Rising from its 52nd National Engineering Conference, Exhibition and Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), the body has traced the endless excuses of poor services delivery by power companies to the regulatory inefficiency of Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
Otherwise, the professional body maintained that “The inadequate regulation and enforcement by the NERC is compounding the crises currently bedevilling Nigeria’s power sector.”
NSE stressed that the lack of good control of the sector by the regulatory agency remains a hampering factor to power sector growth in Nigeria.
Facts garnered from the conference communiqué signed by the President, NSE, Adekunle Mokuolu, showed amongst others that “the inadequacy in NERC’s regulation had warranted various forms of excuses by operators in the sector.”
Mokuolu said the electricity regulator should have been the primary means of solving the sector’s challenges, but noted that happenings in the industry had shown that NERC seemed to be overwhelmed.
“What is the way out? We have Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, which is regulating everything in the sector, but the variables are so many. That is why we say they are doing something but it is inadequate.”
“The crisis in Nigeria’s power sector was also due to inadequate infrastructure coupled with NERC’s poor tariff regime.
“Inadequate commitment among the owners of power generation, distribution and transmission companies have contributed to poor power delivery in the industry.
“Insufficient planning of distribution/transmission and generation infrastructure has led to power infrastructure failures. The use of single buyer model for the electricity industry has also contributed to the market crisis.”
However, in marshalling way forward, Nigerian engineers recommended the implementation of a cost- reflective tariff, as well as the creation of a special purpose vehicle for improvement, expansion of electricity infrastructure and revenue collection from consumers.
It also recommended that the Gencos, Discos and Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) should only be responsible for operation and maintenance of the facilities, as a long-term plan.
“All power sector players to show more patriotism in discharging their responsibilities, adding that the Transmission Rehabilitation and Expansion Programme should be sustained,” NSE noted.
