Energy innovation depends on ‘asking the right questions’ to problem solve
Moderator Marco Rahner (left) from Siemens Smart Infrastructure is joined by Ansuya Rungasamy and Billy Onyango (right).
Kenya Power’s Billy Onyango does not necessarily consider himself a “new ideas enthusiast”… but he does like innovation.
“That might sound like an oxymoron, but if you look at the field we work in, there are issues to do with operations and processes – that’s where the opportunity to actually innovate lies.”
The operations and maintenance engineer was speaking on the first day of Enlit Africa in a session dedicated to all things innovation. His approach to the topic might indeed sound contradictory, however: when we consider the grids sector, it makes all too much sense.
“I work in distribution, and this is one of the fields that hasn’t changed in centuries. So when someone talks about innovation in that area, I’m sure people get a bit jittery, because they ask themselves, ‘What can I change? It’s just cables and conductors.’”
Onyango’s words ring true for a segment whose work lies in a system constructed over a century ago – innovating on the power grid is a task easier said than done.
For Onyango however, this is not necessarily a deterrent to innovating. Rather, what’s key to innovating in the sector is a comprehensive understanding of the ‘status quo’.
“The cornerstone of innovation for me has to be understanding your status quo properly. Innovation must be driven by problem solving.
“Stress testing your current processes [and] operations, ensuring that you’re effectively executing it at 100%: once you’re able to convince yourself that you’re executing whatever you know at 100%, then you start looking at the gaps and where they’re coming from.
“This will give rise to innovation, whether it’s in policy, in processes, or even if it’s in new technology. But this innovation is not something you need to sell to anyone, because the problems will be very inherent.”
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Onyango was not the only speaker to touch on innovation from a policy aspect.
For Ansuya Rungasamy of GIZ (Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit) it all boils down to iteration.
A senior technical advisor on power sector reform, she said: “What we don’t realise is that often these things build over time. It’s not an ‘ideas guy’ coming in with brand new ideas immediately; it’s someone very connected to the context. These big ideas also need to be met with follow-through in terms of implementation.”
Rungasamy, although working on the policy and regulatory side of things, comes from a technical background; an attribute that has greatly influenced her understanding of innovation.
“I’m an engineer by training, and [when I started on the policy side] I was really worried that I seemed like I was the one who knew the least in the room. I could only ask questions, I didn’t have answers.
“Now, with a bit more experience, I’ve realized I’m still just asking questions. It’s not that I’m providing all the answers. I’m just asking better questions.”
This, says Rungasamy, is what is key: asking the right questions.
“People need to have the space to ask questions. They need to be able to try different things at every level. You can then either adopt the things that work, or you can learn when things don’t work. There needs to be a space to do that, and you just iterate through that.”
Also of importance, added Rungasamy, is acknowledging how things are becoming ever more connected; both solutions and problems.
“We’re seeing more an intersection between different topics. People previously would work in silos, either focusing on policy or technology. Problems are becoming more connected and so solutions have to become more connected as well. We need to learn from each other; that’s how we can start to find more solutions.”
On the other end of things, she added, stagnation is what happens when the best people in an organisation leave out of frustration at not being able to make change, despite being those who consult on the topic as experts.
“It’s really important that you keep the people who are trying to make positive change in your institution, give them the space.”
A big element towards that, she says, is the approach to problem solving.
“Don’t start by thinking, ‘Oh, we can’t do this because x, y, z.’
“Thinking of the response before you actually think of the solution leads to narrowing, as opposed to opening up and then thinking about the constraints.
“It sounds very simple, as I say it, but simple doesn’t mean easy. It needs to be a day-to-day and very institutionalised part of your organisation.”
Originally published on Enlit World.
