Open Energy Needs Local Champions

The perfect tool does not exist.

But the most powerful one does—and it’s open for us to master, together.

The journey to energy sovereignty starts not with knowing everything, but with starting somewhere.

The Reality Check: No One Has All the Answers

Let’s be clear: even the most advanced regulators are on a learning journey.

The ACER Project: The European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER) is building a massive open-source grid flexibility assessment tool. They are doing this not because they have all the answers, but because they prioritize sovereignty, adaptability, and collaborative innovation.

The Lesson: Their advantage isn’t omniscience; it’s agency. Open source grants them full visibility into the model's framework, allowing their experts to validate, challenge, and refine it based on real-world feedback. This creates a living tool that evolves, a practice we should consider adopting.

For Nigeria, Open Source Isn’t Just Technical—It’s Strategic.

Why does this matter for our national planning?

• Sovereignty & Transparency: Move from renting expensive, opaque software to owning transparent, adaptable public tools. Every decision and assumption in the model can be scrutinized and validated by our own experts.

• Capacity Building: It forces us to develop our own world-class talent. We learn by doing, not by watching.

• Tailored Solutions: We can customize models to our unique reality: our grid constraints, our demand patterns, our renewable resources. A one-size-fits-all model from abroad will always be a poor fit.

The Practical Path: How We Start (The "How")

We Start by Building Our Capability, One Model at a Time.

• Identify a Pilot Project: Start with a discrete but critical question: e.g., “Optimizing gas generation for the South-West” or “Modeling solar integration in the North.”

• Leverage Global Commons: Use proven, open-source tools like OSeMOSYS, PyPSA (for long-term planning). The global community has done the foundational work.

• Build a National Team: Assemble a small, cross-functional team from NERC, TCN, Ministry of Power, and academia. Their mission: learn, adapt, and run the model for the pilot.

• Iterate and Learn: The first results won’t be perfect. They will be ours. And with each iteration, we get smarter and more independent.

The Call to Leadership: Become the Champion

We have a choice: remain perpetual consumers of foreign solutions and expertise, or start the journey to become masters of our own energy destiny. This requires champions within our national institutions—leaders who are willing to advocate for:

• Investing in Skill Development over perpetual software licensing.

• Valuing Transparency and Reproducibility in our planning processes.

• Embracing Iterative Learning as a core national strategy.

The tools are free. The need is urgent. The talent is here.

Let’s start building.

#OpenModels #OpenAfrica