Why Nigerians Are Experiencing Low Power Supply

A Filipino, Mr. Fortunato Leynes, has explained why millions of Nigerians are experiencing low power supply in the country in spite of the huge amount of money the Federal Government has spent to improve electricity supply.

Speaking during an interview he granted Daily Trust recently, Leynes, who is the pioneer and out-going Managing Director of Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company,

IBEDC, attributed the inability of Nigerians to enjoy 24-hour electricity supply principally to lack of supply channels from the national grid.

On his experience as head of Ibadan IBEDC, the Filioino said: “Power generation coming from the national grid is still not sufficient to supply the actual power requirements of all the customers here in Nigeria.

“And normally, power generation supply contracts, which would have helped, will take time. So, for the country to enjoy uninterrupted power supply it will take between five and seven years.

“But one thing that is sure is that along the line there will be marked improvements. But to get to that point of uninterrupted power supply will take a minimum of five years.

“One of the challenges is the lack of supply channels from the national grid. It would have been a source of joy for us to be able to guarantee 24-hour electricity supply to our customers but we cannot give what we don’t have. Also, although there has been an increase in tariff, it is still insufficient; it is still inadequate, it is not sufficient for us to pay our bills, thus putting a very big challenge on us.

“Load shedding is other constraints facing power generation in Nigeria. To us, it is rehabilitation. That is the problem of the national grid. Then, there is also the challenge of vandalizing gas pipelines; that is a very big challenge. The second challenge is that it takes time to build the power plants.

“The shortest time it takes to build power plants is between 36 to 48 months. And that is from the point of financial process, if the banks are ready to finance the project.

“But with my experience in the Philippines, it takes no fewer than one and a half years from the time the negotiation starts to the time of the completion of the financial deal. For us to get there, it will take up to four years. It actually takes time because power plants are not items you buy off the shelf.”

While commenting on the price of electricity in Nigeria compared with other countries, Mr Leynes opined that: “No. The price of electricity here in Nigeria is quite low. Our non-commercial customers pay less than N20 per kilowatt.

“For instance, if it were in the Philippines, our customers will be paying something around N50 per kilowatt, but here, customers just pay less than N20 on the average. Electricity is cheaper in Nigeria.”

culled from naij.com