FG Restates Commitment To Power Reform

The Federal Government
has restated its strong commitment to providing adequate power supply to Nigerians as it disclosed Thursday, its plan to open Nigeria Power Sector investment office to engage investors for stakes in the six plants.
The Minister of Power, Prof Chinedu Nebo, said at the 4th Worldstage National Electricity Power Conference that the privatisation of the nation’s power sector remains one of the most ambitious reform programmes ever of any utility embarked upon by any nation.
The minister who was represented by his Special Adviser on Investment, Finance and Donor Relations, Mr Olajuwon Olaleye, said, “we are now marching towards the declaration of the Transitional Electricity market where the power sector will fully function as a market with full contracted obligations for all market participants.”
Nebo admitted the challenge posed by gas supply shortfall, stressing that even when the gas infrastructure was free of sabotage, obtaining the gas remained a problem due to low price, while the domestic gas market was presently unattractive for gas producers.
The minister listed some of the current critical issues in the power sector to include obsolete infrastructure, technical losses, vandalism, slow investment framework for transmission, stressing that improving electricity transmission has not been easy under Manitoba’s leadership.
He said the ministry was exploring collaboration with the Minister of Petroleum Resources to locate gas power plants closer to gas resources in marginal fields and in the inland basins to reduce risks and cost of gas transportation over long pipelines.
According to Nebo, with the recent CBN intervention of N2.13 billion to offset legacy gas debts and post handover gas and power debts, it is expected that stability in supply would go forward.
He equally stated that President Goodluck Jonathan would soon launch the National Power Sector Apprenticeship Scheme (NAPSAS), a scheme under the ministry to seek man power training for about 7,200 young engineers and technicians with the skills and expertise to man the facilities of the post-privatised sector.
He also announced that a draft of a local content policy for the power sector is already in circulation, with the expectation that the policy would address the issue bordering on the sustainability and development in such a manner that would make it globally competitive.