By Kunle Akinsola
More than 2.3 billion people across the world and 90 per cent of Nigerians do not have to safe, reliable and efficient electricity, Schneider Electric Managing Director, Anglophone West Africa, Mr Christophe Begat, has said.
Describing access to reliable power in Africa a challenge, he said:“About 90 per cent of Nigerians do not have access to safe, efficient electricity and this is a challenge to us to solve.
“Globally, an estimated 2.3 billion people do not have either or reliable access to electricity.
Begat spoke at the firm’s Digital Innovation Day 2019 in Lagos which attracted about 500 attendees including stakeholders and experts in technological innovations, automations and energy management.
It featured the launch of Schneider’s latest technologies and opening of Innovation Hub as well as interactive sessions on contextual applications of the latest wave of digitization in powering the digital economy to increase efficiency, business growth, and profitability.
Experts also touched on issues including having smart buildings — which can think, sense and adapt and also control and monitor from cell phones, tackling complex IT and DC environments with cloud-based management systems, big data analytics, mobile insights and optimized operations.
According to Begat, human activities such as using generators and others are responsible for rise in temperature globally and called for a coordinated efforts by governments and power firms and other stakeholders to stem the trend.
“About 60 per cent of energy globally is lost and this is good for us (Schneider) as a challenge.
“There is an urgent need to reduce carbon emission all over the world and attain zero emission by 2030,’’ he said.
Schneider Electric, Begat said, was committed to providing safe and clean electricity from solar and wind to address the current faulty lines of energy transmission and attain full digital transmission of electricity to buildings.
Mr Albert Fuchet, the Cluster President for Anglophone Africa, in a keynote address entitled, “Powering and Digitizing the Economy”, said the firm would deploy digital technologies to ensure efficiency and energy security and automation.
“Digital technologies provide possibilities for a wide range of benefits ranging from efficiency gains, customer intimacy, energy security and management, automation and remote operations, safer work environment, and a lot more, depending on the user’s preference.
“Ultimately, the organization’s bottom line is impacted in a sustainable fashion.
“The broad application of Internet of Things, IoT is still evolving. Exploring big data and cloud computing is ongoing. Also, virtually all equipment and operations can be made smart.
“In the oil and gas sector today, we see a fully automated offshore platform and fashioning the ancillary services that go with such innovations,’’ he told the conference.
Mr Ifeanyi Odoh, Head, Offer Marketing and Business Development, said Schneider believed that efficient energy and digital transmission of it are fundamental human rights.
“It should be affordable and available so that more people can have access to energy.’’
He said the firm had rolled out some products and equipment in the value chain as energy solutions.
