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Nigeria not doing enough to prevent system collapses
- Decentralisation of the national grid, the way out
Professor Wumi Iledare of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) has said the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) is not doing enough to end the incessant system collapses. Speaking on the sector, he said, ”I don’t see what Nigeria is doing to prevent system collapse”.
Speaking on the factors affecting the stability of the national grid, Prof. Iledare stated that ”The major issue affecting the transmission network is the ineffective governance and regulatory framework of the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). The second issue is lack of understanding of the basic electricity market structure”. He added that “Finally, the over-centralisation, the transmission network, with a one keep all, for a heterogeneous market such as Nigeria, makes the system operationally ineffective, economically inefficient and inequitable to the society”.
According to Iledare, “The way out is the decentralisation of the market control and regulation. Secondly, regionalism of the market with a more homogeneous market element. Finally, invest in energy infrastructure for better energy planning”.
He added that there is a seeming lack of understanding of how the electricity market works. ”Unfortunately, there seems to be a lack of understanding of this structure in terms of performance. Here lies then the issue that needs to be resolved! The power of Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) is frequently undermined by economic populism of the National Assembly”, he said.
The Nigerian power sector has recorded at least two total, and partial system collapses in 2021.