Arthur Jacquiau-Chamski

Founded in 2014, SparkMeter develops and commercializes electric metering systems aimed at enabling high quality electricity service for the underserved - be it for off-grid, village-scaled applications or lower-income neighborhoods within the footprint of existing grids. SparkMeter was born out of the observation that, while electric metering is of tremendous importance for sustainability of electricity access, no solution existed at a reasonable price and with the right functionality to enable a sustainable service for low-income households in developing countries. This leads to initiatives doomed to inflated operational cost, bad quality of service, and in most of the case failure after a few years. SparkMeter's turnkey metering system enables pre-payment, load-limiting, remote monitoring and control. It is based on 3 years of research and prototyping (including real implementation in Haiti) within EarthSpark and an extensive knowledge of the global electric microgrid sector. We see it as a sustainable initiative enabler in rural electrification and expansion of grid service to poorer populations.

EarthSpark International is a US-based non-profit aimed at empowering communities by increasing sustainable access to energy. Active in Haiti since 2009, EarthSpark acts as an incubator for market-based approaches that can be spun-off as social entreprises once their model has been proven successful and sustainable. I joined the team, and moved full-time to Haiti, in March 2013 to develop EarthSpark's electric microgrid initiative, that had started being defined in 2010, and which had a first 14-customer pilot operating in Les Anglais (Sud) since November 2012. In a country where 75% of the population doesn't have even limited access to electricity, EarthSpark's goal is to develop a sustainable, replicable, RE-based microgrid model to empower and develop rural communities. I've left Haiti after completing the launch of our USAID funded full-scale pilot in June 2015: 450 connections covering the whole downtown area of Les Anglais, monitored using SparkMeter's smart metering solution, distributed over 4.5 km of low-voltage and 1.3 km of 3-phase medium-voltage lines, powered by a 93 kW PV hybrid generation system. During that same period of time, we have also pushed various initiatives to expand our model once the pilot proves its success - study of the legal and regulatory environment, work in collaboration with the Haitian government to have our pilot recognized and expand to other municipalities, approaching local authorities. One concession agreement has been signed with the local authorities of another town in Haiti.

Inside a research team dedicated to developing decision-helping tools for gas transportation, I created then led and developed during 4 years a series of projects aimed at optimizing operations in gas transportation networks. With a project team of up to 8 engineers and PhDs, we developed a breakthrough decision aiding tool for the operation of GRTgaz' network - the main Gas Transportation System Operator in France. This tool is now used daily by the operators, helping them adapt to a changing market environment and saving millions of euros a year in fuel. Working hand-in-hand with GRTgaz, the team also led the transition to transient operation, by providing expert advice on off-the-shelf simulation tools, performing studies for specific power plant projects and developing a mathematical engine focused on providing quick answers to complicated operation problems. These projects and tools have been presented and discussed in several conferences (PSIG, Simone), and awarded several innovation and business prizes in GDF SUEZ.