MALAWI’S GAPING NEED FOR A SMART GRID AMID COVID–19

Martgrid.gov describes the “grid” as a network of transmission lines, substations, transformers and more, that deliver electricity from the power plant to homes or businesses. In a case for Malawi, the grid is what one connects to when they plug any gadget to ESCOM power in their respective premises.

Figure 1: Illustration of a basic structure of an electricity grid in Malawi

What is a SMART Grid?

The “smart grid” on the other hand is an electric grid that uses information and communication technology (ICT) for SMART management of the grid to improve the communication, automation, control and connectivity of the various components of the power network. Some major elements of the smart grid are smart meters, renewable energy resources, and energy efficient resources. Smart meters and associated smart equipment permit electronic power conditioning and control of the production and distribution of electricity, over and above the two-way communication between the undertaker and consumer in real time or near real time. 

During the coronavirus pandemic, utility companies are under the obligation of ensuring that they continue operations, maintaining the electricity supply and critical services while not risking the wellbeing of their personnel and customers. The electric energy sector in Malawi is no exception in guaranteeing electric network reliability, availability, and efficiency at all times during this covid-19 pandemic. There is need, therefore, to have a grid that is self-diagnosing, self-healing, real-time, responsive, flexible, adaptive, price-smart, eco-sensitive and interconnected.

Our power network in Malawi is very wanting in terms of advancing to the smart status. Take northern region for instance, which is supplied by a single radial transmission network at 132KV that runs through Salima and Nkhotakota without any alternative route in the event of any system fault.

Figure 2: Malawi’s transmission network at 400KV and 132KV

The situation is so dire that even a simple fault like dislodging of a bolt anchoring a cross-arm for some power line structure would plunge the whole region into a blackout. Due to the unavailability of smart devices (or the availability of only “dumb” devices) to pin-point the exact location, it requires human involvement in the form of physically walking the line, including in the Nkhotakota wildlife reserve, in order to locate the exact point of fault before the reactive maintenance takes place to restore supply. Such scenarios present very long hours of power outages, sometimes up to more than 8 hours, because human beings have to travel long distances, sometimes as from as far as Mzuzu, for such functions.

A smart, self-diagnosing and above all, interconnected grid would ensure uninterrupted power supply and business continuity to areas like the region outlined above. One would argue that putting in place such smart systems would require huge capital investments. However, it is very evident that as a nation we are losing more money which evaporates into thin air due to these “dumb” power networks than what would be required if we invested in their “smart” counterparts.

NEED FOR ELECTRIC ENERGY DEMOCRATISATION IN MALAWI

The Malawi Growth and Development Strategy (MGDS) III places electric energy in the top three priority areas. However, 2018 Malawi Population and Housing Census Report shows that ESCOM is only able to service 453,592 households against 3,984,981 who are in dire need of electricity. The Government of Malawi believes that private investment is a solution to meet power sector goals.

Malawian rural communities face a disparity in terms of access to electric service provision due to geographical remoteness, high cost of grid connection, inability to pay for services, and limited access to providers of renewable energy solutions. The Malawi Energy Policy, however, promotes micro-grids as one way of accelerating electrification in locations where grid extension cannot be an economically viable electrification approach.  The Government of Malawi intends to increase installed electricity capacity to around 719 MW by 2020 and increase access to electricity to around 30% of the population by 2030. The government believes that with private sector participation in the power sector, the set targets in installed capacity and access to electricity are achievable.

The importance of supplying secure, equitable and environmentally sustainable energy to all in line with Goal 7 of the Sustainable Development Goals cannot be overemphasized. Failure to do so, with the sense of urgency that it deserves, will only serve to further strain the already crippled manufacturing base and general socio-economic development. In my eight-year stint with ESCOM, I have witnessed firsthand the benefits which energy brings at household, community and national level as well as the downside of this too.

Energy democracy is a novel concept, an emergent social movement, and a decision-making tool that connects energy infrastructural change with the possibilities for deep political, economic, and social change. Energy democracy has been characterized as involving three related but discrete approaches to facilitating renewable energy transformation; energy democracy includes efforts to resist, reclaim, and restructure energy systems. Resisting the legacy centralized energy systems is key to the energy democracy movement, as is reclaiming energy systems for more distributed economic and political benefits and restructuring energy systems to support the types of democratic relationships necessary for community-based decision-making authority (https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcomm.2018.00043/full)