A new electricity act is being negotiated for by the stakeholders in the Nigerian electricity sector. Would a new law be the means to an end of the crippling challenges experienced in the sector?
Ahead of the privatisation exercise introduced by the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA), the Federal Government managed the electricity sector under the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).
The federal government carried out the privatisation exercise in high hopes of a better electricity sector. The government had raised about $2 billion from the unbundling of PHCN into eleven electricity distribution companies (DisCos) and six electricity generation companies (GenCos). However, the sector has failed to live up to expectations as a majority of Nigerians are without access to electric power, and the economy has suffered due to the absence of power.
In a meeting organised by the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), the senate reported that the EPSRA has loopholes, which prevented mitigating the power sector challenges in the country.
The senate explained why the sector’s challenges are still in existence due to the absence of an electricity law. The electricity law they intend to create is an act that would envelop all the aspects and divisions of the power sector. Also, at the meeting, the lawmaker explained that the new act would be tailored with regulations adopted in other countries like India and Germany.
One could say this new act could be a means to achieve stable electricity in Nigeria. However, was the regulation around the privatisation exercise responsible for the setbacks in the sector? How concrete is the idea behind the new act, and what are the prospects?
One can only hope that the electricity act would be a step in the right direction for the Nigerian power sector.