Intel India plans to add 20 new partners in the country next year to its energy-management drive that helps homes, commercial establishments and industries reduce power consumption.

Speaking to Business Line , Mr S. Natrajan, General Manager, Embedded Sales Group, Intel India, said, “Energy management is becoming more important to homes, commercial establishments and industries, and Intel plans to improve power savings with the help of M2M (machine to machine) communications.”

He said traditionally devices like refrigerators and TV draw power directly from electricity sockets, but with M2M, you could use smart plugs to monitor electricity consumption of a device.

For instance, Intel has collaborated with Infosys to develop a digital smart-home gateway. The company is also working with KLG Systel to develop street lights that turn on and off automatically and Wyfine to develop energy-saving products for the textile industry.

Power savings will become crucial in the days to come because of India's huge dependence on non-renewable sources of energy.

According to the Web site of the Ministry of Power, the country's installed capacity is 1,81,558.12 MW, of which coal accounts for almost 55 per cent.

The country is stepping up its power-generation capabilities, and this month, while speaking at the US-India Economic Opportunities and Synergies Summit in Chicago, the Union Minister of Power, Mr Sushilkumar Shinde, said the 12th Five-Year Plan, which begins in 2012, aims to add capacity of nearly one lakh MW.

With the rising demand for power, power savings will become important, and this is one reason why Intel is upping the ante in India. Mr Natrajan said, “India is a large market and the more partners we have, the more penetration we will achieve. Enabling 20 partners will give us big scale.”

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