A fragile power sector

Nigeria has 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) that have been around since the privatisation of the power sector in November 2013. If therefore 10 of them got zero allocation of power at a point, it means only one had power to distribute at that point.

With regard to the power plants, let’s hear from the horse’s mouth: “Out of about 32 power plants that we have today, only two have firm gas supply contracts with the gas suppliers. Only two. Others don’t have supply contracts. They only take what they supply them. It is called “best endeavour basis,” the power minister, Adebayo Adelabu, said.

These two disclosures only signpost some of the problems in our beleaguered power sector. Just that the war between the United States and Israel versus Iran has exacerbated the situation, as the Strait of Homuz between Iran and Oman connecting the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean, through which roughly 20-30 per cent of global oil passes is now experiencing disruptions as a result of the war.

But that wouldn’t exactly explain the Nigerian situation.

Read Also: Shettima assures of Nigeria’s commitment to human rights protection, hails Fagbemi

The problem of gas shortage to power the country’s many thermal plants is what has compounded our situation.

Really this unfortunate situation to most parts of the world should have been a blessing to Nigeria because it has gas in abundance. The problem however is that the country’s gas suppliers are now exporting the commodity rather than prioritising local demand.

This can hardly be a crime in a country where some of their major customers do not have firm supply contracts with them. Second, even where gas had been supplied, it was not paid for. The result is about N6trn debt that the gas suppliers now claim they are owed.

Much of this is legacy debt; though. But that is not the issue. This newspaper has always said that ours would be one of the few countries where some business organisations would be owed such humongous debt and they would still be in operation.

But this would not seem to be the only problem responsible for the intermittent power outages being experienced nationwide, especially in recent times. A technical expert to the power minister disclosed on TVC’s ‘Journalists’ Hangout’ yesterday that part of the problem is that they are also servicing a gas transport facility and they have the assurance that would be completed in about two weeks. Hopefully, this target would be met.

Apparently this aspect of the problem was not made public until the technical expert told us on television. He too blamed the DisCos and other stakeholders who ought to have intimated power consumers about it.

All said, we hope these immediate challenges will be over in two weeks as the minister promised. That is the only basis on which his apology can be accepted.

Beyond this, however, Nigerians should be looking more in the direction of the state governments for stable power supply. It is gladdening that more state governments are taking over the power infrastructure in their states.

With what the Middle East crisis and the legacy debt have exposed about the decoration that’ll collapse with the slightest touch that our power sector is, the state governments must define their strategy. Are they going to rely on their own grid or the central grid? Are they going to invest in parallel power structures?

These and other questions they must be prepared to answer and answer well if they are to be on top of the power game in their respective states.