Gram Power – India’s Promising Energy Technology Company

Gram Power is one such promising energy technology company that got founded in 2010 in California. The company’s headquarters is in Jaipur, Rajasthan and they help the companies reduce their power bill and electricity consumption by monitoring power use through smart meters and mobile applications. Gram Power has developed and patented the industry’s lower cost and most advanced smart electricity metering system. They have a team of exceptional engineers, enablers and designers, with a diverse set of advisers. So let us get into the article to read the success story of this amazing company.

Gram Power – Key Highlights

• Company Name – Gram Power
• Founding Place – California
• Founding Year – 2010
• Founder – Yashraj Khaitan, Jacob Dickinson.
• Authorized Capital – INR 110 Cr.
• Company Type – Private
• Industry – Energy
• Number of employees – 150-200
• Headquarters – Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
• Website – www.grampower.com

Gram Power – Founder

• Yashraj Khaitan – Yashraj is the CEO and founder of Gram Power. He holds a degree in B.S. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley. Yashraj is a young and determined entrepreneur who is here to solve the problem of a $16B/year of power lost in India. He is also named on the Forbes 30under30 list.
• Jacob Dickinson – Jacob is the CTO and co-founder of Gram Power. Jacob holds a degree in B.S. Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the University of California, Berkeley. He is currently working full-time as a senior software engineer with SpaceX.

Gram Power – Brand Name and Logo

• Brand Name – The company’s brand 100% resonates with its work. It is not misleading at all and the customers will be able to remember it easily as well.
• Logo – The company's logo is in bright yellow and orange colour. Yellow colour is happiness and warmth while orange symbolizes creativity, determination, and success. The logo is attractive and it will easily drive the attention of the customers.

Gram Power – Business Model

Gram Power’s business model is very unique, They operate on metering as a service model. Utility companies do not invest CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) in the meters. Instead, they pay Gram Power a per meter per month subscription fee for contract periods that come between 7.5 to 10 years. During this contract period, the company operates, supply, and manage these metering systems for the state electricity board.

Under the pay-as-you-go model of the company, consumers have to pay just Rs 75 per month for a standard grid connection, which is way less than spending on kerosene, which costs around Rs 200.

Gram Power – Production Plant Control

Some of the USPs of the company are as follows:

• They identify the actual productivity of the machine versus how much time it is staying idle.
• Gram Power calculates the amount of energy and time going into each product.
• They find out which machine is best suited to manufacture which product.
• The company detects breakdowns and failures before they happen.
• They track and complete the daily cost and progress incurred for all work orders.

Gram Power – Growth

Some of the growth factors of the company are as follows:

• Gram Power is working in more than 25 cities in India.
• They are also working with various successful startups such as Stanza Living and OYO Life.
• The company has received various recognitions from the government of India for their outstanding work in this field.
• The company has already powered more than 10 villages in Rajasthan.
• Gram Power supplies power to more than 200 people, allowing them to operate TVs, radios, fans, cell phone charging, CFL bulbs, and various other household appliances.

Gram Power – Funding and Investors

Gram Power has raised total funding of $2.6 M to date in the series A stage from Vestergaard and Blum Capital. The company is also about to close its Series B funding round.

Gram Power – Competitors

Competitors are a big part of our lives and we have to face them at every step. Competition in the market makes it competitive and the more competitive, the better it is for the customers. It is good to avoid the monopoly of any company. Some of the top competitors of the company are as follows:

• Techno Meters
• HPL India
• Itron India Pvt. Ltd.

Gram Power – Challenges

Gram Power had to face various challenges in its entrepreneurial journey. Some of the main challenges faced by the company are as follows:

• Security of systems – It is one of the major challenges for the company to ensure the ultimate security of systems. It is important for privacy and encryption, data validation, error checking, and access control.
• Deployment and Maintenance – It has to be a focus area for all the companies in this sector. It is important for enabling accurate, faster, and integrated solutions as it also helps in the dynamic price controls.
• Competitors – There are competitors in every industry and startups usually have to face this pressure. Gram Power also had to go through the same challenge as there are quite a few companies in the same industry that are performing well on several levels. It would not be that easy for the company to overshadow its competitors and shift those customers towards their company.
• Pandemic – The current COVID-19 pandemic has been a hindrance to the growth of every company. Especially for the startups, it has been a hard time sustaining and seeing profits as per the planning.

Gram Power – Future Plans

Some of the upcoming plans of the company are as follows:

• They want to increase their reach in more than 10 Indian states by the end of FY 24.
• Gram Power is planning to launch various exciting products for the private sector.
• They are also looking to provide a smart meter for end customers. So that the company can provide appliance level analytics to the users.
• Gram Power is focusing on expanding its market share in this particular industry.
• They are also planning to hire more people for their startup.
• They are targeting to deploy around 20 self-owned smart microgrids.
• Gram Power is planning to cater to at least 40,000 people by the end of FY 2023.
• The company wants to deploy 10 million meters in the coming few years.