Industry leaders in the energy sector have called on the Federal Government to allow market forces to determine the price of power rather than the present system of price-fixing by the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). They were speaking at the 2019 Energy Sustainability Conference which held in Lagos.
The Chief Executive Officer of Century Power Generation Limited and an Executive Director in the Nestoil Group Dr. Chukwueluka Umeh said the Energy sector is over-regulated which is why investors are reluctant to deploy resources despite the enormous potentials in the industry.
Dr. Umeh said the government must realize that the provision of power is not a social service but a business venture. He said price fixing has led to Power Distribution Companies (DISCOs) rejecting power from the Generating Companies (GENCOs) while the nation wallows in darkness.
He said for the economy to grow in any meaningful way, the Government must develop a robust power with a robust national grid that covers the entire country, with an equally robust baseload supported by peaking plants to help keep the grid stable during high demand hours.
Dr. Umeh maintained that “In order for Nigeria to grow and get out of the odious title as the poverty capital of the world, we must make a conscious decision to remove the chains on our power industry. “We must deregulate the industry and allow private companies to do what they do best, grow the business and galvanize the economy”, he asserted.
A panelist from the Investment Professional Infrastructure Africa, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Roger Endom said IFC is investing in Cameroon’s power sector because the government there has a consistent and cost-effective tariff policy in place that protects investor’s funds which are not seen in Nigeria.
On his part, The Deputy Managing Director, Afrinvest, Victor Ndukauba, said the country might not witness another Independent Power Project (IPP) like the Azura IPP in Edo state in the next five years if the prevailing situation remains in the power sector. He said the Azura project is being hindered by the structural defects in the Power industry.
The Energy Sustainability Conference, which is an annual event is the brainchild of the Energy Institute of Nigeria