NIGERIA’S Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu said ‘it is shameful’ that the national grid only utilised about 4,000 megawatts of on-grid power 10 years after privatising the sector.
The Minister disclosed this on Monday, October 30, at a three-day Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) Market Participants and Stakeholders Roundtable (NMPSR) in Abuja.
Adelabu also decried huge interventions running into trillions paid by the government to sustain the sector despite privatisation since 2013.
“It is shameful, the national grid is doing a little above 4,000 megawatts after 10 years of privatisation. We’ve been hearing of this 4,000 megawatts of power for long.This is not something I’m proud to say in the public.The big question is, after 10 years of taking over the assets, have these core investors transformed the sector? Are they also adhering to terms and conditions of their licence,? he asked.
He told the stakeholders to be sincere in providing answers to privatisation evaluation by answering whether the privatisation had yielded the desired results.
“We need to approach this with all sincerity. It is either yes or no to make headway in our discussion here and move forward.
Adelabu suggested that a developing nation like Nigeria would have gone for the commercialisation of the sector instead of wholesale privatisation.
He stressed that the privatisation had failed to yield the desired results, despite huge interventions from the Federal Government, amid poor liquidity in the sector.
He informed, however, that all hope was not lost as the government was exploring options within renewable energy sources to improve the sector.
The National Cordinator, All Electricity Consumers Protection, Ademola Ilori, at the event told The ICIR that the power sector risked going further worse, if the legal commitments signed by various parties -the generation, distribution and transmission companies and the government were not adhered to.
“We had expected a boom in the generation, transmission and distribution after privatisation and handing over core assets to investors. Unfortunately, we’re still groping around 3,500 and 4,000 megawatts,. Then, there’s a problem.
The privatisation of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, (NESI), took place in 2013 with huge expectations to herald a turning point in the nation’s energy sector.
The process transitioned it from the era of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to a system of private investor ownership and participation.
However, the progress in NESI, post-privatization has not fully met the expectations set in the National Electricity Power Policy, 2001 (NEPP), the Electric Power Sector Reform Act, 2005 (EPSRA) now Electricity Act 2023, with trillions of interventions and subsidy being paid by the government to sustain the sector.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.