Big Bims

I went to Computer Village today and found our business model already running in the market. A solar vendor has put prepaid meters on the shops around him and sells power by the unit. The receipt says ₦894 per kWh plus VAT, which comes to ₦967.50. A shop paid ₦5,000 and got 5.17 kWh. At T&S Power Grid, the most we charge on any site is ₦400 per kWh. The same ₦5,000 buys 12.5 kWh from us. That’s more than twice the power. So I sat down and asked him how it works. He was honest. On many days the solar doesn’t last two hours, because the shops lean on it when NEPA fails. If a customer plugs in a heavy appliance, he can’t see it and can’t stop it. One big load drains the battery and everyone goes dark. That isn’t a pricing problem. It’s a control problem. This is why we built the Gateway Hub. It gives the host control of every connection: → Live usage per customer. The host sees who is drawing power and how much. 
→ A power cap on each connection. If a shop plugs in a pressing iron or a freezer above its limit, that line trips on its own. The other customers stay on. 
→ Remote cut and reconnect. The host does it from the dashboard without going to the meter. 
→ Time-of-day pricing. Evening power can cost more, which protects the battery for the hours that matter. 
→ Prepaid billing that runs on the device. It keeps working when the internet drops. Control is what brings the price down. When the battery isn’t drained by one customer, it serves everyone for longer. More kWh sold per day means the host earns well at a fair price, and customers stop paying a scarcity premium. The Computer Village vendor proves that people will pay for reliable power next door. Our job is to make it fair, measured and in the host’s control. If you own solar with spare capacity, or you’re funding solar for a market, an estate or a plaza, let’s talk.