Worried about the unsteady power supply in the country and frequent collapse of national grid, the Senate has begun a probe into the activities of Generation Companies (GenCos) the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and Distribution Companies (DisCos).
Describing the privatisation of the power sector as a total failure, the upper chamber also strongly lampooned the power sector players, saying they have added no significant value to the sector, and threatened to come up with legislative measures, including new laws and total repeal of the policy.
It equally noted that the privatization introduced in 2013 has plunged Nigeria deeper into darkness, leaving citizens without solutions.
The Upper chamber directed the Senate Committee on Power, led by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, APGA, Abia South, to conduct a holistic investigation into the challenges of the sector and come up with recommendations that should cover possible reversal of the privatisation and declaration of an emergency in the power sector and report at plenary in six weeks.
The condemnation of the power sector yesterday was sequel to the presentation of a report by the Chairman, Senate Committee on Power, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, that investigated frequent national grid collapses and related issues.
In his remarks, the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, said in annoyance: “They have added no value at all.’’
Akpabio and other senators lampooned the power sector, especially the DisCos as they expressed anger, saying the operators had forced Nigeria more into darkness since 2013 when the policy took off, leaving the citizenry “helpless.”
Akpabio said: “Why do state governors and communities buy transformers, hand them over DisCos and still pay for installation?
“The people who took over (power sector) are just making money from those transformers and they are not adding value at all.
“Why do we hand over GenCos and the TCN can’t move what they generate? Why are DisCos not investing in transformers, or we have to pay the DisCos for transformers bought by Nigerians?
“We can make the laws, we can reverse the laws and ask the Federal Government to take back those things from them.”
Presenting the report, Senator Abaribe, who attributed the persistent grid failures to factors such as aging infrastructure, abandoned projects worth trillions of naira, regulatory inefficiencies, security lapses, lack of modern monitoring systems, such as SCADA, and inadequate financial oversight, said despite substantial investments in electricity infrastructure, the grid had suffered 105 collapses over the past decade.
He revealed the significant costs incurred during grid failures, particularly in restarting power plants.
The committee reported that each time the grid collapsed, it would cost the nation around $25million or N42billion to restart its three generating plants.
The committee recommended decisive actions by government, including making saboteurs both within and outside the system pay heavily for their culpability.
According to the report, restarting a plant after a grid collapse (known as a “black start”) is considerably more expensive than normal operations.
‘’For instance, while running costs for a plant like Azura, Delta, or Shiroro are approximately $105,000, restarting costs can reach $7 million per incident. Collectively, grid collapses cost Nigeria an estimated ¦ 42.5 billion for these three plants alone, with broader implications for the entire power sector,’’ the report said.
The report emphasised that the national grid, over 50 years old, was outdated and in urgent need of modernization to meet current operational standards.
Abaribe also noted other pressing issues, including operational inefficiencies, abandoned projects, regulatory gaps, security challenges, and the absence of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, SCADA, systems essential for real-time monitoring and management.
“Whenever a plant is shut down, they restart the plant and to restart it which they call a black start, it cost far more that running the plant.
“While it cost $105,000 to run the plant, to restart it will cost $7m. So for anytime we have a shut down occasioned by grid collapse, three plants in Nigeria, three plants in Nigeria that supply most of our electricity, Azura, Delta and Shiroro, to restart the plant cost Nigeria $25m or ¦ 42.5bn and if we expand it yo the rest of the operating plants in Nigeria, it is actually not quantifiable.
“Aging infrastructure has been identified as a critical factor contributing to frequent grid failures. Many components of the grid are outdated and have not undergone necessary maintenance or upgrades, leading to increased vulnerability to failures,’’ Abaribe said.
In his contribution, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, APC, Edo North, who criticised the privatisation policy as flawed and exploitative, said it imposed undue financial burdens on Nigerians
He said: “The DisCos are out for profit, while they make our people suffer. I never imagined that a private person will collect money for services he did not render and Nigerians are helpless.”
He recounted a personal experience of having to purchase a transformer and pay for its installation, only for it to become the property of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, AEDC.
Oshiomhole called for a comprehensive review of the privatisation policy, in line with the administration’s “Renewed Hope Agenda.”
“After the procurement, it becomes the property of AEDC (Abuja Electricity Distribution Company).
I even had to pay money from my pocket to connect the transformer to the grid.
“We have to revisit this ill-advised privatisation and we are going to advise Mr President, in line with his Renewed Hope Agenda, to review the power sector privatisation.”
On his part, Senator Abdul Ningi, PDP, Bauchi Central, who noted that the ongoing failures in the power sector persisted due to a lack of accountability, however, argued that without sanctions for lapses, the sector’s inefficiencies would remain unaddressed.
Ningi said: “Over the years, nobody has been punished for the lapses in the power sector. Reports alone without sanctions will not allow Nigeria make any headway. The implication is that the problems will continue.”
Following series of debates, the Senate stood down the consideration of the report and gave Abaribe’s committee additional six weeks to do a holistic investigation into the issues in the power sector and report back in six weeks for further legislative actions.
(With additional report from Punch Newspaper)
