By Joseph Omotayo
For the Nigerian weather, whenever it rains, it pours. And whenever it pours, the national grid collapses.
It is no news that as much as Nigerians believe national electricity shortage happens during the heat season when people need power the most, they fear heavy thunderstorms always influence how distribution companies regulate power. This fear is rooted in the havoc rainstorms could wreak on poles and power lines, causing ripped wires and in some cases sparks that result in blackout for days.
To keep navigating this natural challenge during the season, is running a generator the way out or going green with solar technology that comes at almost zero cost to run?
Climate change: rain no longer predictable
This question becomes even more urgent because the predictable calendar of the rainy season we grew up with has changed. For decades, in much of the south and central parts, new rain starts in April and pauses in August. That particular month is usually termed as August break. What we have now is as unstable as a river’s tides. Rain falls heavily when you least expect it and the heat season drags into periods we considered wet seasons.
When the climate gets unstable like this, relying on the national grid gives more headaches than relief. Calculating whether solar works during the wet season should no longer be limited to upfront purchase cost but rather how one can keep the home from going dark during heavy unpredictable storms.
The grid also suffers in the rainy season
Part of the reason the grid keeps failing us during the rainy-stormy season comes down to the misunderstanding of how our national electricity works. The myth around Nigeria’s hydropower has often been that when water level is high during the rainy season, there is energy surplus, and the dry season often brings in power shortages with low water levels in the dams. However, that same rain poses a great risk to Nigeria’s poor power facilities.
When a storm hits, it pulls down light poles, tangles live cables and flooding resulting from poor drainage systems damages distribution facilities. To manage the lifespan of an already weaker infrastructure, DisCos quickly disconnects cities. This sudden unplanned disconnection leads to what is technically called load rejection.
A clearer way to paint this scenario is to imagine water being pumped out of the well with a high voltage 2hp pump and someone suddenly blocks its flow without it getting out. This causes tension and the water forces pressure back to the pump, flooding and in the worst case scenario blowing up the coil. This is what happens when electricity is suddenly rejected by distribution companies protecting infrastructure due to heavy rainfall. When the rejection happens and power can’t be stored, the fledging national grid collapses.
So, depending on a centralised power system in a prolonged rainy season is not a good gameplan for households and businesses.
Solar doesn’t need scorching sun
The first fear prospective solar users always have is: what becomes of my solar electricity generation when rain falls?
This fear comes from a big misconception of how solar technology actually works. Against the myth, solar panels only need diffused light to work. So on prolonged cloudy days, a burst of clear skies do the work.
Modern solar panels have been designed in such a way that they can handle scattered light in the skies for power generation. While your solar generation might drop during overcast days, it doesn’t just stop working. In fact, a well designed solar system with enough panels that account for such days will give you enough trickles to keep your battery charged and serve your basic appliances.
Solar’s decentralisation solves extreme climate change
Knowing that solar continues to harvest energy even in dark weather shows its advantage during unstable seasons. Taking control of your power begins with doing away with the centralisation that comes with the ever-falling national grid. A flooded city or fallen cables should not be the reason why your home should be in the dark. Solar electricity detaches you from the caprices of transmission lines and aging transformers and constant grid failures.
Going solar is not only being able to generate your electricity, it is giving you the ability to keep your household powered no matter how the weather turns out.
Joseph Omotayo is the head of Human Interest and Diaspora Desk at Legit. He has been writing on solar technology for more than four years.