The National Union of Electricity Employees is revolting against the proposed move of the federal government to privatise the transmission company of Nigeria. In their defence, privatisation hasn’t improved the sector.
Looking back at the Nigerian Electricity Sector, one could say privatisation was a ‘Lori Iro’ tale. Ahead of the exercise in 2013, the federal government managed the power sector through several operational names such as the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN), Niger Dams Authority (NDA) which merged to form the popular NEPA and then PHCN came on board before the eventual privatisation that has resulted in 6 generation companies, 11 distribution companies managed by the private sector and transmission company still under the government.
The privatisation exercise was thought of as the ‘saving grace’ for the multiple challenges experienced in the sector. Still, it appears as though the challenges have increased or the issues are too big that the effect of the privatisation exercise is insignificant.
The major crippling challenges such as metering, liquidity and gas supply deficit is yet to be conquered. Although several initiatives have sprung up on metering, many Nigerians are still receiving estimated bills, and many are yet to be connected to the national grid.
NUEE assert that the privatisation of TCN would be a huge blow to the sector. Moreover, according to the unit, abandoning the country’s power infrastructure, which is the interconnection between power generated and power consumed in the hands of private individuals, poses a serious threat to the economic growth and security of the nation (learn more).
Although the privatisation exercise hasn’t met all expectations, one could say it has seen a couple of improvements. However, will unbundling TCN further improve the sector or make it worse?