By Femi Bakare & Funso Adeyemi

It should be clear to the curious observer that the adoption of technology
underpins the growth of large economies across the world. Prior to the sharp
economic slowdown that followed the spread of Covid-19 last year, China, India,
Indonesia and Poland grew at over 4% in 2019, compared to an average of 1.9%
for the 25 largest economies in the world, including Nigeria. While a range of
factors were responsible for the superior growth of these economies, the
provision of energy and the adoption of technology to create an enabling
environment for commerce and enterprise are common themes in their economic
strategies.

Indeed, energy efficiency has become the key driver of sustainable development
in many countries today. Given the importance of electricity in the application of
transformational technology, accessing electric power efficiently is often a deal
breaker in the creation of innovative solutions for consumers, businesses, and
governments.

Advancements in data collection, internet connectivity and cloud technology are
allowing innovators to push boundaries in the delivery of a range of solutions that
introduce greater efficiency and comfort to a modern society. These elements are
at the heart of the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT), an approach to data
gathering and analysis that is changing the world and supporting economic
growth.
A desire to adopt transformational technology has been expressed within the
private sector and at various levels of government in Nigeria. However, the smart
thinking around the generation, transmission and distribution of electric power
will often determine the extent of success. This is particularly important in the
context of government driven initiatives designed to encourage a culture of
innovation.

Powering Developmental Ambitions
The slow pace of reform around a national electrification plan implies that the
prospects of getting reliable power supply for industrial and community use
remain dim in the short to medium term. Nigeria’s power generation capacity is
markedly low compared to the estimated demand. A large proportion of Nigerian
households connected to the national electricity grid, get little to no power supply
and most households and businesses depend primarily on generators for power.
However, some communities are moving ahead with alternative solutions. For
example, the Ekiti State Government has engaged the Fenchurch Group, an
Africa-focused Energy, Power, and Infrastructure conglomerate, to build a
5-megawatt Independent Power Plant (IPP) to provide uninterrupted electricity
supply to Ekiti State Government facilities and other infrastructure in the state
capital, Ado Ekiti. Ekiti IPP will distribute the electrical power generated through a
dedicated underground power distribution network to be constructed and owned
by the Ado Ekiti distribution company. The project will ensure that uninterrupted
power can be distributed to several critical facilities including the state house,
government secretariat, the high court, hospitals, secondary schools, and a
university.

The ambitions of Ekiti State do not stop at providing electricity for their own
exclusive use; electric power is only a piece of the puzzle. The endgame is to
establish a knowledge economy frontier as an alternative to Lagos for foreign
investors seeking an African hub for tech innovation. According to Governor
Kayode Fayemi, the plan is to turn the whole area around the Afe Babalola
University into a “knowledge city” that will serve as an innovation hub for
medicine, IT and agric-tech.

Further evidence of the state government’s determination to create a knowledge
city is the signing of a memorandum of understanding with O’odua InfraCo to lay
606km of fiber across the state, a significant investment for a state with 16%
broadband penetration. Several other private fiber providers, including MTN, have
also started laying cables across the state. However, broadband infrastructure
alone will not make Ekiti compete with Lagos. There is no doubt that the internet
is capable of spurring rapid innovation, but it was built on another historic
innovation: electricity.

Getting the Electricity Model Right
Electricity generation, transmission and distribution models have evolved over the
last century. However, grid power and privately generated power present common
challenges in relation to their efficiency. In the case of grid power, technical losses
due to energy dissipated in the conductors, equipment used in building
transmission lines, transformers, sub transmission lines and distribution lines as
well as magnetic losses in transformers, are a frequent source of inefficiency.
Climatic conditions also pose a real problem especially in rural areas in Nigeria. As
for privately generated power, the cost of maintaining generators and related
infrastructure can be significant, with the attendant environmental issues of noise
pollution and carbon emissions in urban areas.

Modern IPPs address these issues as they provide electricity in a more efficient
and clean manner. For example, they are often gas fired as against the use of
heavy oil, diesel or petrol in many cases. Independent schemes like the Ekiti IPP
are also designed to work continuously with minimal maintenance and are cost
efficient in terms of units in the electrical power produced. Fenchurch Power
constructs underground distribution lines to ensure service delivery to load
centers. This solution minimizes technical losses and interruptions to power
supply. It also includes a metering system that facilitates transparency between
service provider and client. Ekiti IPP will be supplying power to all load centers via
the Ado Power Distribution Company who will construct and own a dedicated
underground power distribution network.

The IPP model offers efficient power at a competitive cost to grid power and is
as/more reliable than privately generated power. This should be attractive to
industrial users. IPP providers like Fenchurch Power are positioned to provide
industrial users with efficient and reliable power with gas fired generating
engines, solar panels, or a blend of both. In the process, business managers can
achieve a significant reduction in their spend on electricity and are able to focus
on their core business activities. Sadly, too many businesses are in the business of
generating their own power. In the process they spend more than they should and
add to the rising carbon emissions associated with industrial activity. Working with
IPP providers like Fenchurch Power offers a less stressful, cheaper, and more
environmentally friendly approach to energy.

IPPs can support existing grid related power distributors. Due to decades of
underinvestment, many distribution companies are stuck with inefficient
equipment. IPP and similar power infrastructure providers can offer a helping
hand to DISCOs that are willing to partner with them. Fenchurch Power, for
example, is in advanced discussions with the a few DISCOs to upgrade their
infrastructure. In the process, DISCOs can rejig their model to a more efficient one
that opens the door for the franchising of their network, which can only make
them more efficient in service delivery and profitable as a business.
Other options for more efficient power in Nigeria include the creation of micro
grids in densely populated communities. Working with private sector players,
DISCOs can provide stable power to these communities at a competitive price
compared to privately generated electricity. Fenchurch is also engaging the Rural
Electrification Agency (REA) to commission solar power projects where the aim is
to connect 12,000 homes.

Unleashing Innovation with IoT
IoT is central to generating the intelligence required to leapfrog into the
innovation age. It can potentially enhance the quality of life in different areas
including medical services, smart cities, construction, agriculture, water
management, and energy. In an ideal world, companies want to be able to
establish their IoT networks and then forget about the devices themselves,
working only with the data they collect.

Future challenges that Nigeria and its industry players will have to address include
the supply of the technical capacity and expertise to meet a boom in the
IoT-enabled market. Expertise will be needed in the areas of data mining, big data
analytics, wireless sensor connectivity and cloud computing, among others. There
will also be new challenges relating to policy and regulation.

However, without power, this concept is a non-starter for most companies and
utilities. Additionally, the ICT related education that is required to cultivate a
youthful techcentric community can only be delivered when universities and other
institutions of learning receive reliable electric power supply. Therefore, the
integration and optimization of power is one of the most important factors for IoT.

An Energy Backbone is Everything
Energy management and optimization solutions are extremely important for the
economic growth of any country and are the backbone on which information and
technology systems run. Power is needed to charge IoT devices such as smart cars,
smartphones, tablets, and laptops that report or process the information collected
by sensors.

The technology offered by IoT promises significant benefits to Nigeria and it
should therefore receive the attention of governments at various levels. It will
contribute to the achievement of the sustainable development goals articulated
by the United Nations and will be integral to any futuristic ecosystem that the
authorities hope to create. The world is changing with technology and Nigeria
should not be left behind in the evolution. However, getting electricity power
solutions right is a critical step on the journey to an innovation driven economy.

www.fenchurchgroupng.com