Chinedu Amah is the Lead Strategist and Founder, Spark Nigeria, a technology solution firm.
In this interview with Nairametrics, he outlines how Nigerians can save from expenses incurred on electricity consumption in the country.
According to him, the power sector is in a near-comatose state, as grid collapse has been added to the list of expressions that have eaten deep into the nation’s fabric. Excerpts:
How would you assess the state of the Nigerian power sector?
The sector as we can see is in a near-comatose state, grid collapse has been added to the list of expressions that are commonplace among Nigerians. It is sad that we continue to fail to innovate even with the availability of resources at our disposal in Nigeria.
Where are we missing it as a nation, operators and individuals?
I believe our failure is collective because individuals who make up the sector are a subset of the citizens. Our failure to evolve and innovate as a people faster than we have has made it even more difficult and more expensive to do so with each passing day. Our biggest industries exited Nigeria as the power situation got worse from the 80s, somehow that has dragged increased unemployment with it and by extension, the inability of more Nigerians to pay for utility services as they do not have jobs through which they can earn a living. A population that cannot afford its cost of living cannot fund the growth of any industry thus we must continue to look at how to drive innovation in the power sector as a means or as a tool for re-engineering the Nigerian economy.
So, what is the way out for us as a nation?
We must set aside whatever sentiments that informed the decision to centralize our national grid and segment it in such a way that it serves specific purposes from place to place. With every death event on the grid, the reasons for those failures highlight why we need to decentralize and evolve new models for management.
There is gas in the Delta, the region should be ring-fenced to produce for itself and the excess can be pushed to a central pool. Lagos and the states along the shoreline also have access to wind, tidal energy, and gas. Those states should be powered by those sources and the excess should be sent into a central pool. Sunlight is in abundance beyond 5 hours daily, a much higher irradiation capacity than Europe and the Americas who have huge solar investments already, and continue to expand their renewable capacity.
All in all, we must evolve new means of managing the sector as that which we have has so far continued to fail us.
Specifically, how can consumers save from energy consumption, i.e tips to cut costs on electricity expenses?
Electricity users need to learn to switch off anything that is not in use, especially bulbs, those guys take up about 25-30% of your monthly energy expense so the more bulbs you switch off the more money you save on your electricity bill. Service your air conditioners quarterly to reduce clogging and improve the efficiency of the unit. Interestingly you should also turn off taps when they are not in use, especially for those who are not on public water supply. The more water you waste while bathing or brushing increases your frequency of turning on the water pump and thus the monthly expense on electricity. Install a solar water heater in your bathroom and ditch the ones we are used to. Solar heaters also provide hot water and reduce how much you spend on electricity with the electric powered water heater.
What are your expectations from the government and other operators?
When you say government, I want to see it in two parts and these are; the executive which continues to fund electricity subsidies and continues to stifle the implementation of cost-reflective tariffs for political gains. I am sure the politicians know it is not in the best interest of anyone, not the citizens and definitely not the government. They should evolve policies that drive energy efficiency and profer positive impacts on the users as efficient appliances reduce expenses by citizens while they derive the same value.
The regulator needs to evolve faster and in the following ways employ technology or insist on the use of technology to monitor every node of the distribution chain so that they are able to immediately determine reasons for service disruptions at the micro-level, imagine that there is a regulation on service-based tariff yet the regulator cannot determine if the DISCO has kept its part of the bargain by providing the requisite hours of supply to the customer as designated by their bands.
Increase enforcement on infractions at all levels as the continued failure of the sector is impacting our collective quality of life negatively.
What are the cheaper alternative sources of energy available and plans you have to make it affordable for consumers?
It is important to note that the key thing is not necessarily about pricing but about reliability, Spark not seeking to compete against the grid but to provide the reliability that is needed when the grid is unavailable. We want the customer to unfriend their generator and hopefully reduce the demand created on fossil fuels for backup power. That is made possible because while installing solar devices is expensive, Spark is offering the service on a pay-as-you-go basis. Thus, you do not need to procure the entire infrastructure, once we confirm your details we will onboard you in less than a week.
What solutions does Spark NIGERIA offer to ease the burden of the irregular power supply?
Spark is offering its customers affordable and reliable metered solar energy, this eliminates the need to shell out a fortune to acquire the inverter, battery and panels.
How do you help the Agro-processing segment of the economy in aiding their productions?
Our focus for agro partnership is a model which we call Rural Economic Clusters, in this model we are interested in providing power for productive use in rural communities as a means of re-engineering the economy of rural Nigeria. Our solution involves providing power for agro-processing and preservation as a means to increase the disposable income of the rural farmer. This will improve his ability to pay for energy supply at his home because his agro produce losses are reduced with the availability of efficient processing and preservation equipment which is powered by Spark using clean energy.
