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National Leader of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi, has described as worrisome the incessant collapse of the national grid, which he noted occurred a record of 141 times within 11 years. Obi, in an article, The Collapsing Electricity Sector, called on the Federal Government to constitute a technical taskforce of professionals without political consideration, to present a diagnosis of the crisis of the sector.
“The Nigeria electricity supply industry faces real and present danger of collapse despite efforts made in more than two decades to initiate a reform,” he wrote. The former LP presidential candidate noted that Nigeria has only 13,000mw of electricity whereas the national demand is about 200,000mw. According to him, out of the 13,000mw, only about 3,500mw are available for homes and businesses, which he said, put Nigeria as the lowest per capita wattage in the world.
“It is sad today that we suffer periodic and routinised system collapses that are attributed to such avoidable situations as fire outbreaks at critical transmission lines across our major cities. “It is absolutely distressing and a story of a low-level of managerial capability that the entire nation can be plunged into total darkness for a reasonable period as networks go out because of a lack of diligent attention,” he regretted. Obi noted that countries like Egypt and South Africa with population of 112 million and 59.6 million people supply 60,000mw and 58,000mw of electricity respectively to their citizens.
“This difference in energy wattage has massive implications for human development and economic growth,” he stated, pointing out that Nigeria’s installed capacity could only deliver less than 4,000mw. He described as shameful that for more than eight years Nigeria could not resolve the infrastructural bottlenecks that constrain the supply of gas to power plants, despite billions from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for legacy gas debts. He called on the Federal Government to constitute a technical taskforce of professionals without political consideration, to present a diagnosis of the crisis of the sector.
The taskforce, he stated, could provide solution to the incessant fire outbreaks that often lead to perennial system collapse. It could also improve coordination and coherence between Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and Distribution Companies (DisCos). “This will rapidly improve power availability in the short term while the government develops clarity to articulate an integrated national electricity policy and a practical implementation roadmap that harmonises national and sub-national electricity reform efforts to ensure rapid and expansive delivery of reliable, adequate, and affordable electricity.” “We are too endowed to be a nation of generators. We cannot grow our economy in darkness,” Obi stressed.
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