Neighbour-comparison power reports that DISCOMs send to households
TL;DR Peerglow turns a DISCOM's billing or smart-meter data into a short monthly report for each household, showing how its use compares with similar homes nearby plus two or three tips that fit. Reports go out on the bill, by SMS or on chat apps. The DISCOM pays per household per year.
Most Indian households see one number a month, the bill. Is it high for a home like theirs? They have no idea.
Utilities abroad have tested the fix at scale. Across more than 110 US utilities, reports comparing a home with its neighbours cut use by 1–3%, and one Indian site saw 7% over four months[1]. A 2024 study of 225 households in Maharashtra found nearly a third of bills classed as high against similar homes[2].
Yet Indian DISCOMs rarely send anything beyond the bill.
What it does, in regulatory terms: consumer information sent on behalf of a licensed DISCOM. Peerglow sells no power and gives no tariff advice, so it needs no licence of its own. It acts as the DISCOM's data processor under the DPDP Act.
Each month Peerglow groups homes by connected load, area and season and tells each household where it stands - "You used 18% more than similar homes on your feeder." It adds tips matched to the pattern, like a summer spike that points to an old AC. Smart-meter homes also get a weekly nudge before peak hours.
The seed pictured a gamified app with points and badges. Apps struggle here, because hardly anyone downloads a power app and an app can't see the meter without the DISCOM anyway. So we kept the behavioural goal and moved delivery to the channel every household already reads. Any game bits, like a monthly ward leaderboard, ride on top of that.
Households read the reports for free. The DISCOM pays, either from its demand-side management budget or because lower peak demand saves it costly power purchases.
Abroad, a printed report costs a utility about US$1 (about ₹97)[1]. Indian prices will have to be far lower, so lean on chat apps and SMS. Private utilities in a few cities may move faster than state-owned ones.
DISCOMs are installing smart meters under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme[3], which hands them daily data they barely use yet. The DPDP Act of 2023 makes the fiduciary and processor roles clear[4], and that helps a vendor sign a data agreement.
There's no public figure for what Indian DISCOMs spend on behavioural programmes. The evidence that matters is the effect size - 1–3% savings in the US, 0.7% in Germany and 7% at one Indian site[1].
Treat that single Indian result with care until a larger trial repeats it.
A US startup, later bought by a big enterprise software firm, built this model for US utilities. One meter-analytics vendor sells to more than 50 utilities but names no Indian DISCOM on its site[5]. Indian researchers have built peer-comparison models[2], but we found no Indian vendor running monthly reports for a DISCOM at scale.
That gap is the opening.
| Difficulty | Moderate (37/100) |
| Starting capital | ₹50–90 L |
| Time to launch | 6–9 months |
The analytics aren't hard. Selling to a state-owned DISCOM is, with tenders, long approvals and data-access agreements. You also need a randomised control group from day one or nobody can prove the savings. And watch the wording, since a household told it uses too much may simply ring the helpline to complain.
No electricity licence. Peerglow doesn't supply or trade power, so Electricity Act licences don't apply.
Building this outside India? The categories above usually have a local equivalent, so check with your own regulator.
Don't let AI tell a household it's using too much without checking the data first. A bad meter read turned into a scolding message hurts the DISCOM's trust and yours.
Want to work out the AI layer for Peerglow? Talk to Yash →
Here's what can go south -
Worth a look for a founder who has sold to utilities or state governments and can wait out long cycles. If you were hoping to sell to households directly then I'd skip it.
First prove one thing - that you can run a randomised pilot with one DISCOM or a private utility and show a measured saving.
Plan for roughly ₹50–90 L, mostly on analytics, messaging and the long wait through DISCOM sales.
No electricity licence. You need a DPDP processor contract with each DISCOM and sender registration for commercial SMS.
Yes, utilities abroad already buy this, which also means more competition. Check local data protection law and how utilities buy software.
The free Peerglow validation kit has the line-by-line capital breakdown, the effort scoring, the data-protection checklist, a 14-day validation sprint with pass/fail targets, a 90-day launch plan, 10 interview questions for DISCOM officials and households, and 5 assumptions to test. Download the kit →
Thinking about building Peerglow or something close to it? The make-or-break work is getting one DISCOM to share data for a controlled pilot, and I can help you work out how to ask. If you need a hand, you know where to find me. Talk to Yash →
For illustration only. Names are fictional and ideas hypothetical; sourced facts are real but may be out of date. Nothing here is legal, financial or professional advice, and Yash Khatri is not personally liable for any use of it. Read the full disclaimer.