Tinubu: After One Year, Where is the Light
By Lawal Dahiru Mamman
The power sector has long been a critical concern in Nigeria. Prior to the 2023 general elections, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu promised, in his manifesto, to revamp this important sector of the economy.
“Nigeria’s growth continues to be stifled by the structural constraints of the power sector. At present, the nation has approximately 12,000MW of installed capacity, generates only 8,000MW and is only able to distribute a maximum of 4,500MW to consumers. Our economy is, accordingly, constrained by our inability to generate, transmit and distribute power efficiently.
“However, the nation’s power problems cannot be solved overnight. What we can do, and what we shall do is build on the foundation laid by President Buhari’s Presidential Power Initiative, among other important interventions, to put in place prudent, practical measures that will improve the situation today and make the power sector viable and sustainable for all Nigerians moving forward,” he said.
To achieve this goal, Adebayo Adelabu was sworn in as Minister to head the Ministry of Power. But with 365 days almost gone in the 1,460 of his first term, how far has Tinubu gone in fixing Nigeria’s wobbling power sector?
Generation and Transmission Targets
The Tinubu administration promised to immediately take necessary steps to ensure that more of the power already generated can be transmitted and distributed to Nigerian homes and businesses, while seeking to implement further reforms to put the nation on a track to sufficient on-grid generation.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, disclosed on 2nd May, 2024 that the nation’s power generation had risen to 4,800MW from 4,200MW when he was in Ajah, Lagos State to launch a 63MVA, 132/33kV mobile substation installed under Phase 1 of the Presidential Power Initiative by the FGN Power Company in collaboration with Siemens Energy.
The increase was due to commencement of the operation of Zungeru hydroelectric power plant which added 625MW to the national grid. The government targets 6,000MW before the end of the year by encouraging generating companies to ramp up their outputs.
Eliminate Estimated Billing
The manifesto also promised to end the unpopular and harmful practice of estimated billing and ensure that all electricity bills are meter-based by streamlining and accelerating existing schemes such as the National Mass Metering Programme and the Meter Asset Provider Scheme while seeking to ensure that all electricity connections are properly metered within the shortest possible time frame.
A report by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) shows that out of the total 12,825,005 registered electricity customers, only 5,707,838 have meters, indicating that over 7.1 million registered customers still are subjected to the estimated billing system.
Another report earlier this year stated that in the various regulatory Interventions for non-compliance with the Order on Capping of Estimated Billing to Unmetered Customers, issued to the 11 Discos by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), it was established that the power distributors raked over N105bn as a result of over-billing, indicating a lot still needs to be done regarding estimated billing.
President Tinubu’s Presidential Metering Initiative has said it is on course of ending estimated billing regime by end of 2024 and close the gap within the space of three to five years. The power minister outlined that 2 million to 2.5 million meters shall be installed annually over the next five years.
Support For Domestic Manufacturing of Electricity Meters
The administration also pledged to reduce import levies on manufacturing inputs and provide other forms of support so that domestic manufacturers are able competition and meet demand for meters and provide targeted and efficient tax incentives for local manufacturing companies making meters.
The minister of power has emphasised severally the importance of sustaining local producers through access to affordable funding and long-term capital, while highlighting plans to introduce legislation mandating local content in the power sector, just like the oil and gas industry, stressing the necessity of comprehensive plans for full backwards integration and technical training. This so far is yet come to light.
Rural Electrification
The plan of the Tinubu-led administration is streamline and relax regulations to enable private sector, local and state government actors to electrify rural Nigeria in a safe and secure manner with reasonable tariffs and encourage universities and polytechnics to become centres of research, devising new and innovative ways to bring more power to rural areas.
Though much has not been achieved, President Bola Tinubu changed the leadership of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) in order to bring in more capable hands that align with his vision to transform the power sector.
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA), says it is supporting 250,000 households with electric mobility, mini-grids, home systems to boost electricity in the country in 2024.
Power Sector Governance Reform
The plan is to work with National Assembly to review the Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005 and reform the regulatory and governance structure of Nigeria’s power sector. As part of the review, it hopes to expand the existing regime for off-grid power generation and explore new ways to exploit clean coal, solar, hydro and other sustainable energy technologies.
On this, there the new Nigerian Electricity Act 2023, a landmark legislation that aims to reform the power sector nationwide and address its longstanding challenges. As rosy as the Act seem, effective implementation remains a great constraints to cart Nigeria out of blackouts.
The Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill, 2023, was signed by the president in February 2024, it repealed the Electric Power Sector Reform Act, No. 6, 2005 and consolidated the laws relating to the Nigerian electricity supply industry.
Nigeria First Power Policy
The administration also promised to introduce a Nigeria First policy by which gas resources shall be directed, as a number one priority to Nigerian power generation. In addition, it will support power projects that can be delivered quickly to optimise grid reliability, grid interconnectedness and grid wheeling. Not much as been done in this regard.
Last Line
As much as the power sector is important for a more productive economy, to achieve a “brighter Nigeria” it promised, the Tinubu-led administration needs to redouble its effort to meet expectation of Nigerians.
