By Ngozi Nwoke
The Honourable Minister of Power, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu has stressed that it is challenging to spend huge money fixing lines that are being destroyed on a daily basis.
He advised that from a capital point of view, the funds used in repairing vandalised lines should be used to complete existing projects or create more expansions for the benefit of the power sector.
The minister, who was represented by the Chief Technical Adviser, Mr. Adedayo Olowoniyi at the roundtable organised by the PriceWaterHouse Coopers (PWC) in Lagos highlighted that the roundtable fosters the opportunity to transform challenges into opportunities in the power sector.
With the theme, “Reigniting hope in the Nigerias electric power sector,” Adelabu disclosed that the federal government has implemented a multi-pronged approach, spanning across legislation with the enactment of the Electricity Act of 2023 to ensure sustainability of the power sector.
He said: “The theme resonates deeply with our collective mission to restore trust, drive innovation, drive inclusive growth in our electricity sector, and deliver tangible results in the power sector.
“We have made some progress in the past year in addressing some of the issues across the Nigeria power sector and setting the sector on the path for growth. To ensure the sustainability of the energy sector, the Federal Government of Nigeria has implemented a multi-pronged approach, spanning across legislation with the enactment of the Electricity Act of 2023, policy framework that we are currently working on that is in a draft form which will have multiple participants from development partners, consulting companies, and also power sector stakeholders.
“Once the Integrated National Electricity Policy is approved by the Federal Executive Council, we will start the process of drafting the Strategic Implementation Plan, which is actually the process of driving the implementation of key agendas from the policy. We have good policies, good technology, and a lot of stakeholders. Implementation is important.”
Stating the challenges facing the power sector, Adelabu noted that getting stakeholder buy-in often is a challenge, “Getting stakeholder buy-in often is a challenge. That is why managing the value chain, especially the electricity value chain in Nigeria, is a big challenge. We have so many participants who may not want to follow market rules. We have so many participants who don’t follow the grid code. Part of the challenge in the sector is that we all often want to operate in our own little sphere.
“The electricity value chain is totally interconnected. So, where there is a gap, then you are going to be as weak as that grid. I think it’s very important that as we continue in this vein, we understand that the electricity sector is absolutely interconnected.
“In the last six months, TCM has probably spent close to 10 billion naira on fixing towers that have been vandalized. This is an entity that in itself is challenging. From a capital point of view, rather than using that capital to complete existing projects or looking at extensions and expansion, they’re actually using this to fix lines that are being destroyed on a daily basis.
“The government of Nigeria has focused on setting specific infrastructure programs. So we have the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), which is driving investment in the transmission and distribution segments of the market. This is a program that we’re working with Siemens and the German government that will help us drive the improvement in infrastructure and transmission.
“In the short term, we have implemented measures such as reinforcing standard operating procedures, developing detailed maintenance plans for key transmission substations, conducting line tracers, frequently tripping lines based on data analytics, replacing outdated equipment at critical stations, and assessing the integrity of key nodes to prevent future disruption.
“Today’s theme reminds us that hope is not a passive sentiment, but an active commitment, and we must continue to innovate, collaborate, and implement bold ideas to restore confidence in our sector, to deliver an energy future where every Nigerian has access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable power.”
There was a panel discussion where panellists discussed reforms on policy and regulatory alignment.
Among the panellits were the commissioner, Planning Research and Strategy, Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Mr. Yusuf Ali, General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer, Geregu Power, Mr. Akin Olagbende, Partner and Energy Utilities and Resources Leader, West Africa PWC Nigeria, Mr. Pedro Omontuemhen.