A low cost early adoption strategy for implementing secured smart energy metering systems in African developing countries
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Date
MARCH, 2016
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Abstract
Electricity continues to be a great power behind the world’s industrial revolution and an
indispensable asset in everyday living. Its significance has necessitated the extensive rollout
of electrification projects. Despite these rollouts, the continent of Africa is yet to enjoy
reliable supply of electric power and its associated benefits. Due to Africa’s high population
growth and economic development, it is ever so plagued with extensive seasons of power
shortages – energy crises. The effect of these crises can be clearly seen in Africa’s vicious
cycle of poverty. This thesis links the nemesis of these crises to the inability of Africa’s
utilities to conduct effective demand analyses on day-to-day consumption of electricity.
These analyses are a prerequisite in avoiding unprecedented demand. To mitigate these
crises, it suggests the migration from standalone metering systems to smart metering systems.
Bearing in mind that this migration has often come at a high expense to developed countries,
it proposes a low cost early adoption strategy for implementing secured smart metering
systems in African developing countries. A key aspect of this proposition is a secured low
cost smart retrofit which furnishes existing standalone meters with smart metering
capabilities. It also proposes a security protocol and a datagram format for secured
information exchange in the proposed smart metering system. Finally, the proposed system is
applied in providing a Smart Quota Policy, which is an effective power rationing alternative
to rotational load shedding (blackouts).
Keywords: Smart Metering System; Power Crises; African developing countries; Smart
Retrofit; Smart Quota System.
Description
Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Engineering at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology By Eliel Keelson (BSc.) Supervisors: (1) Prof. K.O. Boateng (2) Prof. Isaac Ghansah