By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
A bill is at the National Assembly (NASS) to replace the Electric Power Sector Reform Act the Olusegun Obasanjo administration enacted in 2005 to split the sector into generator companies (gencos) and distribution companies (discos).
About $16 billion was sunk into power in the Obasanjo years (1999 to 2007) alone. But supply was not stable in those years and has not been since.
Installed generation capacity is 16,384 megawatts (mw) from all sources but output is an average 4,000mw. Urban connection to electricity is 86 per cent and rural 34 per cent, according to data on usaid.gov/powerafrica.
In contrast, installed generation capacity in South Africa is 58,095mw, nearly all of which is produced for both local consumption and sale to neighbouring countries. Urban connection is 95 per cent and rural 92 per cent.
Nigeria is Africa’s largest economy by volume based mainly on crude oil. But South Africa is the most developed country on the continent.
Apart from endemic financial corruption, unstable power supply is the biggest hindrance to Nigeria’s economic growth.
Updating the Act
Federal lawmakers reiterated at an event organised by the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) in Abuja that the Power Reform Act has loopholes which hinder electricity generation and distribution.
Senate Power Committee Chairman, Gabriel Suswam, said the bill has scaled first reading and the second reading may follow in the coming months, for passage into law before the end of this year, per reporting by The Guardian (Nigeria).
Suswam explained that the current Act has served the purpose of reform and is no longer capable of offering solutions to emerging issues in the power sector.
In 2013, Abuja privatised electricity through the Act after it had raised about $2 billion from unbundling the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) and created a number of gencos and discos.
But because the sector has failed to live up to expectation, it has become a burden to tax payers as most Nigerians do not have power supply most times.
Suswam explained that an electricity law was supposed to be in place after the sector was decoupled.
“There is no law as it were now that actually governs the electricity sector in the country,” he said, quoted by The Guardian.
“So, what we are trying to do is to put up an Act that comprehensively covers the power sector. New issues have arisen from those entities which were taken over by private companies. And so those issues need to be addressed in the Electricity Act.”
He disclosed that the new legislation is being tailored with regulations in India, Germany, and other countries with comprehensive legislation, noting that at the moment, there are litigations left to the discretion of the judiciary.
“You also now have the renewable energy sector, which was not covered in what we had in the Reform Act. All of these are going to be covered.”
Minister of State for Power, Goddy Jedy-Agba, said there is need to ensure compliance with existing regulation being enforced by NEMSA, adding that the bill at the NASS is in line with the plans of the ministry.
The ministry will be part of the process to ensure the power sector is properly carried along in producing new legislation, he added.
Jedy-Agba stressed the need to create awareness on the roles of NEMSA as lawsuits have repeatedly been filed ignorantly against it by members of the public only to be withdrawn for lack of understanding of the roles of the agency.
Roles of NEMSA
NEMSA enforces technical standards and regulations in the power sector through inspection, testing, and certification of electrical equipment and products, and ensures no violation of National Low Voltage regulations.
“What we have decided is to enforce what the regulations say, and that is ensuring that from now on, you will no longer be allowed to use any equipment running on 415 voltage unless it already exists in the country. We are starting from July,” said NEMSA Managing Director Peter Ewesor.
Regulation stipulates that equipment must run 400 volts to 230 volts and not 415 volts to 240 volts, he insisted.
On the new legislation planned by the NASS, Ewesor said the country cannot undergo reform forever but there areas that must be strengthened, including the NEMSA Act.
He explained that electricity deaths in the country can be avoided if regulations are followed.
He said buildings sited on the right way of power infrastructure will soon be demolished nationwide and such buildings are already being disconnected from power supply.
