‘Enforcing needed sanctions for energy theft, finance to solve power sector challenges’

Operators in the power sector has reiterated that the only way to fully get the best from the sector is if the Federal Government enforces more sanctions for energy theft, encourage investment in metering, and financially strengthen the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trader.

These among other incentives they believe would be the fulcrum to drive the ongoing reforms by the Federal Government in the power sector.

According to them, challenges in the power sector are largely occasioned by poor infrastructure, lack of sufficient funding, failure by the executive arm of government to pay for power and security issues.

They opined that despite the concerted efforts by successive government to tackle the power sector challenges, the problem appears to be more man-made than engineering or technical.

Babatunde Fashola, minister of Power Works and Housing however assures that polices are already in progress which are taking into consideration investors and Nigerians concern saying that institutional frame work is also being established that will provide the needed incentive to grow the power sector.

Fashola said there is expectation of better contract performance and standard sanction for non compliance.

The minister of power observed that there have been debts accumulated since 2015 saying that projects like are Katsina windmill and Gurara, Kaduna 215 MW among other are in progress around the country.

According to him, “One area the ministry is looking to invest at the moment, the Minister said that there is opportunity across the whole value chain such as metering, transmission lines”

He further explained that there are opportunities in expanding the distribution end, transformers.

He emphasised that if DisCos have investors with technical capacity interested in improving and expanding, they should present them and adds that “something big” is in the works.

In giving a brief history of the Nigeria power sector, Fashola explained that the private initiative is still at inception reiterating that “we don’t even know the extent of the issues, “there is a fundamental planning problem”. We need incremental power”.

“The Grid is growing every day and more are coming on. That is where we are. We expand, hydropower, gas and we have put back 3000 – 4000 MW”, he said.

KELECHI EWUZIE