Fireside Chat: Advancing Digital Grids – Lessons From Utilities in Emerging Markets – Tony Granvile, Energy Sector Management Assistance Program – World Bank & Oluwafemi Fajemirokun, West African Power Pool
Event Recap: LF Energy Summit Europe 2025
TL;DR
At LF Energy Summit Europe 2025, Tony Granvile of the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program and Oluwafemi Fajemirokun of the West African Power Pool discussed digital grid modernization in West Africa. The fireside chat explored the region’s electricity market integration efforts, the challenges of expanding infrastructure while modernizing existing systems, and where open source could support utilities across areas such as planning, cybersecurity, metering, and market management and coordination platforms.
Building a Regional Electricity Market
Fajemirokun opened by introducing the West African Power Pool, a regional institution created by the heads of state of ECOWAS to help integrate power systems across West Africa and support the creation of a regional electricity market.
He explained that the organization brings together public and private power utilities across the region. The West African Power Pool includes about 53 utilities across different countries and operates through committees and working groups focused on areas including load frequency, system reliability, protection coordination, cybersecurity, SCADA, telecoms and markets.
The West African Power Pool’s Information and Coordination Center in Benin currently acts as the system and market operator for the region. Fajemirokun also said the organization is putting forward a working group focused on digitalization and open source, reflecting the growing importance of shared digital tools and coordinated approaches across the regional power system.
The discussion framed digitalization as part of a broader market development journey. Fajemirokun said the first phase of the market was running at the time of the session and that the organization was working on the remaining conditions needed to start a day-ahead market, which he said could launch by the end of 2025 or early 2026.
Expanding Infrastructure While Modernizing Existing Systems
Fajemirokun described the region’s digital grid challenge as double-edged. Utilities need to expand electricity infrastructure because electricity penetration remains low in parts of the region. At the same time, they also need to modernize and digitalize existing infrastructure.
That combination creates challenges around financing, expertise, technology choices and implementation capacity. Fajemirokun said this is where open source can help utilities look at new technologies, new partnerships, new skills and new ways of thinking.
The presentation highlighted several digital grid areas already underway or under consideration. The West African Power Pool has integrated SCADA from some power utilities into a main SCADA system in Benin for grid monitoring and control. It has also deployed PMUs across the region and operates an energy management system through the Information and Coordination Center.
At the same time, Fajemirokun noted that availability of these systems remains limited in other utilities across the region. He cited a World Bank study finding that only one of 25 surveyed utilities had a full suite of fundamental digital tools, including an energy management system. He said many utilities either lack critical systems or have systems that are underutilized.
Opportunities for Open Source Across Utility Operations
The session explored several areas where open source technologies could be considered by utilities in the region. Fajemirokun pointed to enterprise asset management as one area of interest, particularly as utilities look to reduce downtime and improve maintenance practices.
Cybersecurity was another major topic. As regional interconnections expand, Fajemirokun said the West African Power Pool is assessing cybersecurity readiness across electricity utilities. He described work around cybersecurity protocols, data analytics, digital platforms, intrusion detection, intrusion prevention, virtual private networks and the development of a regional security operations center.
The discussion also covered metering. Fajemirokun said smart meters are currently used primarily to reduce losses and improve billing accuracy, but he pointed to opportunities to support more advanced grid functions, including demand response, predictive maintenance, load forecasting and customer platforms.
Other areas included data analytics and AI for grid planning, market and coordination platforms, congestion management, ancillary services and TSO control area coordination tools. Fajemirokun described these as areas the organization is evaluating or working toward as part of a broader digitalization roadmap.
Using Regional Coordination to Harmonize Tools
A recurring theme throughout the fireside chat was the role of regional coordination. Fajemirokun said the West African Power Pool’s structure allows members to pool resources, spread costs and harmonize standards through working groups and committees.
He explained that the organization does not want individual utilities to adopt different tools in isolation. Instead, it is planning to create a working group focused on open source technologies and platforms that may be suitable for utilities across West Africa.
Under the approach described in the session, the working group would evaluate open source software, identify several utilities to run pilots and use the results to benchmark tools for wider regional use. As examples, Fajemirokun suggested that pilot utilities could potentially be selected from countries such as Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal.
The session also addressed interoperability. In response to a question from the audience, Fajemirokun said the West African Power Pool had previously faced challenges when different planning tools were used across the region. That experience reinforced the need to bring utilities together before adopting technologies so that interoperability can be addressed early.
Cybersecurity, Regulation and Market Trust
Granvile noted that the World Bank has been supporting the West African Power Pool and is assisting with cybersecurity maturity assessment work. He said the work draws on cybersecurity maturity models from the World Bank and the U.S. Department of Energy.
Fajemirokun said open source could play a role in some areas of cybersecurity, but emphasized that tools would need to be assessed before adoption. He pointed to potential areas such as intrusion detection, intrusion prevention, and other security monitoring tools.
The discussion also touched on the role of regulators. Fajemirokun said system operations decisions are defined by the operator, while regulators become involved where compliance, standards or adoption requirements are needed. He gave cybersecurity protocols and grid code requirements as examples of areas where the regulator may be involved.
When asked which areas need the quickest attention, Fajemirokun identified cybersecurity and metering for market platforms as urgent priorities. He tied those priorities to the need to support trust in the market as the regional electricity market continues to develop.
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Last updated: June 25, 2026
AI Disclosure
This post used artificial intelligence tools for research, structural assistance, or grammatical refinement. The final content was reviewed, edited, and validated by human contributors to LF Energy to ensure accuracy and alignment with our community standards. We remain committed to transparency in the use of generative technologies within the open source ecosystem.
