Welcome to the second part of the interview with Daniel Bungey, Future Energy Leader at the World Energy Council and a past recipient of the Young Energy Professional Award (Sub-Saharan Africa) from the AEE.

In this part, we delve into the challenges and opportunities for smart metering deployment across Africa. Daniel shares insights on regulatory frameworks, financing, and customer engagement, highlighting what is driving successful rollouts on the continent.

If you haven’t read the first part of the interview with Daniel Bungey, read it here.

Which communication standards and technologies are most used for smart metering systems in Africa and how are distribution companies ensuring interoperability of communication systems across different regions?

Talking about communication standards, there’s a significant focus on the DLMS consortium, as well as GPRS. Some of the utilities that have deployed smart metering systems, particularly at the medium voltage level for customers, utilize PLC, mostly in urban settings. When you look at the rural areas, especially with private sector developers who operate many off-grid systems, they rely heavily on GPRS, GSM GPRS, and cellular communication protocols.

Of course, it goes without saying that they are faced with their own inherent challenges, and most of them are now open to exploring other possible avenues, such as looking at RF mesh protocols between the meters and concentrators, and then layering that with GPRS between the concentrators and the meter data management systems. Most of these issues relate to reliability, as it applies to PLC, and now they are looking at or asking for either considering hybrid connections or, more recently, exploring how they can implement more robust RF mesh protocols between devices. Then, they layer that with GSM at the point of the concentrator to the data management systems.

I haven’t interacted with GPRS, especially at the utility scale, but for those who have done smart metering deployments, particularly with off-grid systems or private mini-grid developers, they have really leveraged RF mesh networks provided by technology providers. They then layer that with GPRS or cellular communication between the concentrators and the control centers.

At the device level, most of the interoperability has been achieved through a common communication protocol for both the devices and end-to-end systems. In some cases, I’ve seen interoperability being achieved at the data management level using API interconnections.

However, for specific examples around interoperability at the PLC level, I don’t have any at the moment. I believe that in landscapes where smart meters have been successfully deployed at scale, like in South Africa and other countries at the medium voltage customer level, smart metering systems should be able to have protocols that enable interoperability. But I don’t have specific data points or real examples of those projects that have been completed.

What initiatives or partnerships are in place to accelerate smart metering deployment and what role does policy or regulatory reform play in the modernization of distribution networks in Africa? How is customer engagement being addressed in the smart meter rollout to ensure smooth adoption?

The motivations, of course, stem from the fact that only two utilities in Africa have really strong financial or efficient positioning in terms of their balance sheets. Most utilities struggle to recover their capital and operational expenditures. The system losses are quite high, with many exceeding the regulatory caps, and they often have to bear the costs of these losses.

The main motivation has been to address the technical and commercial losses by ensuring they have systems in place that offer better visibility and improve operations and performance. This includes implementing systems like smart meters, which are the foundation for smart grid systems. When utilities focus on becoming more efficient, their primary goal is addressing commercial losses, collection losses, ensuring everyone is metered, detecting meter tampering, preventing power theft, and ensuring accurate billing and collection.

One of the key enablers for this is policy frameworks. Another is technology, with the availability of the right technology being crucial. Successful deployment of pilot projects that demonstrate the benefits of smart meters to utilities is essential. Very few countries have implemented smart metering regulations that truly support innovation and the widespread adoption of smart metering systems.

Three key elements come into play: technology, financing, and policy. The gap in smart meter installations is significant, and many utilities, already operating at a loss, struggle even to maintain operational costs. Allocating funds to capital-intensive projects like smart metering becomes a challenge. However, there has been good progress, such as the regulations in some countries that allow meter asset providers to work with distribution companies, enabling them to recover costs from customer billing. This has greatly facilitated the provision of smart meters and helped close the metering gap.

Although there have been challenges, policy and regulation offer opportunities to catalyze smart meter deployment. One challenge is that regulations can sometimes be too prescriptive, focusing on standardization rather than balancing innovation and cost-effectiveness. Overly prescriptive regulations can stifle innovation and make it difficult for technology providers to offer low-cost solutions.

The policies should focus on optimizing functionality, ensuring data security, and guaranteeing accuracy, while allowing room for innovation, especially for local, cost-effective solutions. Cost is critical, particularly for last-mile customers in rural areas, where the meter and deployment costs need to be low to make business sense.

Funding is also a big issue. Smart metering deployment is still in its early stages, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, and demonstrating success through pilots and demonstration projects is vital. This allows utilities to learn and collaborate with technology providers. Policies need to strike a balance between standardization and enabling innovation to ensure the successful deployment of smart metering systems.

Looking at energy access itself, it’s often driven by funding mechanisms that involve not only the African Development Bank but also institutions like the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, and others. These organizations are coming together to support initiatives such as rural electrification through models like results-based frameworks, aiming to close the energy access gap. Along with that, financing smart metering has become one of the key challenges.

This presents an opportunity for development institutions, such as the African Development Bank, to partner with the World Bank and other institutions to create financing mechanisms that enable utilities to adopt these technologies. It’s crucial to do this, especially through models of technical assistance, direct grant assistance, results-based financing, or other approaches. But it’s also important to ensure there’s room for the private sector to play a key role in the deployment of these technologies, as this ensures sustainability and fosters innovation.

