Business
Expert Tasks FG On Power Sector Investments
An expert in power sector, Mr Gracious Omatseye, has advised the Federal Government to encourage more investments in the sector to give fillip to electricity supply in the country.
Omatseye, the past Chairman, Nigerian Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (NIEEE) gave the advice in an interview with newsmen in Lagos, yesterday.
According to him, since the privatisation of Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) and Generating Companies (GENCOs) in 2013, electricity supply has deteriorated because transmission is not privatised.
Omatseye said the needed investments in transmission were not achieved because the sector was left for government to handle.
“The transmission part of the sector should have been privatised along with DISCOs and GENCOs to achieve optimal result.
“But now each chain of power distribution is apportioning blame on one another for the epileptic power supply the consumers are experiencing nationwide.
“At present, if government has no intention of privatising transmission, they should invest more on it so that it will be able to evacuate needed energy generated.
“It is ridiculous to know that today, if GENCOs generates more than 5,000 Megawatts (MW) it will be difficult for transmission to evacuate and send to DISCOs.
“This is the reason why there should be more investments in transmission so that when the generation increases they will be able to evacuate all the energy generated.
“ Also, government should ensure that it maintains the needed peace in the Niger Delta so that the militant will stop vandalising gas pipeline.
“This will encourage the supply of gas to the power plant which will result to increasing energy generation.’’
Omatseye commended DISCOs for its efforts in distributing energy generated and metering of prospective consumers, adding that the rot of 60 years in power sector could not be rectified in three years.
He urged investors in the sector to training more young engineers in order to fill the vacuum left by the retirement of old hands.