Clean Energy Firm Says National Grid System Won’t Solve Nigeria’s Power Problems in 100 Years
Kodion Energy, a smart electricity and consulting firm, at the weekend urged the Nigerian authorities to end its current national grid system and embrace the micro-grid or smart grid structure, insisting that in 100 years Nigeria will not solve its power problems with the current arrangement.
Speaking during an online interaction with select journalists in Abuja, the Chief Executive Officer, Kodion Energy and Kodion Consulting, Joshua Okorie, stated that unless Nigeria embraces modernity, the grid built by the colonial masters will not serve the country’s energy needs.
Rather, Okorie, whose company has offices in Nigeria, Arkansas in the US and in China, argued that what Nigeria requires is the embedded power system where every state can cater to its own need.
According to him, the firm has built some of the biggest transformers in the US and could replicate that in Nigeria with the right environment.
“Right now we are building a 25 and 50KV to power in Umuahia. We need a factory in Enugu to power the things that we need to build our transformers,” he added, stressing that the transformers built in Umuahia had been shipped to the US for testing.
He noted that though he lives and works in the United States, he had never stopped thinking about and finding ways to support Nigeria in its quest for energy sufficiency.
“We understand the gravity of Nigeria's electricity crisis, and I am here to present a solution—one that not only addresses the challenges we face but also propels Nigeria into a leadership role in solar and clean energy.
“Nigeria, with its vast potential, rich resources, and resilient people, has long been poised to become a leader in renewable energy. Yet, despite our potential, millions of Nigerians are left without access to reliable electricity, with rural communities bearing the brunt of this disparity.
“The statistics are staggering: Over 76 per cent of rural Nigerians lack access to electricity, with an estimated 90 million people nationwide living without power,” he stated.
But amid these challenges, he said, lies an opportunity for Nigeria to harness its abundant solar resources and leapfrog into a future powered by clean energy, with the company’s ready to lead the charge.
With strong roots in Information Technology, energy and advanced AI solutions, Okorie explained that his objective is to power Nigeria, one city at a time, with 24-hour uninterrupted electricity, leveraging advanced AIenabled hybrid transformers.
“The answer is very simple. Break the grid and turn it into micro-grid. You’re not going to fix Nigerian grid because these lines run into all kinds of problems, through insurgency and other kinds of insecurity.
“If you’re asking me, I think it’d be faster for me to go to Benin City for instance and start from where the line enters Benin and run the grid around Benin. It is called a smart grid system or a micro-grid system.
“Nigeria will never work with this national grid. It will not work 100 years from now. It will never work.
“Texas did it in America, most states are doing it because what happens is when you isolate your grid, you can understand how it fails. And then you can slowly shift it to the next grid if you have enough. It is called the 21st century of energy transmission,” he argued.
According to him, the grid system which was started by the colonial masters will continue to be a source of challenge to Nigeria, until it embraces the embedded power system.
“The idea of a cluster only works when you have a smart grid system. That’s only where it works. There’s no other way around. The grid was built years and years ago. It was a British colony invention and it has been getting developed since then,” he added.
Okorie said that what sets the company apart is its commitment to thorough analysis and innovation, stressing that unlike conventional approaches, the company tailors its solutions to each location's needs, ensuring optimal performance and efficiency.