Digitalisation in focus as stakeholders chart path for viable energy sector

To achieve a viable energy sector, players have said Nigeria needs to be technologically focused to monitor the national grid in real time.

They argued that with Nigeria getting the right technology, policies and enabling environment, as well as achieving a decentralised system, issues of power inefficiency would be a thing of the past.

Addressing a press conference ahead of this year’s Nigeria Energy Conference, yesterday, with the theme ‘Affordable, Reliable and Sustainable Energy Through Collaboration,’ Exhibition Manager, Informa markets, Energy-Middle East and Africa, Ade Yesufu, said with the total population of Nigeria, it needed to generate about 20,000MW to effectively service the country.

Stating what other countries with less than Nigeria’s population generate to service their country, he said: “Nigeria had not started on energy. Whatever we have now let us start and build from there. Nigeria needs about 20,000 MW to serve the nation. We need to get it right. There is no effective communication across board in the power sector.

“They communicate in silos. Electricity takes 60 per cent of businesses’ overhead. About 80 million Nigerians operate on generators with the national grid as backup. The moment we treat electricity right, the better for all. Ours is to bring all the players for a viable power sector.”

For reforms in the power sector, Manager, Regulatory, Compliance and Internal Audit, Tetracore, Oladayo Williams, said there is need for honesty in the sector for investors to have their returns that would drive the policy change.

He said the strategic conference will provide a platform for the public and private sector to engage with international energy leaders and investors to develop solutions and form partnerships to meet Nigeria’s energy challenges.

Scheduled to hold from September 20 to 22, 2022, at Landmark Centre in Lagos, he said the conference would focus on themes, such as building capacity through establishing a strategic and regulatory framework to support the growth of power production in Nigeria.

For accountability and transparency, he said the conference would also focus on digitalisation, data and technologies to increase efficiency, support collections and payments for distribution companies, as well as how to incentivise and attract investments using Nigeria’s gas to power master plan.

He said the conference will bring together stakeholders from the energy sector, government, ministries and regulators to gas companies supplying fuel to grid-connected plants to independent power producers, among others to facilitate the development of renewable energy and off-grid solutions.