Beleaguered business concerns and households undermined by the country’s wretched electricity conundrum might soon get a relief if the plan for alternative sources of power by the Oyo State Government materialises. Reiterating its agenda to boost electricity recently, the state government declared that it would collaborate with relevant stakeholders, including the state chapter of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, which sought clarification on the plan during a round-table discussion in the state capital, Ibadan. This is a welcome statement of intention. The governor, Seyi Makinde, and the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources specially created for this purpose, should make the difference in this worthwhile endeavour through innovation and collaboration with the private sector and international aid agencies.
Nigeria’s deplorable electricity situation is public knowledge. It is Africa’s largest economy (GDP $448.1 billion), but with a population of 206 million, its power output that fluctuates between 3,000 and 5,000 megawatts is grossly insufficient. A federal effort to boost supply through the privatisation of the generation and distribution legs of the subsector in 2013 is enmeshed in chaos. This has forced businesses and households to plunge billions in investment into costly and unreliable energy solutions. In South Africa, 91.23 per cent of the 57.78 million people have access to electricity with an installed capacity of 58,095MW. Egypt, another African peer, had an access rate of 96 per cent in 1995, climbing to 99 per cent by 2014, says the World Bank.
In Nigeria, everyone is in search of a long-lasting solution, which is where Makinde enters the gloomy picture, raising the hope that the state can surmount the challenge. The governor should forge ahead with determination and see this plan through because creativity can overcome adversity. Beyond doubt, he must have a concise roadmap. For instance, what level of output, financial investment and the energy mix like solar, thermal, wind or hydro does Oyo State need? All this is critical in formulating a successful plan.
An International Monetary Fund report stated that due to epileptic power, the Nigerian economy incurs a loss of $29 billion annually. Households in the country spent $12 billion in fuelling generators in 2019, an African Development Bank report stated. Vital to contemporary life, the World Economic Forum states that electricity “allows us to improve food production and conservation; it means purified water and deeper wells; and better medical care. Electricity enables education.” Reliable power supply reduces the cost of production and leads to more jobs.
One of the pressing constraints Makinde has to contend with is the overbearing federal laws inhibiting the sector. Currently, the Federal Government is in control, but it has allowed state governments to own regional grids, but this should not hinder the proposal by Oyo State. It should work round it.
In fact, some states have already done that successfully, including Sokoto, which inaugurated an 80-kilowatt solar system in Gudu LGA in 2018. Rivers and Delta also initiated such projects but have not fully put them to use. In the case of Lagos, it confronted the matter headlong. Long before the Federal Government undertook privatisation, the then governor, Bola Tinubu, ambitiously undertook an independent power project in Lagos State with an initial capacity of 133MW with a plan to reach 403MW by December 2001. Because of the country’s centralised structure, the power was channelled to the national grid, but Lagos did not relent. By 2015, Tinubu’s successor, Babatunde Fashola, using the IPP (five in number) model in conjunction with private investors, had built a combined capacity of 47MW. This was dedicated to the state secretariat, the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, the Lagos State University College of Medicine, Area F Police Command, among other public institutions. At the state secretariat alone, this enabled the government to decommission 120 diesel generators.
These are baby steps compared to the energy needs of the country, but ultimately, they offer Makinde something concrete to improve on. In Nigeria, it is pointless to expect the Federal Government to light up the whole country. Although it has privatised somewhat, the distribution companies have not been able to meter 59.7 per cent of consumers as of March 2020, while generation and transmission are still lagging far behind expectations.
The governor should robustly pursue the power agenda. State governments should continually expand the frontiers of their autonomy, as is the practice in federal countries: There are 22 electricity and gas network businesses in Australia with a mix of public and private ownership. Victoria, one of the six states there undertook the first privatisations between 1995 and 1997; South Australia in 1999 and then New South Wales from 2008. In NSW, one electricity network is privately owned, two are 50.4 per cent privately owned and one is fully government owned. The Australian Capital Territory’s electricity network is a joint public and privately owned entity.
Indeed, some states are changing the energy matrix. Reports say the Lagos State Government through the Lagos Solar project, a joint investment of Lagos State Electricity Board and the UK Department for International Development, has installed nearly 5MWp of solar generated off-grid power for 172 schools and 11 clinics within Lagos State. An additional 1.5MWp is being installed at public health clinics in Kaduna State under the Solar Nigeria programme by DFID. Several other off-grid schemes with support from international partners, are gaining traction across the country.
For Makinde, this model is usable. Just as he played a key role in the formation of the Western Nigeria Security Network, better known as Operation Amotekun early 2020, the governor should step forward boldly in the power initiative in the interest of the state’s economy.
Apart from the private sector, Makinde should explore opportunities from international partners. Since 2008, Nigeria and Germany had entered into a power scheme, which has started to deliver. Already, the Nigeria-Germany partnership has seen the development of independent power projects (solar) at three federal universities in Ibadan, Zaria and Calabar, each with a capacity of 10MW. These off-grid schemes might become significant in rural communities at the end of the day.
