Outlook bright as solar energy keeps Nigerian homeworkers powered up

By Libby George and Nneka Chile
LAGOS, May 20 (Reuters) - In a hallway in Lagos, Gbemisola
Olowokere taps contentedly on her laptop. The 23-year-old says
the corner, underneath a sliver of window, has functioned well
as a makeshift office since the coronavirus pandemic forced her
to work from home.
But things didn't start well.
"I had major problems," Olowokere told Reuters. "I have
deadlines and things I need to submit ... and I couldn't,
because I didn't have power."
Nigeria's notoriously sclerotic power infrastructure means
fuel-powered generators provide at least four times as much
electricity as the grid.
Most locals have generators, but few run them through the
day due to cost, noise and - a growing health risk since the
respiratory disease started spreading - choking smoke.
Olowokere found her solution in a yellow box bought by her
employer from solar company Lumos. Connected to a panel on her
roof, it keeps her phone, laptop and WiFi running through the
workday, as well as a music speaker.
Lumos is one of at least a dozen solar energy companies that
have been competing to help fill Nigeria's power gap, and
COVID-19 has made the need for their services more acute.
Since Lagos's lockdown began on March 30, Lumos has sold
around 150 power units for home-based office workers for 100,000
naira ($280) each, half what it charges for its newest
batteries.
Rival Rensource's Keepwork unit retails for 180,000 naira.
It runs on a solar panel small enough to be propped on a
balcony, and can charge off the grid. Company founder Ademola
Adesina said 600 have been sold since the start of April.
Arnergy Solar Limited, meanwhile, has installed solar panels
at five medical facilities around Lagos state, and healthcare
clients in other states have also purchased panels since the
pandemic began, Vice President Azeez Onasoga said.
($1 = 360.0000 naira)