Oscarline Onwuemenyi
14 February 2018, Sweetcrude, Abuja – The Federal Government has said that the Nigerian Power Sector loses about N24 billion monthly due largely to imported energy.
the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, who revealed this at the February 2018 edition of the monthly power sector operators meeting in Katampe Abuja, also lamented that despite huge intervention it has made in the power sector, that Nigerians still consume about 300 million litres of diesel monthly, most of which is used for power generation in industries, homes, and offices.
Fashola who was represented by the Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Suleiman Hassan, explained about 75% of the diesel is imported, putting pressure on the scarce foreign exchange.
He said, “Assuming 40% of the consumption is used for power generation at an average of price of N200 per litre, the electricity industry is losing N24bn every month largely to imported energy.”
“Nigerians still consume about 300 million litres of diesel every month and most of this is used to power generators. At the same time, there are about 2,000 megawatts of electricity generating capacity that is unutilized.
”The challenge of the moment before the industry is how to deliver the un-utilised capacity to consumers who are willing to pay for it and are already paying dearly for alternatives.”
According to him, “Problems like this require creative solutions and we don’t have any time to waste. The N701 billion intervention program is a creative solution that appears to be having the desired effect for stabilising the gas and generation end of the electricity industry.
“If we can creatively and constructively focus on specific win-win projects, four policies provide an effective tool to quickly resolve the challenges we now face. The first two, the eligible customer regulation and the meter service provider regulation are already subjects of detailed discussions and NERC regulatory action.”
The minister added that the eligible customer regulation allows large consumers to buy their power directly from Gencos and then sign with Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and Discos to have the power delivered to them.
He noted that “To plan an orderly win-win implementation of this policy, the ministry is hosting a discussion with the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), and other interested large consumers of the policy on Tuesday.
“The meter service provider initiative can unlock investments in meters which are urgently needed to boost consumer trust and boost collection efficiency. Government seeks to apply that policy through private companies and local meter manufacturers to invest N39 billion in meters as settlement of a court judgment in favour of the government.”
He also noted that that the distribution expansion program aims to rapidly construct 2500MVA of dedicated 33kV lines and packaged substations to deliver the un-utilised power to target consumers and Discos.
