Stable power supply important to foreign investors, says Soetan

Chief Executive Officer, Ikeja Electric, Folake Soetan, has identified stable power supply as a key factor in attracting foreign investors into the country.

Speaking in Lagos at the 32nd Board of Fellows Conference of the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers yesterday, Soetan stressed that a stable power supply was a key factor that foreign investors consider before committing to invest in any country.

The conference’s theme is: “Power Sector: The Nexus Between Industrialisation and Economic Development.

Soetan enumerated the benefits of a stable power supply among others, saying: “It   fosters innovative and technological advancement and also contributes to the diversification of the economy beyond oil and gas.”

She lamented that Nigeria, which had the potential of generating 12.522 Mega Watts of electric power from existing plants was only able transmit 4,000 Mega Watts, which was insufficient for a country with over 200 million population adding that only 60 per cent of Nigerians had access to reliable electricity.

She noted that Nigeria could not transmit 8.100 Mega Watts because of the lack of downstream capacity due to insufficient gas supply.

Soetan regretted that many government agencies’ indebtedness to Discos and GenCos had negatively affected the profitability of the sector.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines, the National President of the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineer, Anthony Ogbuigwe, said the theme of the conference was chosen in the light of foreign investors moving out in droves because of inadequate power supply.