Business
Engineer Advocates Solar Power For Households
The Federal Government has been called upon to encourage all domestic users of electricity to mount solar power supply panels and allow the industries to use the national power grid.
A guest lecturer, Engr Odieri Oruye, made the call in a paper, “Electricity in Nigeria. What Hope for our Industries?” he presented at the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Port Harcourt branch general meeting technical evening held at the NSE State Secretariat, Port Harcourt on Thursday.
Oruye said electricity is required by industries more than man requires air, adding that, “electricity is the air which industries breathe”.
According to him, the first electricity generating plant in Nigeria was built under the colonial masters in 1896 and was managed by the Public Works Department (PWD), and that after several developments, the industry is still in the transition stage, pointing out that reason for the slow pace of electricity supply had been that of the operators, corruption and the masses who are the consumers for not showing adequate concern about the state of affairs in the electricity industry.
“They are also guilty of inadequate utilisation of the little available capacity”, he opined, adding that there has never been meaningful technical attempt to grow the electricity industry.
The Guest lecturer noted that for an ideal power system, the supply should at least be 15 per cent more than the demand at least for stability and stressed that industries in Nigeria cannot cope with the epileptic electricity supply, hence the closing of shops and transfer to favourable nearby West African countries.
He called on the government to take proactive action with stern policies on solar energy for domestic use, alternative energy source and also to attract foreign investors into electricity generation as well as devote funds to electricity generation.
“Industries should have dedicated supply lines and they should not be unnecessarily charged as not to get them out of business as had hitherto been the case. Industrial contribution to our economy shall empower the naira in the exchange market”, Oruye further said.
Collins Barasimeye