Fauzia Chevonne Okediji
Manager, Utility Innovation
Fauzia is a Manager, Utility Innovation at the Global Energy Alliance for People & Planet (GEAPP), where she develops and executes utility innovation strategies and related projects powered by renewables.
Fauzia has over 11 years’ experience developing and implementing policy & regulatory frameworks, initiatives, projects & business models that promote power sector transformation and energy access. She was previously the Advisor and Deputy Head of Unit for Sustainable Energy Access (On-Grid & Off-Grid) at the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP) – a technical assistance programme co-funded by the European Union and German Government (BMZ) implemented by GIZ in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Power – where she led the design & implementation of several initiatives & projects such as the Interconnected Mini-Grid Acceleration Scheme (IMAS) and Premium Grids, which paved a way for Utilities (DisCos) to enter partnerships with private developers to develop grid-connected renewables to further unlock the market & position it for scale-up. She also served as the secretariat for the Power Sector Development Partners Group supporting donor coordination in Nigeria, and the Ag. Community Manager for GIZ’s Energy Sector Network for Sub-Saharan Africa.
Prior to this, Fauzia worked with one of the largest utilities in Nigeria – Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) – where she played pivotal roles in the implementation and management of the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP) which contributed to increase Nigeria’s available electricity generation capacity by over 2000MW. Her role as the first female O&M engineer supporting the commercial operations of the Ihovbor/Benin Gas-Fired Power Plant (GenCo) directly contributed to increase the country’s generation capacity by 450MW, and encouraged gender inclusion & female participation across the utility. She has since then continued to advise and support young women to prepare and advance their careers in the Energy sector.
Fauzia holds a Master’s degree in Engineering, Technology, and Business Management from the University of Leeds, UK and a BEng. from Covenant University in Nigeria. She is also a certified RE professional, a Mandela Washington Fellow of the US Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), and an alumna of the African Leadership University’s Africa Industrial Internet Programme (AIIP) powered by General Electric (GE).