THE NIGERIAN POWER SECTOR UNCERTAINTY

The Nigerian power sector has been a cause for concern lately. There have been talks about the sector not meeting up to expectations. The minister, however, blames the poor performance of the sector on lapses traced to the DISCOs. The DISCOs, on the other hand, think that there are other issues which contribute to the poor performance. Apart from insufficient meters to customers, the industry is grappling with inadequate power generation and transmission problems.

The Shocker

Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, ANED, said that Nigeria may not have stable power supply in the next five years.  Mr Sunday Oduntan, the Executive Director, Research and Advocacy of ANED disclosed this at a news conference. He said that they should address the challenges in the power sector, otherwise we may not have a stable power supply in the next five years.

According to Oduntan, there are challenges inhibiting power sector efficiency. They include a liquidity gap of N1.3 trillion, lack of improved generation due to mismatched electricity pricing. Lack of much-needed investment in transmission and distribution network and rising energy theft among others.

Oduntan said that the illiquidity in the sector must be prioritized because the sector could not afford to collapse. “If the power sector collapses, many banks will collapse because in 2013 during privatization, only one Distribution Company obtained foreign loan, others took loans from local banks in dollars.

“Privatization was based on 30 per cent equity and 70 percent loan. Oduntan decried the prevalent non-reflective tariff and called on the government to prevail on the military, Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) to pay for energy consumed. Read more.

Meanwhile, the NERC has just approved about 65 firms as meter asset providers. Their services may among others include financing, procurement, installation, repair and replacement of electricity meters according to the MAP Regulations, 2018.