Nigeria's electricity distributors are gambling on a British-funded strategy to fix their mounting problems. Technical losses, aging equipment, and poor meter coverage have crippled the sector for years.
A new Grid Modernization Framework offers hope. UK PACT, a government development program, launched the blueprint during a workshop in Abuja this week.
Wayne Omonuwa from WEC Advisers laid out the philosophy behind it. "You cannot procure a smart grid into a distribution company," he told attendees at the event.
Rather, utilities must build solutions step by step, he explained. Each feeder gets customized technology that pays for itself as it operates.
Omonuwa believes Kano will prove the model works. "If the pilot delivers, the same blueprint is available to every distribution company in the country," he noted.
Two agreements were signed during the workshop. Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) will launch trials across two of its feeders.
Dr. Jamil feeder gets the first treatment.
Advanced metering and grid automation will be deployed there by Shyft and Network Nation UK.
Gaskiya feeder takes a different path. Viathan Engineering will lead efforts to integrate distributed renewable energy sources on that line.
WEC Advisers will oversee implementation on both fronts. The firm aims to help KEDCO roll out the framework across its entire network later.
Hussaini Sadiq heads KEDCO's strategy division. He told reporters the utility is ready to demonstrate the models actually work commercially.
"This is not a mirage. It is already operational in other climes," Sadiq said at the gathering in Abuja.
London is backing the effort with more than money. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office sent Lolade Awogbade to represent UK interests.
She called it the exact sort of intervention UK PACT was created to deliver. Policy, finance, and practical implementation come together here.
"Through UK PACT, we are proud to support the development of Nigeria's first scalable grid modernization framework," Awogbade remarked during the event.
Her government views it as investable and phased. Each stage can attract separate funding as results prove out.
Industry observers see real potential in the approach. Nigeria's DisCos have struggled for years with losses eating into profits.
Success in Kano could reshape how electricity is distributed nationwide. Other companies have already signaled interest in adopting the framework if trials succeed.