24th April, 2024
Adebayo Adelabu, Nigeria’s Minister of Power says the President Bola Tinubu’s administration is ready to break over 60-year-old power jinx bedeviling the nation.
He said the importance of power to economic growth and industrial development of any nation could not be overemphasized as no sector could actually perform optimally without stable, effective, functional and cost effective power supply.
The minister stated this when he received the Senate Committee on Power led by its Chairman, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe who visited the Ministry for it’s familiarization/oversight function recently in the Ministry’s headquarters in Abuja.
The Minister said that the crises bedeviling the Power sector has defiled every attempt of resolution in the past sixty (60) years, but said the Bola Tinubu administration is committed to breaking the 60 years crisis jinx.
“The steps we are taking in the Ministry of Power is in the right direction, it is only a little time, this crisis will be over.
“We just need to endure and persevere just as in the issue of road repairs and reconstructions, commuters suffer during such period, some even sleep on the road due to road closures or diversions but at the end, commuters enjoy smooth and timely rides to their destination when the work is done.
“This is the case with power. The issues have been identified and we need more patience and perseverance to get to our Eldorado,” he said.
Sharing the overview of the general activities of the Ministry of Power , Adebayo identified liquidity, huge metering gap, high incidence of electricity theft, power equipment vandalization, funding and operational structure, incessant grid collapse as challenges bedeviling the sector.
“In proffering sustainable solutions, a new tariff regime came on board and has drastically attracted the interest of investors in the sector while Distribution companies are devoted to investing more in upgrading their infrastructure to migrate more consumers to Band A, who now enjoys more than 20 hours of electricity supply.
He revealed further that another step taken by the Ministry was the granting of licenses to Renewable Energy Service Companies (RESCOS), to expand every access in rural communities through establishment of mini and micro grids.
He added that the installation of Solar PVs in rural areas would evidently reduced the weight on the national grid.
“On closing the metering gap, Mr. President inaugurated the Presidential Metering Initiative Committee which I am the chairman, with a distinct directive to close the meter gap, hence, the vision is to meter at least two million customers yearly for the next 4 years.
“We sincerely believe that by closing the metering gap, liquidity in the sector would also be enhanced, thereby eradicating estimated billings by distribution companies.
“The state governments have also been encouraged to key into 2023 electricity Act which has recognized the advantaged position of the state in the provision of electricity across the country,” he stated.
Earlier, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Power, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe stated that Section 80 and 81 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has enjoined the committee to have a look at what the different organs of the government are doing.