Power failure: Developing potentials of alternative sources of generation
Nationwide blackout has not left Nigeria alone. Recently, epilepsy of power supply has been on the recurrent scale for about three months, as inconsistencies along the operating lines of the sector’s working architecture have left sour narratives for the Country. March 15, 2022, a total system collapse which came at the heels of recurrent failures had left the Country in a blackout.
Lamentations have continue to zoom from various quarters as power consumers keep decrying the epileptic electricity supply with no reflection of reduction in billings, applicable to many who have not been captured within the prepaid metering system. The situation for businesses has been unsavoury as manufacturers and other small businesses whose line of production rely heavily on electricity, continue to face harsh conditions with rising cost of production threatening their fortunes. Recently, manufacturers have lamented how over 40percent of their cost of production goes into sourcing for power. Resort to alternative sources of generating supply has not been so healthy for businesses, particularly as the prices of petroleum products especially diesel continue to soar high, while scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit has taken a bane recently.
The pursuit of power supply in the Country over the years has remained in promises and documents, as the actualisation remains blurry and unrealistic. By every index of the current architecture, it is apparent that the Country is still very much far from the desideratum, particularly as recent realities see generation from power plants falling as low as about 2,000mw.
It is disheartening to hear a Country as Nigeria with the huge economic demands, struggling to sustain even a generation status of 5,000MW, which in itself is minute to the demands.
According to USAID, “Nigeria is the largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa, but limitations in the power sector constrain growth. Nigeria is endowed with large oil, gas, hydro and solar resources, and it has the potential to generate 12,522MW of electric power from existing plants. On most days, however, it is only able to dispatch around 4,000 MW, which is insufficient for a country of over 195 million people. The Nigerian power sector experiences many broad challenges related to electricity policy enforcement, regulatory uncertainty, gas supply, transmission system constraints, and major power sector planning shortfalls that have kept the sector from reaching commercial viability.”
The insufficiency of the hydro-electric and thermal/fossil fuel power plants (gas-fired plants) is largely over blown in the power supply mix architecture. It is known fact that Nigeria’s generation capacity which is largely driven by gas-fired power plants falls short of the potentials of generation in the Country, and as well, below the demands of the economy and the teeming population of over 200 million people. The call for alternatives to develop other sources of power for a virile sector, resting on the huge potentials of available resources with robust power supply mix, has been a call that has not yielded much response, sufficient to reflect readiness on the part of the government to fix power problems in Nigeria.
Recently, the Federal Government had said it has arranged a meeting for a proposed $1billion investment in solar power. According to government sources, the proposed project, which is expected to generate 10,000MW, has been stalled since 2016. The government said it is expecting to see the results of the planned investment by 2023. The Special Adviser to the President on Infrastructure, Ahmad Zakari, via his Twitter handle, had said the projects are expected to be a game-changer in Nigeria’s electricity production. According to him, the Presidency would continue to work on emergency measures to stabilise power. He had said: “The Ministry of Finance and Power has structured a meeting for $1bn investment for 1000MW of solar stalled since 2016 and we expect some on grid by 2023. The projects range from 50MW to 100MW across Sokoto, Kano, Jigawa, Nasarawa, Abuja, Bauchi, some of these states will be joining the league of states with on-grid power plants for the first time. These 1GW of solar projects will be a game-changer and a harbinger for more projects.”
The suitability of such investment to vitalise power generation in the Country has been justified by the strength of the advantage of the Country in terms of its atmospheric topography which gives ample sufficiency to developing solar-powered plants for electricity installations in the Country. The strength of an architecture coming from such end has been observed as a profound source to give a boost to the profile of power generation in the Country.
However, it is lamentable that the response to such calls has been reflective of docility, as of no strong will potent enough to drive the course to fruition; hence, the slow pace of implementation which has been typical of the deficient disposition to fixing the defects of the power sector which has lingered over years. Talking of developing a troubled economy without fixing power problem in the Country would only reflect largely the prevailing lip commitment to development, against facing the realities of demands by all firmness to address pressing challenges towards positioning the fabrics of significant sectors in the limelight of virility for growth.
It has become more pressing for the Government to come alive to the demands. The grappling strings on businesses in the face power failure is threatening to the economy, as more businesses are being strangled out of operation. The conditions in the long run are such of chains of disturbances in the narratives of socio-economic fabric of the Country.
