trials that aim at bringing the benefits of energy microgrid developments to India’s booming urban population, through Microgrid-as-a-Service.

Incubated by Tech Mahindra, Microgrid-as-a-Service or MaaS is an integrated platform which helps in creating a disruptive model in the electricity market by enabling building owners, campuses, smart cities and communities to produce and manage their own electricity affordably and even trade in case of excess generation.

During the trials, the partners will deploy Tech Mahindra’s MaaS platform integrated with Power Ledger’s blockchain-enabled energy trading capability at the test sites in India.

Atul Kunwar, President and CTO, Tech Mahindra said, “Tech Mahindra’s belief in its internal start-up to bring digital disruptions to different industries is proved by the success of MaaS in the energy industry. This disruptive technology will provide a model for energy service provision for thousands of communities across India, and this will also benefit markets like the US, Canada and UK for modernisation of grid through microgrids. Many of our existing customers are looking forward to use the platform.”

Disruption and innovation have been integral to the D.A.V.I.D (Digitalization, Automation, Verticalization, Innovation and Disruption) approach of Tech Mahindra as the company pursues its journey to become a Digital Transformation player.  By exploring new avenues and capabilities in sectors as significant as the Energy, the company aims to be a pioneer in this space and add to the productive evolution of the utility industry.

Power Ledger uses world-leading blockchain technology to create an immutable record of energy generation and consumption allowing buying and selling of energy in a simple and autonomous manner with complete confidence.

Tech Mahindra’s microgrid technology allows for a seamless integration of distributed generation within a discreet community, managing power quality, reliability and safety in a low-cost and sustainable way.

David Martin, Managing Director, Power Ledger, said, “Trialling the energy trading platform in a market like India is a major opportunity to change the way communities sourced the energy required to take part in a modern global economy. Bringing autonomous, largely renewable microgrids integrated with Power Ledger’s technology to India, in partnership with Tech Mahindra, would give us a chance to demonstrate the potential of cutting-edge technologies and unlock the economic opportunities that flow to communities from having a secure energy source.”

The trial will initially involve Power Ledger using consumer data from Tech Mahindra’s sites to prove the accuracy and security of the former’s trading platform. This will also help Tech Mahindra to explore the value proposition for consumers and understand the regulatory and technical implications of the peer-to-peer trading model.The trial will begin in late 2017 at Tech Mahindra’s campuses in India and run for a period of twelve months.