Stakeholders decry Nigeria’s undue fixation on grid-connected electricity

The Sustainable Energy Practitioners Association of Nigeria (SEPAN) has said that undue fixation with improving the fortunes of grid-connected electricity supply, assets and operators at the detriment of off-grid operation presents a challenge in improving energy access for the country.

Magnus Onuoha, the president of SEPAN while giving an address at the recently concluded Nigerian Alternative Energy Expo (NAEE) in Abuja last week said that reforms in the electricity sector which effectively commenced n 2005 made scant provision for energy mix market for the country.

Onuoha said that current reform exercise has shown very little interest in the development of off grid power which he said was the best alternative to reaching over 70 per cent of Nigeria’s rural population currently without electricity

“Nigeria’s roadmap to power sector reforms focused much on the development of on the grid electricity and the sector reform only extend the national grid to rural areas close to main urban areas, thus leaving the rural areas which constitute over 70 per cent of the population without electricity,” said Onuoha.

While huge funds are dedicated for the power sector in the N2017 budget, these funds are largely to be used in expanding transmission lines. Even the execution of budgeted renewable projects appears more like an afterthought, an opportunity to settle vested interests.

At a recent event in Lagos, Abubakar Sambo, a former director general of the Electricity Commission of Nigeria (ECN) said the reason many solar projects failed in the country was because lawmakers awarded the contracts to themselves even though they lacked financial and technical capacity to execute them. He called for deeper engagement with the sector by the government.

Speaking along this vein, Onouha said there were many entrenched interests that have kept the country from exploring solar and other efficient renewable energy options as alternative power supply sources.

“Electricity in this country is increasingly produced by diesel powered generators, and they are very expensive but lucrative business for the well-connected moguls that have supply contracts. It is possible that it is this same entrenched interests that also failed to accommodate renewable and energy efficient sources in Nigeria’s Economic Recovery Plan,” Onuoha said.

According to the SEPAN boss, up to 5000 megawatts (MW) of solar electricity can be generated by Nigeria within the next five years, if government increases commitment to solar. “There’s no reason why Nigeria should not explore and exploit her solar power potentials since she was in the equator,” said Onuoha .

However, the Federal Government has stated a willingness to change the situation. The Power Sector Recovery Programme (PSRP), a series of policy actions, operational and financial interventions to be implemented by the Federal Government of Nigeria to attain financial viability of the power sector, and rest the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), lists increasing electricity access by implementing off grid renewable solutions as strategy.

According to document,  a priority is electrification of unserved and under-served areas that have high economic potential. The focus would be on solar-based mini grids, which can be rolled out quickly, and later be integrated with DisCos.

ISAAC ANYAOGU