A lot of steps need to be taken for regulating and providing power supply on 24×7 basis to industries and homes of Nigeria.While the policy of privatisation of 10 power plants cannot be faulted, implementation of the policy has created insurmountable problems for Nigerian power markets. Firstly -quite a few plants were not complete when bid. NDPHC should have ensured that they were completed and handed over.However, NDPHC allowed EPC contractors who contracted to build a few of the power plants to participate in the bid without evaluating if the EPC Contractors had been in default of their commitments or not. Records showed that they had not only not met their commitments but had overdrawn their EPC bid values without completing the projects.Their participating in NDPHC bid constituted a clear conflict of interest which could have been avoided. What is the result- litigation, incomplete projects, no power supply to the grid.A big lesson to be learnt for future and need to quickly settle this issue through negotiation and release these plants to grid for power supply.

Imagine a situation- only 2900+MW are in generation and all the other facilities are not ready for one reason or other.Most of these plants do not have regular supply of gas due to low
pressure of gas and lack of pipelines to transport gas to these
plants.If power generation to improve, these two sectors are to be
attended to immediately.

Discom privatisation has been a good initiative and we will have to see if their efforts to support/encourage embedded generation to accelerate power supply growth succeed.Upgrade of distribution infrastructure, integrating embedded generators with main grid to ensure optimumutilisation of available leectricity, encouragng larger projects to achieve higher fuel efficiency are steps the Discoms have to resort to to ensure 24×7 supplies at affordable tariff.

One of major steps is to evaluate series of large coal based projects across Nigeria supported by a national transmission grid using doemstic/ imported coal (from all over Africa/Indonesia). This will reduce tariff, make available power across the country,release gas for exports to earn foreign exchange to support growth. A serious debate is needed to include coal as a base fuel for power in Nigeria and move away from gas. The new government may initiate such a debate soon.

Over the last few years,Nigeria has built a good regulatory system in electricity sector, set up infrastructure companies such as NDPHC,TCN,NBT etc and these are well supported by NERC whose vision has set up the right environment for growth.This can be further acclerated by right policy initiatives and action on ground.

Providing 24×7 power across Nigeria will perhaps make Nigeria the strongest among its African peers and a world leader.