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Smart Infrastructure for Africa's Power

Visible, connected and community powered energy distribution.

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Introduction

PowerGridX is a smart infrastructure initiative addressing energy access across underserved African communities. Using tamper resistant smart meters, renewable smart poles and mobile first systems, we drive down inefficiency, theft, and outages.

Our platform delivers real-time asset visibility, secure contractor tools and accessible recharge options empowering utilities, technicians and residents alike.

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The Challenges – Field Insights

(Based on real-world experience from ECG & BPS digitalization project in Ghana)

High Energy Theft & Losses

Over 30% of electricity in Ghana is lost, largely due to theft, illegal connections and unregistered meters. ECG reported 32% total losses in 2024, with a significant portion tied to non-technical (commercial) losses. These leakages severely weaken utility revenues and long-term grid stability.

Source: Energy Commission of Ghana, ACEP

Broken Visibility & Data Gaps

Most meters were not previously linked to their poles or transformers, making tamper detection and fault tracing difficult. ECG only began implementing a GIS-based grid mapping system in 2022. Prior to this, tens of thousands of meters were effectively invisible in utility systems.

Source: MCC/ECG GIS project reports

Widespread Tampering & Ghost Consumption

Unregistered, diverted, and tampered meters are especially common in rural and peri-urban areas. In one audit, over 10,000 illegal meters were discovered in just one region. Ghost billing and fake meter imports continue to drain resources and damage public trust.

Source: ACEP audit, ECG/NEDCo reports

Manual Processes & Inefficiency

Installation and fault resolution still rely heavily on informal contractors, handwritten reports and delayed physical follow-ups. Lack of digital systems reduces accountability and leads to slow response times in both urban and rural deployments.

Customer Frustration & Low Trust

Frequent complaints from customers include unclear billing, delays in fault repairs and no visibility into usage or recharge status. These frustrations fuel illegal connections and reduce payment compliance, further worsening utility losses.

PowerGridX components overview

What We're Building

  • Tamper-proof smart meters with keypad + contractor-ID slot
  • Solar-powered smart poles (IoT enabled, public lighting)
  • Passive monitoring nodes to detect tampering
  • Cloud dashboard + blockchain log for real-time trust
  • Mini-grid-ready for off-grid & essential services

Why Now?

Traditional meter technology is outdated and easy to tamper with.

Rising demand for secure, remote management of electricity infrastructure.

Urgent need to expand access and improve reliability across underserved areas.

Energy Theft is a Public Cost and a Private Risk

As energy theft and tampering go unchecked, utilities lose revenue and communities lose trust. Every bypassed meter weakens the grid and with Ghana's increasing load demand, even small inefficiencies now create wide-scale outages tomorrow.

A Demand for Traceable Infrastructure

PGX is aligned with this shift, offering blockchain-secured logs and transparent service records to help meet ESG, SDG and governance benchmarks.

Why PowerGridX Matters visualization

Why It Matters

Tamper-resistant meters with transformer-pairing

Contractor ID-linked installations

Smart poles with passive nodes to detect illegal taps

Inclusive USSD & mobile-first recharge access

Real-time fault alerts + cloud-integrated logs

Audit trail secured by blockchain

Tackling energy theft, grid unreliability and bill transparency with scalable, modular solutions.

Aligned with World Bank Goals: 90% Global Electricity access & 210K+ mini-grids by 2030 (e3g.org)

Impact

Enable Digital-First Energy Access in Unreached Zones

PGX is designed to serve peri-urban and rural areas where digital services and infrastructure are often skipped. Our system works with or without high-speed internet, meaning it can empower last-mile users without excluding them.

Make Power Management Local and Traceable

By pairing each meter with a contractor, pole and community dashboard, PGX decentralizes grid visibility, so local workers are accountable, and local users are informed. This flips the trust model from top-down to community-first.

Build the Foundation for Smart Grid Readiness in West Africa

PGX doesn't just fix tampering, it lays the groundwork for a smart energy future: from load forecasting to community-level energy analytics. It's a step toward resilient, self-regulating grids.

Key Components

Smart Meter

Tamper-Resistant, Digitally Secured

  • Embedded tamper sensors
  • Transformer-authenticated pairing
  • LoRaWAN/Satellite-ready
  • USSD + mobile top-up
  • Blockchain monitoring enabled

Smart Pole

A multi-purpose, solar-powered infrastructure node.

