The Chief Executive Officer, Philips Lighting Africa, Mr. Thierry Boulanger, in this interview withBAYO AKINLOYE, advises Nigeria to introduce legislation to reduce energy consumption
As an expert in the energy sector, how will you describe energy poverty as it relates to Nigeria?
Let us first look at some statistics throughout the African continent. The continent’s population is in the region of 1.3 billion and approximately half of the population has no access to electricity. For example in Nigeria, if I look at the utility and the use of generators, I think the utility companies manage to produce some amount of energy. But Lagos State, for example, is predominantly reliant on diesel/petrol generators. First of all, we have big energy consumption and very low power generation. If we go outside the main cities where they don’t have it good in terms of electricity, we have to look for alternatives in those rural areas in Nigeria.
We have many solutions for lighting in Africa which are designed specifically for the African condition. For example, the solar lantern. It would seem like a very simple technology but it’s got a panel and some lighting components. We designed these products specifically for the rural market. But even at $35, it is an expensive item for a rural area. So, we have tied up the solution with some big telecommunication firms in some countries.
How does that work?
For instance, there is a system called Mpesa in Kenya, where you can have credit on your cell phone account and use that credit to pay for using the solar lantern. Moreover, if I want to use the solar lantern in a rural area, I don’t have to buy it. Given the palliative by the government, users can easily transfer some credits through their mobile phones and then be able to use the solar lantern. This is actually working very well in Kenya and people in the rural areas in Nigeria can also use credit on their cell phones to pay for the usage of the solar lantern. It has panels, so you can recharge the battery in the sunlight.
There are other kinds of initiatives that we are using to try to alleviate energy poverty in Nigeria. We have another called community light project. We have some examples in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa. We go to a rural area and we light up the market place and we found out that there was an impact on security and trading conditions. Such communities are able to trade much longer because of the light. It also has an impact on education because people feel safer and they can do more works at night. So, the impact that light has in those environments has been very phenomenal and that is how we address lighting poverty.
What has been the response to the solutions that could help close the lighting poverty gap in Nigeria?
The overall response from the companies that we have engaged in Nigeria has been exceptionally positive. I think everybody realises in Nigeria that we have to find solutions that are less consuming in terms of energy. It is important for the Nigerian government to know which is quicker between providing efficient lighting solution that will reduce energy consumption in the short term and building new power stations. The logic is that while it may take another five years to build new power plants, it takes less time to reduce energy consumption through the right lighting technology.
If Nigerians switch to LED lighting, they can reduce their energy bills between 40 per cent and 70 per cent sometimes even 80 per cent. At the same time, the sense of safety and livability in the cities improves, and the crime rates potentially go down.
At Philips, we believe that cities in Nigeria can be better places. They can offer a healthy balance between productivity and quality of life. They can empower community living and help people work from home. They can be greener cities, too, and make more sustainable use of energy. To realise this vision, we need to change how we build and run our cities. One key opportunity is to create a safer and healthier environment through more light and energy efficient lighting.
How far have you gone with LED deployment in Nigeria and the entire West African sub-region?
We have a couple of pilot projects running in the Ghana fishing village, Tema. We are busy trying to fully convert the village to energy efficient lighting. We also have quite a lot of successes in Ghana with the solar lantern in the rural areas and what we found out is that consumers are adopting the energy technology and what we call the compact forensics in Ghana. The government in Ghana has also banned the importation of the old lighting technology because the country cannot produce the amount of energy needed to power such technology and I think that is a very wise move.
What about the deployment in Nigeria?
We are already in some discussions. What we are looking at doing is not just to sell products anymore. We want to actually offer services, and these are the discussions we are having with Nigerian government and other countries. We will settle the utility with the government and the municipalities. Let us manage the lighting, so you pay us on a monthly basis.
For instance, we are also having a discussion with the Moroccan government and the public sector, especially the big retail stores and buildings, on their energy consumption at the moment. We will then replace the lighting technology with energy-efficient technology at our cost, if the power consumption drops, then we pay for the difference. In this case, they have no capital outlay to actually convert. These are modules that we are putting in place in these countries and a lot of customers have been very receptive to that.
Speaking about providing energy, can Philips generate electricity?
Sure. We have a licence with many solar companies and others that provide renewable energy and offer solutions. A good example is the street lighting where we have a licence with solar panel manufacturers and we offer that as a complete solution. But we provide the intelligence in the solar street light. For example, the simple way to install a street light is to erect a pole with the energy light, a panel and a battery. After three to five years, you would be planning to replace the battery while you might have to clean the panel and do a few other things.
We have now developed a specific technology that monitors the movement on the streets. Therefore, if there is no movement on the street, the light dims. This means the battery won’t drain quickly and it will last longer. While you want your street light to shine at its brightest even on the highways when you have vehicular movement, the light is brighter and when you pass it, it dims again if there is no car behind you. This is the kind of technology that we are looking at to help reduce energy consumption in Nigeria.
Another question is what happens if the solar battery or panel is damaged or stolen? We now have a SIM card that helps to monitor and manage all the street light remotely. Immediately the damage is done, it gives a warning. And that is why we are actually pushing to provide these services to the places of need in Nigeria, and we will guarantee 99.9 per cent optimal light.
About the street light technology that makes the light dim when there is no activity, is it in use now in Nigeria?
It’s in use in countries outside Africa now. We are actually working on two projects in Africa on that at the moment. I’m not at liberty to disclose the countries but I can say they are in (French) West Africa. Just as a matter of interest, the solar light, we also have a big project in Uganda in East Africa
What do you think Nigeria can learn from Ghana’s energy efficiency initiative?
I think what Nigeria can learn from Ghana is the need to come up with a legislation that has a direct impact on power consumption. That is part of the things we can learn, not only from Ghana, but from many countries that have successfully banned the importation of products that guzzle the energy that is hardly enough for the populace.
What is your market share with respect to your competitors?
I don’t see a company that is providing LED light and others as competitors. My competitor is a company that offers solutions that are on lighting and not just about energy in general. For us, we don’t believe we have an existing competitor that is offering the same service as we do.
Again, our focus is not just to provide light. We have converted many of our technologies to suit the African markets. For example, in Nigeria, when the utility company is working and then power goes off and the generator kicks in, what happens? There could be a spark that could set us down about 400 volts. Again, our technology in many cases can adapt to that surge, and that makes a big difference from what I will call the non-branded products.
Source - Punch
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