Panellists at Nextier’s 101st Power Dialogue, hosted by the Electricity Hub, have identified the need to make Nigeria’s grid smart. They discussed ways that existing policies could enable the modernisation of Nigeria’s power grid.
They also tackled the issues of investment, financing models, green bonds, franchising models, public-private partnerships, asset financing and how they could be harnessed for a more reliable grid.
Obinali Okoli, the Head of Communication Management and Strategy at the Central Bank of Nigeria, moderated the session, which featured Engr. Waisu Adedeji Tijani, General Manager, Technical Services at the Transmission Company of Nigeria; Ugwem Eneyo Showunmi, co-founder and CEO, SHYFT Power Solutions; and Akinlabi Ajelabi, Senior Consultant, Vista Advisory Partners.
Engr. Tijani stated that a grid network is the interconnection of generation, transmission, and distribution facilities working as one. A smart grid according to him, deploys technologies such as grid optimisation, smart metering, sensors, and application software like SCADA to monitor and control the demand and supply of electricity in real-time, while utilising the grid’s optimal efficiency and maintaining its stability and reliability.
The foundation of the smart grid starts with the component level, which is the generation, transmission, and distribution facilities, and the optimisation takes care of this level. This level concerns how data can be used to encourage a data-driven grid. Engr. Tijani noted that there is a need for a technology that can collate the data, and that is what the optimisation is doing for the grid at the generation process, transmission substations, and distribution level; there must be an optimisation process collating data in the background.
He stated further that the second level is communications, and all the data collated at the component level has to be processed via connectivity. The next level is data modelling and integration at the beginning of the SCADA system; the information coming from the component passes through the communication level and has to get to where it will be processed.
The data modelling and integrations go to the function level of SCADA, which can be used for monitoring and supervising the grid and dispatching functionality. The last level is the business level, also known as the intelligence level, which is higher than the function level, which is the SCADA. At the business level, the grid will be said to be smart. All the enterprises participating in the market have to come up with enterprise solutions that will be connected so that any required data can be gotten at that level.
Ugwem Eneyo Showunmi, co-founder and CEO of SHYFT Power Solutions, stated that SHYFT Power Solutions is involved in the digitalisation of power infrastructure and has been acquired by STEMACO. She noted that she is now a director at STEMACO, stating that SHYFT and STEMACO are driving innovation in power infrastructures.
According to Eneyo, both firms are energy technology centered, specialising in developing IP for MIS software to help utilities better manage revenue collections, get better visibility of what is happening with their meters and further access where to invest in power infrastructures and drive revenue assurance in metering technologies and solutions.
She also said that SHYFT has been building IOT and innovative power solutions to help power companies essentially build operating network central solutions for monitoring and remotely controlling assets from generators, solar, and battery solutions. She noted that SHYFT has worked with Daystar Power and other energy producers to give them complete real-time visibility of all their assets for predicted analytics and remote virtual troubleshooting.
She stated that when it comes to grid technology, SHYFT customer base ranges from facility management technologies to power as a service, and IPPs. Ugwem noted that Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be used to resolve abnormalities and losses across the grid. She also stated that one of the significant challenges of power companies is deploying a workforce into the field to find out what is happening at different metering points and document troubleshooting.
She noted that her firm’s cloud-based software could make that a scaleable process beyond physical meter tampering to figuring out the behaviour patterns that cause problems within the infrastructure. According to her, SHYFT and STEMACO are at the forefront of using AI and more advanced algorithms to detect AT&C losses, bypassing abnormal consumer behaviours and not just detecting abnormalities when it comes to the meters process but going beyond the temporal alert to absorbing behavioural patterns using AI, which can quickly flag where there are losses.
Ajelabi stated that one of the things he does daily is help portfolio utilities establish their data architects, ensuring the quality of the data processed is used to generate relevant insights. It is also to discover which side is the best place to deploy a power solution, even when the power solutions have been built and are operational.
He noted that he is working within the utility to establish what governance and interpretability standardisation to keep in place and architect how data is captured and used to drive interoperation and customer sentiments. Based on Ajelabi’s perspective, SCADA is a tool for solving problems and digital transformation is about optimisation.
According to Ajelabi, if there is a fault within a network, the more downtime recorded, the more unhappy customers tend to be. However, with digital technologies, the fault will be quickly pinpointed and isolated, and the system will be restored, reducing the downtime/disruption period. He also noted that data technologies are important for identifying investment sites for developing power solutions. This is done through ground-level data gathering using surveys and sensors to understand consumer behaviour to create models and analytics that tell the best place to deploy a power solution.
Ajelabi called attention to the 2023 Electricity Act which plays a critical role in how Nigeria’s digitalisation landscape will change and form in the next few years. The Act fosters the ideal of public-private partnership where the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) can leverage the technical capability of STEMACO, SHYFT, and independent power providers (IPP) investors to drive the ability to meet demand in terms of energy needs.
Okoli stated that there is a need for an excellent level of investment to go into Nigeria’s power sector. However, he said that while money is not the most critical thing, it is essential. According to him, the Central Bank of Nigeria had midwifed the power sector to 2023 when the Electricity Act was passed, creating a space for increased IPP projects and innovative investors.
He noted a need for a multi-layered approach in the sector so that the financial system is robust enough to support the power sector. He stressed the need to sell special bonds on a large scale that will yield interest in scalable projects that give instant returns and feedback, generate the necessary data, and provide hands-on capacity development to those investing in the power sector and long-term funding.