- Today, residents in Somalia
pay some of the world's highest prices for electricity
- SparkMeter is implementing Somalia's first smart grid project with
NECSOM, and has started commercial deployment with Caabudwaq
Electric Company (CECO)
- An additional pilot program with Blue Sky Energy grows
SparkMeter's reach to a total of 75,000 homes in Somalia to date
WASHINGTON, Aug. 20,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- SparkMeter, a provider of grid
management services and solutions that increase access to reliable
electricity in underserved communities across Africa, Asia,
and the Americas, announced new contracts with two utilities in
Somalia to support the
digitalization of the country's electricity grids.
Today, residents in Somalia pay
some of the world's highest prices for electricity. Serving
hard-to-reach customers, utilities suffer from loss of revenue. In
partnership with local utilities, SparkMeter is offering grid
monitoring solutions to address these challenges. To improve the
cost and reliability of electricity for Somali consumers,
SparkMeter's digitalization solutions help mitigate system losses,
manage assets, and forecast consumption patterns.
During the initial pilot program with SparkMeter, Caabudwaq
Electric Company (CECO) – the largest utility in Galmudug State –
reduced its systemwide electricity losses and improved collections
through faster and more accurate meter readings. Today, SparkMeter
is planning to deliver its solution across CECO's entire 10,000
customer base. As a result, CECO now plans to raise investment for
new clean energy projects.
"In Somalia, the majority of utilities must manage operations
manually, requiring utility teams to physically take meter readings
and log usage data. The entire process is time-intensive and prone
to errors and delays," said Mr. Giama Guled, Chairman of CECO.
"Now, with the introduction of SparkMeter's technology, customer
meter reads and billing processes are streamlined and customers
have a wider range of payment options. This significantly reduces
our system losses and allows us to provide better service to our
customers."
In tandem, SparkMeter is initiating a pilot program with another
Somali utility, Blue Sky Energy, to mitigate system
losses.
Following SparkMeter's pilot program with National Energy
Corporation of Somalia (NECSOM),
SparkMeter commenced a system-wide rollout to all 20,000 of the
utility's customers. In a first-of-its-kind smart grid project in
Somalia, SparkMeter's solution
allows NECSOM to detect and quantify losses, identify overloaded
transformers, and offer flexible billing and payment options to its
customers. As a result, the utility is improving its financial
position and increasing the amount of renewable energy on its
grid.
"Before we started using SparkMeter's technology, NECSOM needed
two weeks to do meter readings and then generate and distribute
invoices to our customers. Now with the help of SparkMeter, we will
have access to accurate billing information in less than 10 hours
once the technology is fully implemented, letting us spend our time
on other essential processes," said Mohamed
Ahmed, CFO of NECSOM.
Somalia is one of 30 countries
where SparkMeter is active. "The first step to closing the energy
access gap in emerging markets is to empower utilities with
transformative smart grid management solutions to decarbonize
electricity distribution," said Dan
Schnitzer, CEO of SparkMeter. "Our utility customers in
Somalia are some of the most
forward-thinking leaders we've worked with, and we're proud to
continue to partner with them to ensure equitable energy access
with utilities across the country."
About SparkMeter
Founded in 2013, SparkMeter provides
grid-management solutions tailored to emerging markets, where 2.1
billion people live without reliable electricity access. Active in
more than 30 countries across Africa, Asia
and North America, its simple
plug-and-play solution enables microgrids and distribution
utilities operating in remote locations to access a range of
features – flexible billing, customer communications, and remote
monitoring and control – that improve their operations and help
them achieve financial sustainability.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sparkmeter-signs-two-new-contracts-in-somalia-to-modernize-african-utilities-302225670.html
SOURCE SparkMeter