Grid collapses: Senate blames failed power sector privatization
The Senate declared on Thursday that the 11-year-old privatisation of the power sector had failed, citing the continued lack of stable electricity supply across the country.It cautioned that legislation to repeal the policy could be proposed.
The Senate's condemnation of the power sector's alleged failure came during the consideration of a report by its Committee on Power, which looked into frequent national grid outages and other issues.
Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Chairman of the Committee, presented the findings, attributing the ongoing grid failures to factors such as ageing infrastructure, abandoned projects worth trillions of naira, regulatory inefficiencies, security lapses, a lack of modern monitoring systems such as SCADA, and insufficient financial oversight.
Abaribe noted that, despite significant investments in electricity infrastructure, the grid has collapsed 105 times in the last decade.
He also mentioned the significant costs associated with restarting power plants after these failures.
According to the report, restarting a plant after a grid failure (also known as a "black start") is significantly more expensive than normal operations.
While the operating costs for plants such as Azura, Delta, and Shiroro are around $105,000, restarting them following a collapse can cost up to $7 million per incident.
Overall, grid failures have cost Nigeria an estimated N42.5 billion for just three plants, with far-reaching consequences for the entire power sector.
The report emphasised that the National Grid, which is over 50 years old, is out of date and urgently needs to be modernised to meet current operating standards.
Abaribe also highlighted other critical issues, such as operational inefficiencies, abandoned projects, regulatory gaps, security challenges, and a lack of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems, which are required for real-time monitoring and management.
"Whenever a plant is shut down, it is restarted, and this process, known as a black start, costs far more than running the plant.
"While it costs $105,000 to operate the plant, restarting it will cost $7 million. Restarting three plants in Nigeria, Azura, Delta, and Shiroro, which supply the majority of our electricity, costs $25 million or ₦42.5 billion. The cost of restarting other plants in Nigeria is not quantifiable.
"Ageing infrastructure has been identified as a major contributor to frequent grid failures. Many grid components are outdated and have not received the necessary maintenance or upgrades, increasing the risk of failure," he added.
Senator Adams Oshiomhole (APC, Edo North) joined the debate and criticised the privatisation policy as flawed and exploitative, claiming it imposed undue financial burdens on Nigerians.
"The discos are out to make a profit while our people suffer. I never imagined that a private individual would charge money for services he did not provide, and Nigerians are helpless. "The privatised power sector is more of a failure now," he declared.
Meanwhile, Senator Abdul Ningi stated that the ongoing failures in the power sector are primarily due to a lack of accountability.
He contended that without penalties for failures, the sector's inefficiencies would persist.
He stated, "Over the years, no one has been punished for power sector lapses.
"Reports alone, without sanctions, will not help Nigeria advance. The implication is that the problems will persist.
The Senate has, however, given Abaribe's committee an additional six weeks to conduct a thorough investigation into the issues in the power sector and report back for further legislative action.
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