Alstom Grid Expert Explores Social Justice in Smart Grid Rollouts

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Electric vehicles, automated appliances and more reliable, self-healing grids.

These are just some of the revolutionary ways Smart Grid technology will change the way people use electricity. But, with so much focus on modernizing energy grids in Europe, Asia and North America, what benefits can Smart Grid systems offer the more than 650 million people in sub-Saharan Africa who estimates predict will have no access to electricity by the year 2030?

That was the question tackled today by Dr. Lawrence Jones, Alstom Grid’s Director of Regulatory Affairs, Policy & Industrial Relations, during a presentation to the 34th Annual Conference of the American Association of Blacks in Energy (AABE).

Jones, who recently co-authored a paper with a team of global energy experts that introduced the concept of ‘Smart and Just Grids,’ reinforced with the AABE audience that access to electricity has historically been a driver of social and economic development. While electrification will be a crucial step for populations in sub-Saharan Africa, Jones emphasized the need to deliver socially just grids that equally distribute the benefits of a modern energy infrastructure across the socio-economic spectrum while also catalyzing the development of local markets and industrialization across the continent.

“What good are modern grids if they only serve a tiny subset of the population?” asked Jones. “There are people in sub-Saharan Africa living in dire conditions for whom a 21st century infrastructure could usher in a whole new world of development opportunities. Our goal with this research project is to shine a light on ways Smart Grid projects can be shaped to deliver real social benefit.”

In their paper, Jones and his colleagues argued that Smart Grid applications in developing countries should be prioritized in a way that reduces costs, promotes economic development, job creation and growth, and improves long-term sustainability. Their approach, as outlined for the AABE audience, broke out the SMART and JUST components of their recommendations, which are:

SMART…
- Policies
- Planning
- Systems & 0perations
- Technologies
- People
JUST…
- Access
- Billing & subsidies

In his remarks, Jones argued that opportunities may exist for developing power systems to apply these principles in a way that ‘leapfrogs’ the benefits realized through Smart Grid rollouts in industrialized countries. He pointed to the explosive growth in cell phone use in sub-Saharan African countries as an example of this potential for Smart and Just grids to expand more rapidly than has traditional energy infrastructure, which to-date has been insufficient in meeting the needs of under-served populations.

“Dr. Jones’ presentation has shone a bright light on a critically-important new aspect of the Smart Grid discussion,” said Frank Steward, President and Chief Executive Officer of the America Association of Blacks in Energy. “The concept of a socially just energy grid could help shape Smart Grid projects around the world, and also is applicable to lower income communities in the United States. After all, innovation for the sake of innovation is a wasted effort unless it creates new opportunities to positively impact people’s lives.”

Now in its 34th year, the AABE conference is intended to promote professional development, facilitate the sharing of industry information and provide networking opportunities. Speakers at the 2011 conference, which focused on the theme of Our Energy, Our Future: Creating Sustainable Communities, included the Honorable Lisa Jackson, Commissioner of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as Public Utility Commissioners, top-level utility executives and representatives of the Edison Electric Institute.

Click here to read the full text of Smart and Just Grids: Opportunities for sub-Saharan Africa, by Bazilian, et al.

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