Smart Meter Deal: Will Adani, Genus Power or HPL Electric acquire IntelliSmart?

Synopsis: EESL and NIIF want to sell IntelliSmart, aiming for a deal around $723 million (around Rs 6,500 crore), which, if completed, could make India’s largest deal in the smart metering industry.

India’s smart electricity meter industry is on the verge of seeing one of the largest transactions in the country. State-owned Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) and the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), which is a sovereign fund, plan to sell their entire stake in IntelliSmart, a company at the heart of the country’s smart meter rollout. The deal could value IntelliSmart at $723 million, about Rs 6,500 crore.

The move has set off plenty of speculation. People are asking: Will giants like Adani Group, Genus Power, or HPL Electric jump in to buy? To see why this sale is such a big deal, you need to look at EESL’s reasons for selling and why IntelliSmart has become so valuable.

Why are EESL and NIIF Exiting IntelliSmart?

For EESL, the answer is simple: It needs cash. Over time, EESL has picked up big energy efficiency projects, but its finances have started to buckle. By the end of FY24, EESL’s debt had climbed to about Rs 6,049 crore. Its revenue dropped 11 percent YoY to Rs 1,177 crore, and it closed the year with a net loss of Rs 459 crore, down from a loss of Rs 574 crore the previous year.

Delayed payments have made things worse. State governments and public departments still owe EESL around Rs 3,900 crore. That’s a huge drag on cash flow, making it tough for EESL to invest in new projects or pay down its debts.

Selling IntelliSmart gives EESL a way out. The sale should raise enough money to clear loans and stabilize the company’s books, possibly by February or March. NIIF, which owns 51 percent of IntelliSmart, is leaving too, alongside EESL’s 49 percent. This isn’t a partial exit; the promoters are leaving entirely. Deloitte is running the sale, and it should be completed this financial year.

Who is IntelliSmart and how does it matter?

Founded in 2019, IntelliSmart Infrastructure, based in India, installs smart electricity meters and offers digital tools for power companies. A joint venture between NIIF and EESL, the company helps utilities cut down on power theft, clean up their billing processes, and handle electricity data more efficiently. It’s right at the center of India’s push to roll out smart meters across the country.

Backed then, IntelliSmart secured orders for 2.2 crore smart meters, of which it has installed 50 lakh and has operations spread across major states, namely Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Bihar, Assam, Haryana, and Delhi. As of the latest details available, the company has installed nearly 96 lakh smart meters out of the total ~270 lakh meters target set by the company, which is 35 percent of the total outlay.

India has ambitious plans: Replace 25 crore old meters with smart ones, a program that’s nearly $30 billion (Rs 2.67 lakh crore) in size. Only 4.9 crore meters have been installed so far, so the lion’s share of the opportunity is still open. That gives IntelliSmart a major edge.

Why Would Big Companies Want IntelliSmart?

Buying IntelliSmart is like picking up a business that’s already running at scale. The buyer gets contracts, relationships with state governments, experienced teams on the ground, and a huge pipeline of orders. In an industry where scale and trust are everything, that’s a big advantage.

For a conglomerate like Adani, which is already in power generation, transmission, and distribution, smart meters would strengthen its digital offerings. For Genus Power, already in the metering business, acquiring IntelliSmart could instantly make it a leading player. HPL Electric, a manufacturer of meters and equipment, might see this as a shortcut to rapid growth in the smart metering space, rather than building from scratch.

Of course, the deal is big. Only companies with large and stable balance sheets or deep pockets can take this chance. Don’t mistake this sale for a sign that the smart meter industry is losing steam. If anything, it’s proof of how valuable the sector has become. IntelliSmart’s high valuation shows there’s strong demand and long-term visibility as India pushes ahead with power sector reforms.

For EESL, this is essentially about cleaning up its finances. It plans to exit or shut down other non-core joint ventures that aren’t delivering profits. Still, it will hold on to successful and strategic businesses, like Convergence Energy Services Ltd (CESL), which runs India’s largest electric bus program.

Conclusion

IntelliSmart’s proposed sale could turn into the biggest smart meter deal India has ever seen. With a potential $723 million price tag, a strong lineup of orders, and a vast market still to tap, IntelliSmart stands out as one of the most attractive assets in the country’s power infrastructure space.

No buyer has been finalized yet. Names like Adani, Genus Power, and HPL Electric keep coming up because of their strong presence in the sector, but for now, these are possibilities, not confirmed buyers.

Deloitte, now advising on the deal, is reaching out to both strategic and financial investors. The sale’s outcome comes down to valuation, regulatory green lights, and how much interest buyers show. Right now, the process continues, and there’s still no final buyer, and it could be a global infrastructure fund or a domestic player that hasn’t even made headlines yet.

Whether Adani, Genus Power, HPL Electric, or a global investor steps up, one thing stands out: India’s smart metering sector just turned a corner. Everyone’s watching this deal, not only to see who ends up with IntelliSmart, but also to get a sense of where India’s power and digital infrastructure are heading next.

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