Of Power Grid Collapse And Committees

After I learn concerning the newly shaped committee by the Nationwide Financial Council (NEC) on Thursday to deal with our perennial energy issues, I couldn’t assist however chuckle. Right here we go once more – one other committee to unravel an issue that has defied numerous committees earlier than it.

Don’t get me mistaken. The intention behind this newest initiative may be noble. In any case, as Vice President Kashim Shettima rightly famous, electrical energy is certainly the oxygen of financial progress. However are we not uninterested in treating most cancers with paracetamol?

To make sure, the committee’s composition seems spectacular on paper. We’ve got governors from throughout the six geo-political zones, ministers of vital portfolios, and technical consultants. Nonetheless, the query stays: What can this committee obtain that earlier ones couldn’t?

Let’s face info. Our nationwide grid has collapsed so many instances that we’ve misplaced rely. From 2013 until date, the grid has collapsed 162 instances. If

It’s like a fainting affected person who wants intensive care, not one other analysis. The Rural Electrification Company (REA) has been round for years, but hundreds of thousands of Nigerians nonetheless stay in darkness. What magic wand does this new committee possess?

Come to think about it, we have already got the Electrical energy Reform Act 2023. We’ve got the Nationwide Electrification Technique and Implementation Plan. What we lack isn’t frameworks or committees – it’s the political will to implement present options.

Belief our flesh pressers to all the time create committees when motion is required. It’s like prescribing painkillers for a damaged leg. The affected person feels non permanent aid however the elementary drawback stays unresolved.

Nonetheless, I need to commend the Vice President’s emphasis on personal sector-led distributed renewable vitality era. This, for my part, is the place the true answer lies. We will’t preserve placing all our eggs within the nationwide grid basket when it has confirmed to be as dependable as a politician’s marketing campaign guarantees.

The states must reap the benefits of the Electrical energy Reform Act and develop their energy infrastructure. Lagos has proven it’s attainable with the Embedded Energy Programme. Different states must observe go well with as a substitute of ready for the federal authorities to unravel all their issues.

Okay, let’s put it this manner – what occurs if this committee comes up with good suggestions (as I’m positive they may), they usually find yourself gathering mud like earlier experiences? What occurs to the billions of naira misplaced every day to energy outages whereas we wait for one more committee to review the suggestions of this committee?

I discover it fascinating that in the identical assembly the place this energy committee was shaped, NASENI showcased numerous improvements together with photo voltaic irrigation pumps and photo voltaic residence programs. Shouldn’t we be specializing in scaling up these present options fairly than forming new committees?

The reality is that our energy sector wants surgical procedure, not band-aids. We want decisive motion, no more deliberations. Whereas the committee members are assembly in air-conditioned rooms powered by turbines, small companies are dying attributable to electrical energy prices, and college students are learning underneath candlelight.

Consequently, I recommend that as a substitute of ready for this committee’s report, states ought to begin implementing the Electrical energy Reform Act. They need to associate with personal sector gamers to develop distributed energy options. The committee can do its work, however the wheels of progress shouldn’t wait for one more report.

The answer to our energy issues isn’t hidden in some advanced method that solely a high-powered committee can uncover. It lies in implementing what we already know must be accomplished – improve our infrastructure, decentralise energy era and distribution, embrace renewable vitality, and most significantly, muster the political will to make robust choices.

Till then, this committee, like many earlier than it, would possibly simply find yourself being one other talkshop whereas our nationwide grid continues its dancing competitors with gravity.