George Etomi, Principal Partner and stakeholder at EkoDisco has identified energy theft as one of the numerous challenges confronting Nigeria’s power sector.
Speaking on Monday during News Central’s TV programme Power and the People, Etomi highlighted several issues plaguing the sector, shedding light on the complexities affecting the country’s power supply.
He said, “Energy theft is one of the biggest issues we’re having. So you just need to manage these things very well. So fast forward, band A, band C, band D, it’s a government who have tried to see how they don’t upset the general populace, and then how they can share this subsidy bonding with those who can afford it.”
He added that there was a tariff increase, which was eventually reversed because of the general elections held at the time. He further explained that problems began to arise from that point.
“There was a tariff increase, but it was reversed because of the elections. And from that point on, there was a problem. NEC was doing its duty, they were doing their regular six-month activities, we were going for the meetings.
“So we all had an idea of where the tariff should be, but it never happened. And then boom, comes COVID. Government took no money coming from anywhere, and then there was that sudden increase in tariffs. And what did it create? A tariff shock and once it created a tariff shock, the experience we had was that consumers bypassed their meters. And I’m not exonerating the discos, there are some funny guys amongst them who would encourage that.”
Highlighting some of the milestones recorded in Nigeria’s power sector, Bolaji Tunji, Special Adviser on Communications and Strategy to the Minister of Power, mentioned that the last significant achievement in power generation dates back to 1984 when the country had about 2,000 megawatts. It took over 40 years to reach 4,000 megawatts. However, within less than two years of the present administration, an additional 1,500 megawatts had reportedly been generated.
“Some hard decisions were made by this current administration, especially the Ministry of Power, not to ensure that we get to this level where we are. Before the administration arrived, we were hovering between less than 4,000 megawatts.
“The last time we had a celebration of a major issue like this was around 1984 when we had about 2,000 megawatts. And within that period to date, this administration took over and we had about 4,000 megawatts. “That’s over 40 years to achieve 4,000 megawatts. But today, within less than two years of this administration, we have been able to do it by 1.5 megawatts.
“It means that for the businesses and households in Nigeria, there will be more power available for them. And that is what people are experiencing now. Before now, it wasn’t always like that. We had so many challenges, the economy had so many challenges, but today, these are gradually being reduced.”
Watch the full interview below.
