Energy Infrastructure Specialist · Grid Connections Expert
Over a decade advancing electricity grid systems — from Nigeria's distribution networks to UK national energy policy. Specialist in accelerating strategic grid connections, reducing technical losses, and enabling infrastructure that powers economic growth.
Highlights & Recognition
Professional Summary
Oluwatosin Bubare Ayoko is an electricity grid connections professional with over a decade of experience across Nigeria and the United Kingdom. His career spans hands-on field operations in electricity distribution, revenue protection, and feeder management — through to high-level national policy development at the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ).
He is best known for his instrumental role in creating the Connections Accelerator Service (CAS) — a landmark UK government initiative that has streamlined grid access for strategically important developments such as data centres, EV infrastructure, and industrial zones, unlocking over £35 billion in infrastructure investment.
His academic research at the University of South Wales explored underground hydrogen energy storage as a solution to wind power curtailment in Scotland — combining MATLAB simulation with real-world grid data to demonstrate commercial and technical viability.
Current Role
Senior Policy Advisor
Strategic Demand Connections
UK Dept. for Energy Security & Net Zero
Education
MSc Renewable Energy & Sustainable Technology
University of South Wales, UK — 2024
BEng Mechanical Engineering
Federal University of Technology Akure, Nigeria — 2011
Career Journey
November 2024 – Present
UK Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (DESNZ) 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
September 2022 – August 2023
BEDC Electricity Plc 🇳🇬 Ondo, Nigeria
March 2020 – September 2022
BEDC Electricity Plc (VIPL Global Services) 🇳🇬 Akure, Nigeria
October 2014 – February 2020
BEDC Electricity Plc (VIPL Global Services) 🇳🇬 Ondo, Nigeria
April 2013 – September 2014
Cleanserve Integrated Energy Solutions Limited 🇳🇬 Lagos, Nigeria
Academic & Research Work
Wind power curtailment represents a significant inefficiency in the UK's renewable energy infrastructure — particularly in Scotland, where wind generation frequently exceeds grid demand or capacity. This dissertation proposed a hydrogen-based energy storage model as a strategic solution to this systemic waste.
The research employed a mixed-method approach: a comprehensive literature review on wind power and green hydrogen production, followed by a quantitative simulation using MATLAB™ to model hydrogen integration into the grid across four scenarios. A techno-economic assessment evaluated the model's feasibility using Levelized Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH), Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE), and Capacity Factor metrics.
Results showed that surplus electricity could be converted to hydrogen via electrolysis, stored underground, and reconverted to electricity via fuel cells during peak demand — demonstrating competitive LCOH and LCOE values, and strong capacity factors for both electrolyzers and fuel cells.
📝 Currently under review — publication forthcoming
Key Methodology
Research Impact
Advocates underground hydrogen storage as a scalable solution to curtailment, supporting a more resilient, efficient energy future for Scotland and the broader UK energy system.
A pioneering grid loss detection initiative that combined micro-level customer mapping with geospatial tools (OSM Tracker, JOSM, Google Earth) to identify commercial loss hotspots, unbilled connections, and misclassified meters.
A pilot test in the Alagbaka Service Unit validated the approach — reducing ATC&C losses from 76% to 48% and significantly improving billing accuracy and revenue collection.
Co-developed a landmark UK Industrial Strategy initiative enabling high-impact demand sectors — data centres, industrial facilities, public institutions — to obtain grid connections more rapidly and predictably.
Designed the CAS Pathway Framework aligning customer journeys with BAU processes. The service has unlocked over £35 billion in infrastructure investment that might otherwise have relocated to other European countries.
Section 01
Examines how systematic, field-based network auditing can be deployed to tackle commercial and collection losses across sub-Saharan African power distribution networks, drawing on evidence from a Nigerian power utility.
View Publication (DOI) →Explores the case for regulatory stopgap powers to safeguard Nigeria's critical electricity infrastructure, moving the conversation beyond purely commercial disputes toward resilience and continuity of supply.
View Publication (DOI) →Section 02
Investigates how blockchain technology could enable peer-to-peer electricity trading in Nigeria, reshaping how power is bought, sold, and accounted for at the grid edge.
View Publication (DOI) →Considers the role hydrogen energy can play as a catalyst accelerating the UK's transition to a low-carbon energy system.
View Publication (DOI) →Global Grid Infrastructure Initiative
Electricity networks are the backbone of every economy — from rapidly industrialising nations to the world's most advanced energy markets. Oluwatosin's global endeavour draws on a uniquely cross-continental career: from the high-loss distribution networks of sub-Saharan Africa to the regulatory corridors of UK national energy policy, and outward to the emerging challenges of grid systems worldwide.