  • Solar + battery backup
  • Dual LED public lighting
  • LoRa base node placement
  • Optional: mosquito-repelling tech
  • Blockchain monitoring enabled

Passive Smart Nodes (PSN)

Small, low-cost nodes for real-time grid monitoring.

  • Monitors voltage, current, and line activity
  • Detects illegal connections and faults
  • Sends data via LoRa to the cloud
  • Solar-powered and easy to install

Mini Grid Integration

PGX can integrate with or support mini-grids in off-grid rural areas.

  • Smart poles act as localized energy nodes
  • PGX meters for accurate usage & micropayments
  • USSD/mobile recharge for offline regions
  • Remote monitoring of usage, payments, and faults

Future Capabilities

At PowerGridX, we're designing a smart energy system that grows with the needs of communities and utilities. These features will be rolled out in phases as we grow and pilot:

🤖

AI-Powered Grid Intelligence

  • Detects abnormal consumption patterns to flag theft or technical issues
  • Learns from usage trends to optimize energy delivery
  • Predicts faults before they happen, reducing outages
📡

Smart Maintenance & Real-Time Alerts

  • Automatically sends fault alerts from meters and poles
  • Prioritizes urgent issues for faster contractor response
  • Enables predictive servicing based on real-time data
💬

SMS/USSD Fault Classification

  • Analyzes customer messages to detect likely root causes
  • Helps categorize issues (transformer vs. meter vs. line)
  • Streamlines rural fault reporting where apps aren't used
🌍

Modular Mini-Grids + Renewable Integration

  • Plug-and-play solar or wind mini-grids for off-grid communities
  • Works seamlessly with PGX meters, poles, and passive nodes
  • Enables cleaner, decentralized energy delivery at scale
🔐

Blockchain-Backed Trust Layer

  • Logs installations, payments, and user actions securely
  • Prevents ghost meters and fake top-ups
  • Verifies contractors and system interactions

⚙️ These features are designed into PGX's architecture and will be activated based on data availability and deployment scale. We begin with AI anomaly detection and SMS triage tools in the pilot phase.

This means once the pilot is live, we'll activate two smart features right away:
AI-powered anomaly detection to flag possible theft or faults, and an SMS triage tool to help classify and respond to customer fault reports faster.

PowerGridX Architecture

The full PowerGridX system integrates smart meters, smart poles, PSNs, mini grid, cloud backend and blockchain. Data is securely relayed from meters and poles to the cloud and immutable blockchain, enabling real-time monitoring and secure top-up.

PowerGridX Architecture Diagram

Passive Smart Nodes (PSN) Architecture

Passive Smart Nodes (PSNs) are small solar powered nodes installed on existing poles and power lines. They monitor voltage, current and line activity in real time also, and sends data via LoRa to the cloud.

Passive Smart Node Architecture Diagram

User Interface

Our mobile-first interface allows users to track usage, receive tamper alerts, top-up credit via USSD or mobile app, and report faults. Accessible and intuitive for everyone.

Contractor Interface

Licensed contractors use the PGX portal to authenticate, view jobs, scan, pair meters and submit geo-tagged, blockchain-logged reports, ensuring full traceability of all actions.

Contractor Interface

Photo Credit: The World Bank

Proof of Intent

Real users, contractors and partners are submitting their intent to participate in PGX pilots. See the interest we're gathering from the community.

Use Cases & Success Stories

Maame Ama, Landlord

Maame Ama owns a compound house and struggles with tenants not paying their electricity bills on time. With PGX, she can monitor each unit's consumption, receive low-credit alerts and ensure tenants top-up via USSD, preventing unpaid bills and disputes.

Use Case Story

Akua, Field Engineer

Akua is a licensed contractor who used to spend hours on manual installation reports. With the PGX app, she scans meters, pairs them with poles instantly and submits geo-tagged, blockchain-logged reports in minutes, improving her efficiency and providing a verifiable work history.

Use Case Story

Admin View, Utility Co.

From the PGX dashboard, utility staff can spot unusual activity or tampering in real-time, assign a licensed contractor for maintenance, and audit all actions transparently. This reduces losses and improves grid management.

Admin Dashboard
Sandra Mensah

About The Founder

Founded by Sandra Mensah, PowerGridX reflects my deep commitment to community-first innovation, infrastructure integrity and energy equity. I'm currently seeking aligned partners, advisors and early supporters, passionate about the future of reliable energy in Africa.

Contact Us

We're inviting early collaborators: local utilities, off-grid communities, NGOs, regulators and energy-forward investors. If you're interested in piloting PGX or supporting its mission, let's connect. 🚀

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