NERC Lists Challenges Of Power Sector

L-R: Assistant Director, Public Affairs, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), Mr Hakeem Bakare, President, Enugu State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture ( ECCIMA), Dr Ifeanyi Okoyi and representative of Managing Director, NDIC, Mr Frank Akinola, during NDIC Special Day at the ongoing ECCIMA International Trade Fair in Enugu, yesterday.

Nigeria’s electricity in
dustry is being  hindered  by producers’ inability to raise finance  and natural gas shortages, curbing companies ability to boost  investment  in output, as the  country suffers from daily blackouts, an energy regulator said.
Peak electricity output of Africa’s biggest economy is about 3,800 megawtts, with another 1,500 megawatts  unavailable because of gas shortages, Bloomberg quoted the chairman of the Nigerian Electricity  Regulatory Commission Mr Sam Amadi  has stated.
South  Africa with a third of Nigerian’s population, has eight times more installed capacity, one megawatt is  enough to provide energy  to 2,000 average  European  homes or about 333 in Japan.
“There are still issues of credit worthiness, power generation is not coming on board because the distribution companies  are weak, they’re  not credit  worthy  and cannot get financing”
Distribution  companies are struggling to get consumers to pay their bills  and this means that their revenue is so poor that they are unable to pay producers for power, he said.
Nigeria beset by frequent blackouts, dismantled the State  monopoly and sold hydro- and gas-powered plants to try bring in investment needed to expand electricity  supply.
The industry requires $18 billion to $2 billion to boost supplies to 10,000 megawatts within six years, according to the nation’s privatization agency.
“Power generation  and distribution companies can now access  a N213 billion ($1 billion) bailout announced by authorities in  September to shore up struggling operators   Amadi said. The fund is supposed  to help  them pay off gas-supply debts  and meet  debt service obligations to lenders on loans of almost N500 billion on which some were falling behind.