Recurring grid collapse: Govt must address causative deficiencies
Although the Nigerian government has recognised the necessity of the central place of power to facilitate the growth of the economy as much sought after, yet it remains clear that the necessary modalities to get the architecture needed for a reliable energy system has not found its place. Despite the discourse over the matter, supply of electricity remains inconsistent with failure of systems.
While there have been defects among the chain of operations from generation, transmission to distribution, the recurring issue of system failure informing grid collapse and the attendant nationwide blackout has been one subject matter of grave concern.
Very recently on Tuesday, Nigeria’s national grid collapsed again with power generation crashing from a peak of 3,594.60 megawatts at midnight to an alarming low of 42.7MW by midday. Subsequently, Tuesday noon, only the Delta Power plant was operational on the grid, contributing 41MW, while Afam generated 1.7MW.
The grid failure was particularly impactful on the commercial hub of Lagos, where power supply was lost at 11:32am. The incident is now attributed to a nationwide system collapse. Tuesday’s failure marked the third grid collapse in less than a month, following two incidents in about five days. The failure is known to leave the nation in total darkness for extended periods.
Over time, the recurring grid collapses are known for its consequent nationwide blackout which experts have lamented how the impact of its toll of negative records remain incompactible for a stable economy.
Power crisis in the Country has remained a major issue as the Government grapples with the inconsistency, which as lamented, is detrimental to the economy.
Last Thursday, a system collapse had also plunged the nation into blackout, following an explosion that led to a fire outbreak at Kainji/Jebba located in the North-central part of Nigeria.
According to the Energy Progress Report 2022, released by Tracking SDG 7, Nigeria has the lowest access to electricity globally, with approximately 92 million out of the country’s 200 million population lacking access to power.
It is now clear Nigeria is not making the appropriate progress in power capacity profile commensurate to drive an industrial economy. It is pertinent for the Government to be more concerted, assertive and progressive in the course to stabilise power in the Country. Hence, efforts must be galvanised towards addressing the deficient structures which over time have left the Country with such embarrassing situation of recurrent grid collapse with its lamentable nationwide blackout.
While the need for investment in the sector remains sacrosanct, channelling such in the appropriate direction within the right framework is pertinent. For instance, on the heels of the grid collapse of last Thursday, the Federal Government had made recourse to plans of the African Development Bank (AfDB) to inject $250 million into the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP), following crisis in the nation’s power sector.
Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu on X (formerly known as Twitter), had last Thursday underscored the fruitful outcome of a Bilateral Cooperation meeting held during the ongoing “Just Energy Transition and Agricultural Transformation for Africa” conference in Busan, South Korea.
The gathering, presided over by AfDB President, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, brought together key stakeholders to discuss pivotal energy and agricultural transformations for the African continent.
The Minister in his tweet had said, “This initiative aims to establish operational capacity across the entire value chain, facilitating project prioritisation. AfDB also confirmed readiness to disburse a previously approved $250 million fund for the Nigeria Electrification Project under the Rural Electrification Agency and extended support to Northern Nigerian states through the $20 billion 10,000MW Northern Africa Desert to Power fund.”
The NEP seeks to bridge the energy access deficit by providing electricity to households, MSMEs, and educational and healthcare facilities in unserved and underserved rural communities.
Over 600,000 people, approximately 100,000 households, 70,000 MSMEs, and eight universities will receive new or improved access to electricity services as a result of the project.
The NEP project is expected to bring new or enhanced access to electricity services to over 600,000 people, including approximately 100,000 households, 70,000 MSMEs, and eight universities. It will also create an enabling environment for private sector involvement, with a particular focus on advancing opportunities for women through various integrated activities such as the collection of sex-disaggregated data and gender-targeted marketing
There had been several projects and investments in line with fixing the power sector in the Country. However, it is pertinent for the Nigerian government to be more directional and strategic in the approach to develop the sector with clearly defined framework, sound in coordination to address the pressing challenges of the sector.
Hence, channelling investments within the right framework speaking appropriately to the susbsisting deficiencies is sacrosanct for an upward development.