His work is grounded in a simple but powerful conviction — that the systemic challenges facing electricity grids, whether in Lagos, London, or Los Angeles, share common roots: aging infrastructure, commercial and technical losses, fragmented connection processes, and the urgent pressure of rising demand. The solutions, too, can be shared: evidence-based diagnostics, rigorous metering practice, coordinated policy design, and inclusive stakeholder engagement.
Alongside his professional practice, Oluwatosin is committed to nurturing the next generation of energy professionals — volunteering with Working Options career day and renewable energy theme day programmes, bringing real-world electricity expertise into schools and youth settings to inspire young people to understand energy, engage with the electricity sector, and imagine careers that will shape the grid of tomorrow.
Foundation of Expertise
🇳🇬
Nine years in Nigeria's electricity distribution sector — at BEDC Electricity Plc — provided deep hands-on expertise in metering integrity, energy auditing, and commercial loss prevention. Working within the framework of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Oluwatosin led field programmes that tackled energy theft, misclassified connections, and unbilled consumption across complex distribution networks. His deployment of geospatial tools for network mapping and micro-level customer enumeration drove ATC&C losses down from 76% to 48% in his coverage area — a measurable, evidence-based result. Revenue collection in his service unit rose from ₦35M to an unprecedented ₦105M, demonstrating the transformative power of rigorous metering practice and structured energy audits.
🇬🇧
At the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), Oluwatosin moved from field practitioner to national policymaker — co-designing the Connections Accelerator Service (CAS), which has unlocked over £35 billion in strategic infrastructure investment. Working alongside Ofgem, NESO, DNOs, and transmission operators, he developed pathway frameworks that reduced barriers for high-impact demand sectors including data centres, EV charging networks, and advanced manufacturing. His work demonstrated that the same principles underpinning loss reduction in Nigeria — clear diagnostics, process discipline, and stakeholder alignment — scale directly into the regulatory and commercial complexity of a G7 energy market.
🌍
The electricity challenges of the 21st century — grid congestion, renewable integration, loss reduction, and the race to connect new demand — are not confined to any single country. Oluwatosin's dual experience across emerging and advanced energy markets equips him to diagnose grid inefficiencies, design scalable interventions, and engage meaningfully with regulators and stakeholders across diverse contexts. Whether advising on NERC-compliant metering standards, Ofgem regulatory processes, FERC orders, or the operational realities of under-resourced distribution utilities, his cross-market perspective is a distinctive and rare asset.
Strategic Delivery Approach
Phase 01
Drawing on energy audit expertise developed under NERC-regulated networks in Nigeria, this phase involves comprehensive surveys of grid connection landscapes — identifying aging infrastructure, high-loss operators, metering vulnerabilities, and commercial loss hotspots. Geospatial tools and customer enumeration techniques refined in the field are applied to surface inefficiencies invisible to desk-based analysis.
Phase 02
Simulation and geospatial mapping tools — including Python and MATLAB — are used to model loss patterns, quantify reliability risks, and assess the economic cost of connection delays and metering failures. This approach mirrors the analytical methodology that drove loss reduction at BEDC and informs the policy design work at DESNZ, adapted for the regulatory context of any target market.
Phase 03
Designing standardised connection protocols, high-voltage bypass strategies, pole-mounted metering systems to eliminate tampering, and enhanced metering communication infrastructure. Interventions are calibrated for local regulatory standards — whether NERC requirements in Nigeria, Ofgem conditions in the UK, FERC orders and NERC reliability standards in the US, or equivalent frameworks elsewhere.
Phase 04
Stakeholder engagement — with utilities, regulators, developers, and communities — sits alongside a firm commitment to education. Through volunteering with Working Options career day and renewable energy theme day programmes, Oluwatosin actively introduces young people to the electricity sector: how grids work, why energy matters, and how the next generation can build careers that will shape a cleaner, more reliable energy future.
Applied Tools & Live Deployments
A professional and easy-to-use web tool that helps energy developers assess their eligibility for a GB electricity grid connection before making a formal application. It maps available capacity at Grid Supply Points across Great Britain, guides users through key pre-application decisions, and generates an AI-powered assessment report — all informed by live NESO data and the TMO4+ Connections Reform framework.
Note: Reports generated are for information purposes only.
Visit Live Project →Technical & Professional Capabilities
Professional Affiliations
Get In Touch
Oluwatosin is based in Cardiff, UK, and is actively engaged in electricity grid connections, policy development, and renewable energy research. For professional enquiries, collaboration opportunities, or media requests, please reach out through any of the channels below.