By Abisola THOMPSON
A Lagos-based engineer, Mr Abiodun Awe, has called for robust competition in the nation’s power distribution network to ensure adequate electricity supply in the country.
In his lecture at the annual business luncheon of Ikeja Branch of Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) on Thursday in Lagos, Awe called for competitiveness in the grid value chain of electricity generation and distribution.
Speaking on the topic, “Dynamism in the Power Sector, Opportunity and Challenges”, Awe said that the revolution that brought about efficiency in service delivery in the telecommunications sector could be replicated in the power sector.
According to him, over 70 per cent of the problems in the nation’s economy would be resolved with adequate power supply.
He said that inconsistent government policies had worsened the problems of power supply and urged the Buhari administration to adopt transparency which was ignored by previous administration to achieve success in the power sector.
“ The way forward is that we have to go to the drawing board to look at our problems where we are then, where we are now, map out way out,” he said.
He also called on government to explore other sources of power generation to match demand with supply.
The Managing Director, Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKDC), Mr Adeoye Fadeyibi, told journalists that there was more demand than supply for electricity which government was trying to fix.
He said that the challenges were enormous, including infrastructure, price and energy management.
He said efforts were on to increase supply and upgrade infrastructure for effective distribution.
Mr Waheed Olagunju, a former acting Managing Director of the Bank of Industry, said that the nation was generating far below capacity to meet with the economic and social needs of Nigerians.
He said that tariffs should be made attractive to investors who must join hands with government to make the power sector work, adding that, a long-term sustainable measure was important.
“The apprehension of investors needs to be addressed by all stakeholders,” he said.
He also called for political will on the part of government to make the sector work by providing the enabling environment for power sector to thrive.
“There is no way we can become an industrialized nation without power. If we are able to deliver up to 50,0000 mega watts to Nigerian consumers, then we’ll have sufficient power to drive industries and by so doing, our GDP will assume double growth,” he said.
Mrs Funmi Akingbagbohun, Chairman of the Ikeja Branch NSE, said that engineering was the ” bedrock of any economy”.
Akingbagbohun said that the programme was aimed at exploring challenges and opportunities in the power sector hoping to proffer solutions to the problems in the sector. =====NAN
