DEMAND FLEXIBILITY IN INTERCONNECTED MINIGRIDS IN NIGERIA: OPERATIONAL AND ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS FOR DEVELOPERS, AND CUSTOMERS

This thesis investigates the potential for performance enhancement of interconnected minigrids in Nigeria through demand-side flexibility, quantifying the operational and economic implications for project developers and customers. Using empirical consumption data from over 800 customers, the study categorises users by consumption level to identify high-demand households with realistic potential for load shifting. Energy use for each appliance was estimated based on common household appliances and their typical usage durations. This analysis identified which appliance loads could be shifted to different times of day. A Time-of-Use pricing model was implemented to encourage the redistribution of shiftable loads to off-peak hours, aligning consumption with periods of higher solar photovoltaic (PV) availability. A key challenge addressed is evaluating the extent to which residential customers can participate in structured load-shifting programs and the associated system-level benefits. The results demonstrate that demand flexibility can lead to reductions in customer energy costs and lower reliance on fossil-fuel back-up generation during peak hours for developers. Also, solar PV usage improves through better demand alignment, and energy curtailment is minimised. These findings highlight the potential of demand-side management as a scalable strategy to enhance the efficiency, sustainability, and economic viability of interconnected minigrids and more broadly distributed energy resources.