Harness newer grid measurement technologies in the design, screening, and prioritization of power infrastructure projects. While the evaluation did not detect an impact on outages resulting from investments in line bifurcation, the high-resolution data from the GridWatch platform yielded extensive insights into the duration, frequency, and location of outages on the distribution network, while highlighting recurring patterns over time and across low, medium, and high-voltage segments of the local grid. Such granular data on grid performance was not available to MCC during the feasibility and design stages of the Ghana Power Compact, with project teams primarily relying on conventional data sources such as utility data on losses and outages, or targeted load flow analyses. Yet, with the advent of remote sensing platforms that can capture longitudinal grid performance data with relative ease, the design of future power infrastructure investments can be far more robust, leveraging enhanced precision in the analysis of root causes of outages, and even helping to pinpoint the weakest performing portions of the grid down to the feeder level. For instance, analysis from GridWatch data showed that had the worst-performing lines been identified and selected for transformer injections in Accra (instead of comparatively average-performing lines actually targeted), observed impacts on voltage could have been up to 20 percent higher, leading to 14 fewer hours per month of undervoltage experienced by customers. Moreover, deeper analysis of the spatial and temporal patterns of outages could inform the design of highly tailored demand-side interventions to reduce peak load during periods of high demand, when critical components of the grid are most overloaded.
Going forward, MCC country teams should identify and incorporate newer technology platforms into their due diligence planning, partnering with service providers who can integrate outage, voltage, and alternating current frequency data over time via remote sensing or other modalities going beyond conventional approaches, which typically rely on one-off spot measurements to conduct grid analyses. Such approaches should be enlisted particularly for planned investments in the distribution network of partner countries, with plans for deployment and data collection included in early stages of program development. If installed very early in the process, such analyses can help prioritize investments with greater accuracy by targeting the areas with highest needs. This can also assist in establishing baseline performance, while improving the rigor of target-setting and overall economic appraisal of program investments.