NESI @10: Operators Insist Power Sector Has Improved in Last Decade

*Plan golf tourney to bring stakeholders together

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Stakeholders in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) have stated that despite the several shortcomings, the power sector which was partially privatised in 2013, has experienced some marked improvements in the last 10 years.

Briefing journalists in Abuja on the plans to mark the anniversary of the sector, representatives of generation, transmission and  distribution companies, noted that they also plan to bring major industry players together this week, through a golf tourney to ensure synergy in the sector.

Coordinator, NESI Golf,  Adetunji Adeyeye, an operator and energy expert, explained that misalignment of the entire value chain has been a major challenge and therefore the need to bring industry players together.

According to him, since sitting in cosy offices to discuss the power sector has not solved the major challenges in the sector, it would be better to try an open and convivial environment at the IBB Golf Club in Abuja where players will lay bare their thoughts on how to grow the sector.
“I’m privileged to know what has happened in the power sector in the last 10 years. We need to see the glass as half full, not half empty. True, Nigerians still don’t have light. We are not producing enough. We’re not distributing enough. We’re not transmitting enough, but it’s not as bad as it was 10 years back,” he argued.
The Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), for instance, he said, is removing some constraints in the power sector in Nigeria and immediately making sure that more electricity is produced, generated and transmitted.

According to him, the project is currently advancing well through the expansion of infrastructure programme.
“So, in about a year or two, you will begin to see significant changes in terms of volume of electricity you get, in terms of quality and in terms of overall service. So we are not where we need to be yet. But I will say that a lot of things have been done,” he added.
The expert stated that the gas end of the power sector was being addressed, as 18 of Nigeria’s 26 generation companies are fully dependent on the commodity to function.

“So, we then need to, as a matter of national policy, sort out the gas issue so that there’s no gas constraint, so they can have enough gas to produce. And all of that work is going on. So it’s a combination of many things, a bouquet of different actions coming together,” he argued.

Adeyeye said the golf event on Wednesday and Thursday was a way to get investors, government and all stakeholders in the electricity value chain to come together to synergise and create harmony that can drive the power sector.

“We feel using golf as a tool would create the synergy and the camaraderie that should be visible in the sector because the sector is a single value chain. So we want to stop the blame game in the sector and get all the stakeholders, particularly the operators and investors to begin to work together,” he explained.

According to him, it will allow the stakeholders to know themselves better and interact beyond the formal setting that characterise the power sector, explaining that this is being done in collaboration with the Ibrahim Babangida International Golf Club in Abuja.

 He said the event was open to members of the public, even as clubs from across the country have been invited for the programme.

Also speaking, the Technical Director for the tournament and the Head of Resident Pro for IBB Golf Club, Dominic Andrews, stated that the whole concept was about bringing everybody together within the power industry.

Other members of the committee include Justina Johnson-Kegbe, Maryam Julde-Adura, among others.