GRET won a prize for its project entitled “Digitisation of a social energy operator”, conducted in Madagascar as part of the Digital Energy Challenge. Every year, this prize awarded by Agence française de développement (AFD) distinguishes winners for their contribution to modernisation of the energy sector in Africa. The awards ceremony was held on 16 November 2023 in Paris.
To facilitate the implementation of their project, the prize winners will benefit from grants and technical assistance. This support is made possible thanks to funding from the European Union, AFD and the French Agency for ecological transition (Ademe).
An innovative project for rural Malagasy populations
In Madagascar, the rate of rural electrification is particularly low (less than 10 %). This low coverage is partly due to the high cost of investing in improving and deploying the electricity network. This project aims to extend the supply of sustainable electricity in rural territories. How? Thanks to the emergence of a social operator using an innovative technological solution for monitoring of networks based on the Internet of Things. The latter should make it possible to reduce the time necessary to identify faults and improve the quality of the service.
For Eva Hanitriniaina Sahondralalaina, project manager at GRET Madagascar “the solution GRET has provided combines technological innovation and the structuring of a social business that will be prioritising the quality of the service. This will make it possible to ensure better access to electricity for and by users”.
“The system for supervising the supply network and the installation of intelligent meters optimises electricity consumption. Ultimately, this digitisation will favour upscaling with a view to extending the electricity service to other sites”, adds Flavien Martine, Energy programme manager at GRET.
Thanks to the technical and financial support of AFD, rural Malagasy populations will have sustainable access to a good-quality electricity service. Digitisation will make it possible to operate the service in better conditions. The success of the project will also favour contribution of private capital in the rural electrification sector.
