Expert canvasses more power sector investments

Omatseye, past Chairman, Nigerian Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos yesterday.
According to him, since the privatization of Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) and Generating Companies (GENCOs) in 2013, electricity supply has deteriorated because the transmission was not privatized.
Omatseye said the needed investments in transmission were not achieved because the sector was left for the government to handle.
“The transmission part of the sector should have been privatized along with DISCOs and GENCOs to achieve an optimal result.
“But now each chain of power distribution is apportioning blame on one another for the epileptic power supply the consumers are experiencing nationwide.
“At present, if the government has no intention of privatizing transmission, they should invest more on it so that it will be able to evacuate needed energy generated.
“It is ridiculous to know that today if GENCOs generates more than 5,000 Megawatts (MW) it will be difficult for transmission to evacuate and send to DISCOs.
“This is the reason why there should be more investments in transmission so that when the generation increases they will be able to evacuate all the energy generated.
“ Also, the government should ensure that it maintains the needed peace in the Niger Delta so that militants will stop vandalizing gas pipelines.
“This will encourage the supply of gas to the power plant which will result in increasing energy generation.’’

Omatseye commended DISCOs for efforts in distributing energy generated and metering of prospective consumers, adding that the rot of 60 years in the power sector could not be rectified in three years.
He urged investors in the sector to train more young engineers in order to fill the vacuum left by the retirement of old hands.