By Ngozi Adindu
The fifth International business-to-business trade fair on power, energy, renewable and electrical industry held in Lagos has come and gone. But the memories of the sophisticated trade show will linger for a while. Among other values, the fair afforded operators in power and energy sector the opportunity to meet and interact with world-class manufacturers and suppliers in the industry and other top players. It also brought the latest products and solutions in the solar, renewable, electrical and energy industries under one roof.
Christened Powerelec Nigeria (PEN) 2023, the objectives of the trade fair are to make power and energy affordable and available in every home in Nigeria by the year 2030. This is aimed at stimulating economic activities and an increase the MSME production level. The fair is also positioned as the largest international business-to-business (B2B) meeting and trade fair in Nigeria’s power and renewable energy sector.
This year’s edition hosted six member countries: Nigeria, India, Malta, Poland, China and Australia. The show promises to bring Egypt and Turkey, among other strong member countries in power and energy, next year. All trade exhibitors have international certification and were encouraged by the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) to continue to improve and strengthen their product quality and availability
The event attracted many dignitaries, including the chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (NIEEE), Lagos chapter, Mr. Olalekan Olabode, who gave the opening speech. He thanked all exhibitors for honouring the event.
“There is no best time for us to have this glorious event than now when Mr. President signed the bill for us to have a decent realisation of power in Nigeria. Initially, all that had to do with power in Nigeria was in the exclusive legislative budget of our great country, Nigeria. Now, the new bill allows all states to generate, transmit and distribute power. Having all OEMs around is a good time for us to interact and take advantage of this lawful opportunity that we have in Nigeria,” he said.
Consular-General of India in Nigeria, Shri Chandramouli Kumar Kern, delivered the welcome address and expressed happiness that India and Nigeria were creating a new path in electrical provisions, consultancy and groups in helping electricity generation.
“Recently, there have been some important reforms in the electrical sector, which will open up opportunity for business. President Buhari recently signed an amendment to allow state governments to have the license to generate, transmit and distribute electricity. This makes it a very interesting situation,” declared Mr. Kern.
With the new bill in Nigeria, many states will be generating their own power. They will also transmit and distribute. The sector is also moving towards generating green energy. The India consular disclosed that India followed a path and process of development, starting from coal, gas and hydro to renewable solar, wind energy and now nuclear energy: “Electricity is the centre of any country’s economic progress. You cannot do anything without electricity. What I understand is that Nigeria produces only 6,000 megawatts and 2,500 megawatts comes from generator. This is grossly insufficient.”
The relief seems to have come with the March 17, 2023, constitution amendment, which has given states in Nigeria the licence to generate, transmit and distribute electricity in areas covered by the national grid and this will also attract OEMs into the country and deepen industrialization.
It is a good coincidence that the Powerelec Nigeria 2023 trade fair came in the nick of time to help drive the vision of the government in making power and energy affordable and available in the country.
Mrs. Ngozi Adindu, managing partner of Quints Entertainment Limited, the events and brand agency that organized the trade fair, said, as brand catalysts, the agency is looking forward to using the Powerelec platform to stimulate businesses across all strata and levels of production in Nigeria.
“We do this by collaborating with some strategic agencies like NIEEE, MAN, REAN, and AFSIA and, in the year 2024, we would like to involve BOI in the area of financing small business owners to get affordable energy and drive energy automation and efficiency,” she said.
She noted that technical competencies exist in Nigeria but there is a need for collaboration with world-class original equipment manufacturers to drive the goal.
“This conversation is what the business-to-business international trade fair seeks to explore annually. We thank our client Verifair event managers in UAE, all the trade exhibitors, trade visitors, Lagos State Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Nigerian Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Lagos Chapter, and Eko Distribution Company for their massive support in hosting a successful PEN 2023. We look forward to a greater show in 2024,” she added.
• Adindu is managing partner of Quints Entertainment Ltd