Experts task govt on power supply

EXPERTS have re-emphasised the need for government to improve power supply in the country to boost investment in the economy.

At a seminar organised by Mantrac Nigeria Ltd, (formerly Tractor & Equipment), they said for the country to attract meaningful investment, there was need for reliable power supply to boost production and increase employment.

The Managing Director of Mantrac, Edmund Martin-Lawson, said “the focus of the seminar is to enlighten the business community on the power to do business. Without power, he said, we won’t have energy; without energy we can’t produce. We need power everywhere and what we are saying today is that we have the power systems to grow business and move forward.”
 
He noted that the world was moving forward so rapidly and hybrid, power systems that utilise solar energy and battery was now available to support the power needs of businesses. He recalled that “Nigeria needs over 20,000 megawatts of power but unfortunately what is being generated now is far too low. That is why there is need to bridge the gap between what is available and projected power goals the country wants to realise in future.

“Definitely it is important for Nigeria to have power because the economy has been growing steadily for some time now. If we have increased power supply capacity, the growth rate which is currently in single digit will definitely be in double digit. What that means is that the country and economy definitely need extra power to move industries and businesses forward.
“That shortfall will come from power systems providers who have the capacity to provide the needed power equipment that will add more power through the country’s IPP project,” he said.  
 
Caterpillar’s Territory Manager, Stefan Laszenwski, based in Geneva, Switzerland, assured of his company’s readiness to assist Nigeria with power solution equipment to help in realising her power needs.
 
Laszenwski disclosed that progress was key in the world now, noting that Nigeria needed to march forward and availability of power was key to such move. He commended the country’s determined drive to improve power generation, noted that the country’s Independent Power Project (IPP) initiative would be enhanced with the latest range of equipment in his company’s stable, adding that such products could power thousands of homes, islands, marine installations and Central Business Districts (CBD). Some he said run on gas. “I believe that what we have now will improve the capacity of most Nigerian companies to do business. The option of gas-powered generators gives industrial customers up to 70% savings on running cost.