Every indication points at one thing: Nigeria may not enjoy stable
power supply throughout the Muhamnadu Buhari’s administration, even
until 2022.
And this is despite all efforts to reverse the reality, Ripples Nigeria findings have revealed.
Further affirmation to this assertion came recently, when the
Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, admitted that a system failure,
which started on May 8, 2017 had worsened.
A statement from the ministry said that, “The system witnessed
collapse on May 8, 2017 at 14.29 hours, system frequency suddenly and
sharply dropped from 51.06Hz to 43.37Hz, leading to system collapse.
‘’Prior to the collapse, Benin/Egbin 330kV line (cct B6N) was out on fault due to cut sky wire between towers #460 & 461.
“On May 9, 2017, average power sent out was 3425Wh/hour (up by 468MWh/h). The reported gas constraint was 1915MW.
“The reported line constraint was 150MW. The reported high frequency
constraint was 59MW. The water management constraint was 260MW. The
power sector lost an estimated N1, 144,000,000 on May 09 2017 due to
constraints.”
But that was not the first time electricity consumers have had to
bear loss of power supply, as there were three system collapse incidents
in June 2016 and twice in April 2017.
To many experts and other stakeholders, given the fact that the
sector had since 2013 been privatised and series of local and
international fundings channeled through the current operators, Nigeria
is supposed to have moved from the least level it occupies at the global
level in renewal energy rating within the last 10 years.
But the discordant notes from the operators: the power generators
(Gencos), power distributors (Discos) and the Transmission company of
Nigeria (TCN) on one hand, and the regulators, the Nigerian Electricity
Regulatory Commission (NERC), representing government, on the other has
complicated the matter.
According to Ms Philomena Adeniji, the spokesman of the Association
of Electricity Distributors of Nigeria (AEDN), there seems to be some
vested interests sabotaging all attempts to record efficiency in service
delivery of the operators.
“The government is not supporting us the way that we had expected, in
terns of its promise at inception in 2013 that fund facilities, like
loans, would be made towards turning around all the dilapidated
equipment that the operators inherited from the defunct PHCN.
“Not even the cumulative unsettled bills owed by government agencies,
totalling more than N50 billion and fresh ones of about N10 billion
have been paid. That Gencos are at loggerhead with us today for not
meeting up on our obligation, all because of non release of the seed
money and other obligations to the sector by government”
But the Minister, Babatunde Fashola, said the $5.2 billion World Bank
loan facilities were part of efforts taken by the Federal Government
and aimed at revamping the sector.
He also noted, that “We have made it clear that the auditing of the
accounts of the operators, as well as putting minimum capital base for
each sub-sector will go a long way to identifying serious ones among
them.
“Those of them that are not ready to invest in the sector will give
way for us to attain certain level of improvement through the willing
ones.
“There is every available evidence that each operator was aware of
what they were buying into as investors, right from inception”, he
asserted.
But Mr. Nureden Alao, the general manager, Marketing/Corporate
Affairs, Electex Nigerian Limited, one of the power generating companies
said both the Discos and TCN were to be blamed for incessant power
failure in the country.
In his words, “There have been instances when the volume of power
generated are not fully transmitted, and at times not fully distributed,
and we are being forced to bear the loss alone. Never, no investment
can return itself in that method.
“Of all the subsectors, it is the Gencos that are most capital intensive, yet it is the most owed of all the operators.”
But the GM (Public Affairs) TCN, Seun Olagunju, absolving his outfit
of any blame in the admitted system failure, stated that most of the
badly damaged and out modelled facilities in the system were inherited
by TCN.
“For instance, the Damboa Substation, Bornu State, previously having a
60MVA 132/33kV capacity transmission station with fully equipped
control room and staff quarters was completely destroyed by Boko Haram
insurgents on the 4th of July, 2014.
“However, we have been able to install and energized another 40MVA
132/33kV mobile power transformer there just in May 7th, 2017. Others
are stalled due to scarcity of funds, still all hopes are not lost as
the World Bank loan, we are told is almost ready.”
A World Bank report, published recently, says Nigeria is one of the
least electrified nations with its current power generation, fluctuating
between 3,000 and 5,000MWs, compared with South Africa with a quater of
Nigeria’s population having 35,000MWs and Ghana having 15,000MWs .
The report further says, “about 75 million Nigerians lack access to
adequate electricity, while Nigeria is ranked highest among the
countries with electricity-access deficit among developing countries
within the renewable energy map.”
Mr. Earnest Ikoro, a former director with Shoreline Power Company put
it this way: “Nigeria is yet to be blessed with solution provider as
far as electricity is concerned.
“The report to the government from the private sector on how to allow
independent public project (IPP) decongest the national grid was never
considered by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) when unbundling
both NEPA and PHCN.
“The result is the situation that has seen the country even worse
than before the emergence of the Discos and Gencos. Unfortunately, there
is no solution on the ground for that to change, until that report,
which supports privatising TCN.
“As if that is not enough, Fashola’s portfolio is over-bloated
assignments, for progress to be made, the ministry must be decongested
forthwith.”
Nigeria is among a few countries that are blessed with natural resources that could see it export power to other countries.
For instance, it can generate electricity from water, the sun, coal,
wind and gas. Not many countries are so rich in this regard.
Ikoro maintained that any industry, which relies on public power for
its production will not survive in Nigeria in the next five years.
