Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Yakubu Dogara, has
queried the utilisation of N2.74 trillion spent on the power sector from
1999-2015, saying the sector depreciated more as more funds were pumped
into it.
Dogara, who was speaking at a 2-day stakeholders Interactive
dialogue/workshop on the Nigerian Power Sector organised by the National
Assembly at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, also noted that the challenges faced
by the sector calls for concerted efforts by all stakeholders to address
them.
“Perhaps the most important question is what happened to the N2.74
trillion spent on the sector from 1999-2015? Why is it that the more we
spent on the power sector, the more darkness we attract?”, Dogara queried.
The Speaker said it is in order to change the epileptic power situation
that the National Assembly organized the workshop as a platform for power
sector experts and other stakeholders to do a holistic diagnosis of the
challenges impeding the development of the Nigerian Electricity Supply
Industry (NESI) and proffer practical solutions.
“These challenges run across the entire power value chain of generation,
transmission and distribution. The myriad issues are apparently
exacerbated by inadequate funding, poor energy mix, fuel supply issues,
flawed regulatory framework, commercial issues among others. There is,
therefore, a need for concerted efforts by all stakeholders to address
these myriad problems,” he stated.
“The diagnosis includes but is not limited to a critical analysis of the
extant legislation and regulatory framework guiding the Nigerian Power
Sector to determine if there is a need for amendments or enactment of new
laws that will galvanize the sector to deliver the required results,” he
added.
Dogara also urged the participants to focus on the following questions
with an aim to finding answers that will lead to the repositioning of the
power sector for effective delivery to Nigerians.
• Why has power generation remained at less than 5000MW since the last 56
years?
• Why have various policies by successive governments failed?
• Why has the transmission infrastructure remained inadequate in wheeling
the available power?
• How can the Federal Government rapidly expand the transmission
infrastructure?
• Why are electric meters not available to most consumers thereby leading
to contentious estimated billing?
• How can NERC establish a cost reflective tariff and reduce inefficiency
in support of affordable end user tariffs?
• Why has there not been an effective Gas Master Plan for Nigeria which
would have preceded the building of the gas fired power plants?
• What is the solution to the perennial pipeline vandalism that disrupts
delivery of gas to the gas fired power plants?
• What can be done to improve local and foreign investment in gas
gathering, processing and distribution?
• Why is there local and foreign investor apathy in investing in the
Nigerian power sector?
• Why are the local and foreign financial institutions not funding the
sector?
• How can the FGN create and sustain a stable investment climate for
private sector participation in the power sector?
• How can the FGN maintain a creditworthy off-taker (NBET) of electricity?
• How can we maximize options like mini hydro and small solar projects to
power rural communities?
• Why are most of the companies licensed by NERC not able to start their
projects?
• What can be done to improve the poor energy mix?
• Why has the FGN not embarked on Energy Conservation campaign that will
emphasize the use of energy saving bulbs etc.?
• What kind of guarantee is needed by foreign investors to facilitate
investment in the power sector?
• What role can the legislature play to facilitate a rapid development of
the power sector?
• Is there a political will to tackle head on the challenges of the power
sector?
• Is there any need for amendment of extant legislations or enactment of
new laws to galvanize both local and foreign investment in the Nigerian
power sector?