Allan Wasega, Margaret Odero, Jordan Fast
An evidence-based article on healthcare electrification metrics argues for the need to disaggregate power quality and reliability (PQR) measurements at the room level rather than relying solely on facility-wide averages. Using data from nLine’s GridWatch deployment in Sierra Leone, the authors demonstrate that critical care rooms—such as ICUs and neonatal units—experience significantly different PQR outcomes compared to hospital-wide metrics, affecting patient safety and healthcare delivery. The article highlights the importance of prioritizing room-level electrification assessments to ensure that life-saving equipment receives stable and reliable power.
Olufolahan Osunmuyiwa, Margaret Odero
This article explores how power quality and reliability (PQR) measurements can be used to address electricity inequities in sub-Saharan Africa. It presents a framework that integrates PQR data with energy justice theories to quantify disparities in electricity access, focusing on marginalized communities. Using data from Accra, Ghana, the study highlights the intersection of PQR and multidimensional poverty, demonstrating how poor electricity quality disproportionately impacts vulnerable households and proposing data-driven strategies for equitable energy transitions.
Margaret Odero, Mohini Bariya
A method for estimating the extent of grid outages using individual sensor reports, while filtering out false outage reports caused by sensor unplugs or prepaid meter run-outs. The approach leverages DBSCAN, a density-based clustering algorithm, to group outage reports that are close in time and space into meaningful outage events. By defining spatial and temporal thresholds, the method ensures accurate identification of real grid outages, enabling better computation of reliability metrics like SAIDI and SAIFI.
Margaret Odero, Joshua Adkins
This blog post details the deployment of sensors in rural Kenya to measure distribution outages and voltage quality, comparing these findings with data from urban Accra. It explains the methodology of rotating sensor placements to broaden geographic coverage, evaluates sensor uptime and cellular connectivity, and reveals that, contrary to expectations, rural outage durations were shorter than those observed in Accra. These engineering lessons offer valuable insights for improving grid reliability monitoring in diverse settings.
Margaret Odero, Ale Wall
This blog post examines power reliability and voltage quality in newly grid-connected villages in Kenya by deploying sensors in 150 villages across five counties. The data collected over 12 months provided insights into power outages, voltage fluctuations, and the impact of distance from the transformer on voltage quality. The findings contribute to understanding how different donor-funded electrification projects influence grid performance and highlight key patterns in rural electricity reliability.
