Lagos State Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources in collaboration with the Eko Innovation Centre has unveiled a Smart Meter Initiative tagged “The Lagos Smart Meter Hackathon 2020.”
The initiative was unveiled by the state Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the Minister of State, Federal Ministry of Power, Goddy Jedy-Agbaalong and other government officials from the federal and state level at a virtual press conference on Thursday.
Through the initiative, Lagos State Government is expected to leverage on bright local talents in the country to develop and produce affordable smart electricity meters for consumers thus reducing revenue leakages in the sector and ultimately improve electricity supply.
Sanwo-Olu stated that the launch marks a significant milestone in the implementation plan towards improving access to electricity which he said was in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 7 of the UN to drive universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all by 2030.
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He said, “ Increased electricity access is one of the priority mandates of this administration and significant in ultimately driving economic development of the State to enable it to achieve the objective of making Lagos a 21st century Economy.”
He added that the “Lagos Smart Meter Initiative is an important way for government to demonstrate its commitment to improving electricity access and reliability for Lagosians.
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“We believe that adequate metering of Lagosians and in turn Nigerians, would increase willingness to pay for electricity, improve productivity, and more importantly, continue to improve the living conditions of our people.”
Sanwo-Olu called on all relevant stakeholders – electricity sector players, technology experts, investors and regulators to support the worthy cause.
In his keynote address, Jedy-Agba explained that local design and production of affordable meters would be transformational for the industry and the economy at large and therefore urged all to support it.
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He said that Lagos is an important state in Nigeria in terms of size, economy and resources. “With a population of over 20million and the 5th highest GDP in Africa, Lagos is by far the biggest economy in Nigeria. Therefore, getting access to electricity right in Lagos is critical for access to electricity in the entire country.”
According to him, “Electricity is an essential service, and we need to ensure that the benefits of smart meters flow to everyone. I call on all relevant stakeholders in the sector to support this innovative and impactful initiative – industry regulators, electricity sector players, technology experts, and fund providers.”
Also, the Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Olalere Odusote, said the initiative “is expected to provide access to affordable smart meters for the people of Lagos to improve electricity supply, monitoring, and trust between electricity providers and end users while preventing revenue leakage.
He said, “Over the years, despite significant investments and resolutions around power generation and distribution there remains a huge metering gap of over 60% of electricity consumers in Lagos and Nigeria. This metering gap is what we are seeking to bridge through the Lagos Smart Meter Hackathon.
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“In line with the objectives of the Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu Administration to make Lagos a 21st century economy, we have identified the need to intervene and support the facilitation of effective metering across the state, to ensure the provision of reliable electricity for Lagosians and Nigerians in the long-term.”
In her own contribution, Doja Ekeruche, Advisory Board Member, Eko Innovation Centre, explained that a call for application had been sent out to local talents in the tech community to submit their proposed hardware and software solutions using the guidelines stipulated on the Lagos Smart Meter website.
She explained that all concepts would be assessed based on strict but transparent criteria to identify the most viable concepts proceeding to the next stage.
“Judges with knowledge and expertise within power and tech ecosystem will review the entries and shortlist teams to proceed to the Hackathon event. Final winners of the Hackathon in both the hardware and software categories will win N7million. They will also be a part of the co-creation phase with other experts, and then proceed to the production and testing stage before the full commercialisation of the smart meter.”
Other participants at the event included the Deputy Governor of Lagos State – Dr. Obafemi Hamzat; Olatunbosun Alake, Special Adviser to the Lagos State governor on Innovation and Technology, other commissioners, special advisers and heads of parastatals from the state as well as representatives from the Energy and Technology Industry.
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