The 52nd power dialogue which commenced on the 25th November 2020, was indeed an eventful one. The discussion was centred on the infrastructure and investment in the power sector. The SA (Technical) Office of the Honourable Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources in the person of Ujunwa Ojemeni moderated the event and the speakers were ably represented from the African Development Bank (AfDB), Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), and Distribution Company of Nigeria (DisCos).
The discussion covered areas regarding the deficits in the sector, short- and medium-term strategies to bridge the gap, and the funding opportunities available if any.
Wale Shonibare, the senior director at AfDB Nigeria, expressed candid reasons as to why there are deficits in the power sector. In his statement, he said ‘to address the liquidity issue, there has to be a reset of the utilities. The lack of political will and regulatory power has led to the dis-alignment in the power sector’. He also explained that for investors to come in, the DisCos have to show that there is a high possibility that the money invested in their units would be recovered. Also, the installation of metering should be carried out to avoid overestimated billing.
Emeka Ezeh, who spoke on behalf of DisCos explained that the privatisation of the sector created in 2013 has brought some positive outcomes, with the knowledge that this is a marathon and not a sprint. He further emphasised that the right things need to be done by the consumers and also the distributors. According to him, electricity is a commodity, individuals should desist from electricity theft to enable them to account for the electricity distributed, as the DisCos are unable to fully carry out their operations because of the lack of revenue. He also enlightened consumers that they have no responsibility in fixing transformers and if there is a need for relief transformers in an area, the information should be relayed to the proper unit and they will look into it. If in any situation, individuals are charged to repair or purchase transformers, that request is not from their end and should be reported to the authorities.
Engr. Adewumi who represented TCN addressed the issues with the transmission of electricity. He said that the major challenge faced by the TCN is funding. They lack funds to fix the damaged power lines and to increase the transmission lines. He said the unit needs at least one trillion Naira to make the grid stable. Furthermore, he complained that the DisCos are not remitting the required tariffs back to the system which is very poor for business. Despite these downturns, a lot of projects are being carried out, for example, the project currently financed by the AfDB according to Engr. Adewumi would elevate the capacity of the TCN by at least 2,500MW by introducing the Quad Conductor.
In conclusion, it can be deduced from the dialogue that several units of the power sector are moving gradually in the right direction. Nevertheless, support is needed from all angles and the deficit currently being experienced would in a short while being a thing of the past.