Tragedy of poor electric power supply in Nigeria

Amid the trauma that electric power consumers across the country are experiencing daily in the hands of electric power distribution companies , facts are emerging that power supply can actually improve rapidly in the country if there is a dramatic improvement in the transmission facilities of the Transmission Company of Nigeria.
The facts emerged in Lagos at a recent summit of Power Sector Stakeholders and Consumers. It was organised by the Electricity Consumer Protection Forum and tagged, “Five Years after Privatisation of Power Sector, What Next?” The summit brought together stakeholders in the power sector and
consumers.
At the forum, it emerged that the 27 electricity generation companies licensed by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission have the capacity to generate more than 40, 000 megawatts, enough to give the citizens, industries and all consumers, some relief in electricity supply and
consumption.
Unfortunately, the Gencos have been generating between 7,000 and 8,000 megawatts, but up to 2,000 mw of the generated power could not get to the consumers due to poor transmission network. In other words, the major most critical challenge in the electric power sector is the transmission of the power to consumers.
It became apparent from the discussions at the forum that insincerity of the government to people on electricity since 1960, had negatively affected positive result in power generation, transmission and distribution as consumers did not get to know the real challenges facing both the government and the erstwhile National Electric Power Authority on electric power generation, transmission and distribution in the country. It was only after the privatisation of NEPA that the true nature of the challenges in the electric power sector came to the open.
For example, the population of the country, estimated at over 180 million, is far higher than the megawatts of electricity being generated and distributed to the people. Thus, the electricity generated is a challenge to enjoyment of uninterrupted power supply in the country. Other challenges facing the power sector include regulations, government’s failure to make good its promises to investors in the sector, gas shortage from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and energy theft by rogue
consumers.
Thus, in the chain and equation of power generation, transmission, distribution and consumption of electric power, when there is no gas supply, there is no power generation, transmission and distribution to consumers; when there is less gas supply to the Gencos, there is less power generation, transmission and distribution to consumers. Consequently, from the chain of electric power generation and supply to the industrial and domestic consumers gas is a problem, transmission is a problem, government is a problem and consumers are also problems.
It is sad and a disgrace to Nigeria that South Africa, with a population of 57 million, generates 41,190 mw, while Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, with over 180 million in population, is generating about 7,000 mw. The disgusting shortage in electricity supply is, among others, a major reason for the poor industrialisation of this country and accounts for why made in Nigeria products cannot compete favourably with their counterparts from other countries.
It is also obvious that, if there is no appreciable improvement in electricity supply, there cannot be appreciable improvement in the availability of jobs across the country. This, among others, is why the issue of improved electric power supply to homes and industries across the country must be taken as an urgent task that must be done without
delay.
Also, it is a good thing, that there are now local manufacturers of electric meters. So, the frequent complaint by the Discos that they do not have prepaid meters should be a thing of the past. In the present circumstances, they should invite the local meter manufacturers and give them orders for meter supply. It is also ludicrous for the Discos to claim that they cannot afford the price of prepaid meters , when at the end of the day, the meters belong to the Discos and not to the consumers.
If they are serious about their power distribution business, they must find the money to supply prepaid meters to homes and
industries.
Going forward, there must be intimate rapport and synergy among all the critical stakeholders in the power sector for industries and the citizens to enjoy uninterrupted electric power supply. Thus, the agencies of government, namely the NNPC which supplies gas, the Gencos, TCN and the Discos must cooperate with each other and work with the Ministry of Power to ensure that TCN meets and surpasses the target set for it in power transmission and that prepaid meters are made available to electricity consumers to ameliorate the trauma being experienced by electric power consumers across the
country.