It’s not enough to just provide money or technical assistance in the form of guidelines for smart metering systems and their technical aspects. The real question is: how do you catalyze innovation in this space? What are the existing contexts, and how can an interlinked approach be established between utilities, the private sector, policy frameworks, and suppliers?

The entire ecosystem that enables successful deployments needs to be activated. Development institutions, of course, have a major role to play, as they have the financial power to drive the agenda in a specific direction. It’s crucial to have these players come together, and it doesn’t necessarily need to be solely the African Development Bank; it can blend with other available financing options across the board.

Most of the solar systems on roofs in Africa, particularly in rural areas where the majority of systems are deployed, are typically set up in one of two forms. One is the mini-grid setup, which provides community-level power and is managed by either a private sector entity or a rural electrification agency for that specific country. This setup often consists of a cluster of solar panels in a given location, distributing power to different households.

At the household level, rooftop solar systems usually come in the form of solar home systems, which are bundled with nanosystems. These solar home systems often include devices like a TV set, a radio, and a charging port. They are commonly deployed through a “pay-as-you-go” model, which integrates with mobile payment systems. Given the high mobile phone penetration and the popularity of mobile payments in these regions, people find it flexible and convenient to make payments via their phones.

So, you’ll find that most solar systems in rural rooftop setups are solar home systems that come with pay-go models and not necessarily with a smart meter, as they are small systems, often off-grid.

Is there an opportunity for smart meters to enable more penetration of renewable energy? With countries introducing net metering policies and regulations, it creates an incentive for people already connected to the grid to adopt solar systems on their roofs. This provides an opportunity to trade power with the utility, encouraging further deployment.

Yes, there’s certainly an opportunity for partners to support the deployment of solar roof systems, especially in urban settings. However, in rural areas, most systems are either integrated pay-go systems, small off-grid setups, or community power programs that are private sector-led or managed by rural electrification agencies. Most of these come with a meter provided by the utility, and for private sector-driven programs, many would include a smart meter.

The majority of meters in these areas are prepaid meters, and it’s crucial that smart meters retain that prepaid functionality. This feature is very important for most utilities, as it not only ensures revenue collection but also works well in combination with mobile payment systems. In rural areas, many people may not have access to a bank account, but they do have access to a phone and mobile payment systems. So, when you layer the prepaid system with mobile payments, it becomes much easier for utilities to roll out smart metering systems in these regions.

Some innovative models and approaches are being explored around the design of low-cost systems that can support large-scale smart metering deployments. It’s important for these systems to make business sense for utilities, so minimizing hardware elements and leveraging existing resources is key. Many people already have access to phones, which they can use to query their meter and make payments. Systems that allow users to manage their energy consumption and load credit tokens via mobile payments, with updates sent directly to the meter, are feasible.

One of the main challenges at the moment is largely regulatory. Most regulations still require a display for consumption information, which necessitates additional hardware. If we could reduce or eliminate the need for a keyboard, the cost of the meter would be significantly lower. Some regulations still mandate both a keyboard and a display, but by allowing customers to interact with their meter through their phones, hardware requirements could be reduced, making meters more affordable. This would encourage the development of low-cost systems.

Regulations should strike a balance between standardization and enabling innovation. It’s important to consider how existing systems, like mobile phones, can be used to reduce costs and provide more accessible solutions for customers.

Transparency is crucial, and it’s increasingly important for utilities to adopt a more consumer-centric approach. Customers need to understand their consumption, know the tools available to manage it, and have access to relevant information. Smart meters play a critical role in enabling this, especially as more utilities begin implementing these systems across Africa. There’s growing interest among customers in understanding and managing their energy use, and they are becoming more empowered and informed. Utilities must consistently provide avenues for customers to access this information, ensuring smooth adoption and engagement with the new technologies.

What is the most important lesson you have learned throughout your career?

There’s no shortcut to success. There’s no shortcut to excellence. Everything is a result of hard work and builds on incremental steps. Some professional paths, like engineering, may seem cryptic and complex, but when you break them down into smaller, manageable components, you can iteratively work through them—whether in study, practice, or taking on small tasks. It’s crucial to be ready to start small, to take on assignments that may require getting your hands dirty, being in the field, and continuously learning and updating your knowledge.

It’s also important to work closely with experienced people, listening to what has worked for them and critically reflecting on how it can apply to your own context. Having a global mindset is essential. While there may not be anything entirely new—unless we’re talking about trips to Mars—even those advancements build on something that has been done before. Collaborating with others on a global level is key.

Staying committed to the process, learning, building the right habits, working hard, and having clarity on your goals are all important. That’s my advice.

Conclusions:

Smart metering systems in Africa largely rely on DLMS over cellular network, with PLC communication being more common in urban areas. Combination of PLC and RF mesh networks are increasingly explored for enhanced reliability.

Successful smart metering deployment depends heavily on supportive policy frameworks, technology availability, and financing. However, policies often focus too much on standardization, which can hinder innovation and cost-effective smart metering solutions, especially in rural areas.

Smart meters are central to improving utilities’ efficiency and addressing commercial losses. For ensuring smooth adoption of smart meters, mobile payments and prepaid systems are essential, especially in regions with limited banking access.

Question for the audience:

How can African utilities find a balance between regulatory standardization and fostering innovation to deploy cost-effective, customer-friendly smart metering solutions, particularly in rural areas?