Comparative Assessment of Smart Grid Readiness for Sustainable Power Development: Lessons from Thailand and Nigeria

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative study exploring how smart grid technologies can be leveraged to achieve power sector sustainability, shifting from a localized case study into a systemic, five-dimensional national assessment of Thailand and Nigeria. While both nations are navigating the clean energy transition, their developmental baselines, technical infrastructures, and policy trajectories diverge sharply. Thailand approaches smart grid modernization from an advanced optimization maturity phase, aiming to integrate high penetrations of Variable Renewable Energy (VRE) into a mature, near-universally electrified centralized grid under its mid-term Smart Grid Development Action Plan. Conversely, Nigeria stands in an emerging rehabilitative maturity phase, leveraging smart decentralized systems as a disruptive mechanism of necessity to bridge a massive electrification gap, bypass a fragile transmission network, and formalize subnational power structures under its landmark Electricity Act. This paper evaluates both nations across a standardized five-dimensional framework: Policy & Regulatory, Grid Infrastructure, Smart Grid Technologies, Market & Consumer Participation, and Sustainability & Renewable Integration. By delivering a comprehensive comparative matrix, a paired SWOT & TOWS analysis, and a structured implementation roadmap, this study highlights recommendation differences dictated by national infrastructure maturity rather than declaring an absolute superior model, offering critical cross-border insights for sustainable grid modernization