Cape Town, South AfricaMay 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On May 20, during Enlit Africa 2026, one of the most influential energy events in Africa, Huawei successfully hosted the Southern Africa Power Summit under the theme “Building Future Power Systems, Unleashing Powerful Digital and Intelligent Productivity.” Multiple power enterprises, including South Africa’s national power utility Eskom, Ghana’s BPA Power Authority, Nigeria’s Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), as well as industry authoritative organizations such as the International Council on Large Electric Systems (CIGRE) and ecological partners, gathered to conduct in-depth discussions on development trends and practices related to topics such as wireless communication networks for the power industry. During the summit, Huawei, in collaboration with partners, released a smart substation solution for the Southern Africa region, aiding the digital and intelligent transformation of Africa’s power sector.
During the keynote session of Enlit Africa, Wang Guoyu, Vice President of Huawei’s Electric Power Digitalization Army, delivered a keynote speech titled “Advancing Comprehensive Intelligence, Empowering Future Power Systems.” He pointed out that the future prosumer model is becoming a new paradigm for energy transition, and power systems are at a critical juncture of transitioning towards intelligence. Artificial intelligence and digitalization are the core driving forces reshaping the entire process of power generation, transmission, and distribution. Huawei will continue to introduce its leading AI capabilities and reliable communication technologies into power scenarios, helping African power companies leap into a new era of intelligence.
During the summit, Huawei, in collaboration with CIGRE and Zhuhai Unitech Power Technology Co., Ltd., released a smart substation solution for the Southern Africa region, marking a firm commitment to driving the intelligent upgrade of African substations through ecological synergy.
At the same time, several African customer representatives shared profound insights. One representative stated during the sharing: “This solution integrates intelligent video, AI algorithms, and secure wireless networks, achieving intelligent substitution for the four major operations: ‘manual monitoring, manual inspection, manual meter reading, and manual analysis.’ This allows substation operation and maintenance personnel to perceive the entire station without leaving their posts, compressing fault inspection efficiency from days to minutes, and significantly reducing operation and maintenance labor costs by 70%. Our cooperation with Huawei has enabled us to possess comprehensive digital perception capabilities for the transmission network for the first time, truly realizing a transformation from reactive repairs to proactive warnings.”
That afternoon, Huawei, in collaboration with CIGRE and the 450MHz Alliance, hosted a roundtable meeting on wireless private networks and power communication networks. The meeting focused on in-depth sharing and discussion of development trends and application practices for wireless communication networks, all-optical networks, and data communication networks in the power industry. Gösta Kallner, Chairman of the 450MHz Alliance, emphasized in his speech: “The power wireless private network, represented by the 450MHz spectrum, with its wide-area coverage, diverse ecosystem, and future-oriented evolution capabilities, has become the cornerstone for ensuring the reliable and sustainable operation of the power grid.” Representatives from CIGRE pointed out from an international standardization perspective that a unified technical framework and global practice sharing are key to accelerating the digital transformation of power grids. All parties at the meeting agreed that building a ubiquitous, secure, and efficient power communication foundation is irreplaceably significant for supporting new power systems and achieving sustainable power development in Africa.
In the future, Huawei will continue to uphold the concept of deep engagement in scenarios, closely partnering with power customers and ecological partners in Southern Africa and across the entire African continent, continuously embedding AI and digital intelligence technologies into all power scenario applications. At the same time, Huawei is committed to making intelligent, efficient, and reliable power infrastructure a solid foundation for Africa’s economic growth and energy transition, jointly writing the future of sustainable intelligent energy on this land full of hope.
Learn more: https://e.huawei.com/cn/industries/grid/power-grid/smart-substation