POOR ELECTRICITY SUPPLY: Stakeholders demand sack of grid managers over incessant collapse
*Adeshina bemoans impact on economy, worsening unemployment
BY ORIAKU IJELE & ADA DIKE
With the ninth collapse of the National Grid in 2024, which threw the entire country into darkness and electricity generation standing at less than 400MW on Saturday, October 19, stakeholders especially consumers have canvassed the overhaul of the system beginning with the urgent sack of the grid managers.
The consumers made the call while reacting to the incessant grid collapses. They said they were tired of hearing about the grid collapsing every time and urge government to sack those managing it.
Bisi Afolabi, residing in Kuje said that he believed those managing the grid were not capable of doing the job. According to him, since the grid keeps collapsing often, government should sack those in charge of the grid and employ those that are competent to manage it.
On his part, Mr Samuel Maduka, a barber also said that he was disappointed in the people managing the grid. Maduka said that the grid collapsed on Monday and people were yet to recover from that and it is happening again on Saturday.
”Government should look at the issue of incessant grid collapses and do something about this. If it means sacking everyone in charge to get it right so be it.
Mr Solomon Oche, a printer at UTC Area 10, said that the embarrassment caused by the frequent collapse of the grid was too much.
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Oche said that until government took action by sanctioning those in charge of the maintenance of the grid, the country would not get it right.
Mrs Uduak Essien, a cold room owner in Gwagwalada, said that she does not know why the grid keeps collapsing every time.
Essien said that in spite of the huge money that had been spent on the power sector, “yet the grid is still collapsing, ” she lamented.
”If the people in charge do not know the job, they should be sacked so that those who can maintain the grid properly will be brought in,” she said.
Many DisCos on Saturday notified its customers of the system failure that occurred on the grid.
The companies attributed the power outage experienced in its franchise area to system failure from the National Grid.
Meanwhile Mr Akinwumi Adesina, President, African Development Bank Group (AfDB), says Nigeria is losing about 29 billion dollars annually due to a lack of reliable power supply.
Adesina said that it amounted to 5.8 per cent loss in the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP),
He made this known during his lecture on “building a global Nigeria” to mark 90th birthday anniversary of retired Gen. Yakubu Gowon in Abuja.
He said that the major challenge facing Nigeria’s manufacturing industries was the high cost and unreliability of electricity supply.
The AfDB boss said that load shedding and the inconsistent availability of electricity had resulted in high and uncompetitive manufacturing costs.
According to him, most Nigerian manufacturing companies are providing their own energy with a high dependence on generators, diesel and heavy fuel oil.
“It has been estimated by the IMF that Nigeria loses about 29 billion dollars annually, that is, 5.8 per cent of its GDP, due to a lack of reliable power supply.
“The report also indicates that Nigerians spend 14:billion dollars yearly on generators and fuel.
“There is no other way to say it, lack of electricity is killing Nigerian industries,” he said.
He quoted the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) as saying that industries spent N93.1 billion on alternative energy in 2018.
“Today, no business can survive in Nigeria without generators.
“Nigeria had gas and crude oil in abundance, which can be vital means of generating electricity, yet, 86 million people live daily without electricity.
“Today, Nigeria is the number one country in the world in terms of the total number of people without electricity,” he said.
Adesina said that it was a situation that called for government’s attention so as to boost the country’s economy.
He said that looking at achieving a “global Nigeria”, the country must achieve universal access to electricity.
Highlighting AfDB‘s contributions, Adesina said that the bank had invested massively in the power sector to support the implementation of Nigeria’s Power Sector Recovery Programme by providing 200 million dollars for the Nigeria Electrification Project.
“To support Nigeria and other African countries, the AfDB invests massively in the continent’s power sector.
“This is through provision of 200 million dollars for the Nigeria Electrification Project, which is designed to fill the country’s electricity access gap.
“We have also invested 210 million dollars in the Nigeria Transmission Project to strengthen the grid power evacuation and regional interconnection, ” Adesina said.
According to him, a major component of AfDB’s energy strategy is the launch of the Desert to Power initiative, a 20 billion dollars initiative to provide electricity.
He said that the initiative would provide electricity for 250 million people across 11 countries of the Sahel, including Northern Nigeria.
He said that it was expected that Desert to Power would create the world’s largest solar zone.
“This initiative will draw lessons from successful projects already financed by the bank, including the Noor Ouarzazate solar PV power project in Morocco,
and the Ben Ban solar project in Egypt.
“The President of the World Bank Group, Ajay Banga and I made the decision that the two institutions will work together to connect 300 million Africans, including Nigerians, to electricity by 2030, ” Adesina said.
In a related development, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), says plans are ongoing to conduct an investigative public hearing on the recurring incidences of grid disturbances and nationwide outages.
According to the Commission, the aim is to identify the immediate and remote causes of recurring incidences.
The commission said in Abuja on Saturday on its Twitter handle that the public hearing was to find a permanent resolution to the challenges of the national grid.
According to NERC, the date and venue of the public hearing will be announced in the national dailies and stakeholders are encouraged to participate.
The commission noted with concern the recent escalating incidences of grid disturbances often leading to power outages in many states.
” Thus reversing many of the gains recently achieved in reducing infrastructure deficit and improving grid stability.
”Initial reports on the grid disturbance that occurred this morning indicate that today’s outage was triggered by an explosion of a current transformer at the Jebba transmission station at 815. a. m. and associated cascade of power plants shutdown arising from the loss of load.
”However, efforts to restore supply have advanced with power significantly restored, as at 13 00hrs, in 33 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT,) ”it said.
The commission said that in line with the provisions of the Electricity Act 2023, the unbundling of the System Operator function (ISO) out of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) was ongoing.
The commission said that the unbundling was with the expectation that an independent SO would engender more discipline in grid management and optimise investment in infrastructure.
