Abstract
In this paper, the structure of the Nigerian power sector is examined, the problems in the structure are identified and a new structure is proposed for effective power generation, transmission and distribution. Besides the problems usually canvassed, the current structure is defective from the perspective of the ownership of the power infrastructures, passive involvement of state governments and undue influence of the federal government. The reforms in the sector were driven by the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) of 2005, leading to the creation of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to take both the assets and the liabilities of the then National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), and the subsequent unbundling of PHCN to 18 successor companies – 6 power generating companies, one power transmission company and 11 power distribution companies. The new structure proposed in this work gives room for every state government to own power plants and distribute power in the various states. They can equally buy power from independent power producers. Power plants owned by the federal government in the present structure are to continue sending power to the national grid and made available to states with insufficient power generation in the new structure. Independent power producers can also send power to the national grid. The federal government will continue managing power transmission in the new structure. Each state government will own at least two power distribution companies in partnership with private organizations who will equally have a stake in the ownership of the power generating plants. The tariff of grid-connected power will be higher, encouraging states to go into active power generation. The new structure will enable the federal government to do away with rural electrification programme and other power generation options regulated by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission which should be under the control of various state governments. New laws are needed in the place of the EPSRA to achieve the new structure. The federal government will make money from the proposed structure instead of spending huge sums of money in the present structure.
Highlights
Every nation needs electric power to function adequately
The power plants owned by state governments and private organizations are referred to as Independent Power Projects (IPPs)
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) is made up of three departments. They are the Transmission Service Provider (TSP) which is in charge of the maintenance of the transmission infrastructure, System Operations (SO) which oversees the flow of electricity from the point of generation to the distribution companies (DisCos) and the Market Operations (MO) who are in charge of administering the market rules of the electricity supply industry [22]
Summary
Every nation needs electric power to function adequately. There are several ways of generating electricity. The non-availability / inadequacy of installed power had led the government into different electricity programmes such as the Energizing Economies Initiative (EEI) in 2017 for producing sustainable power for business clusters and Energizing Education Programme (EEP) for producing power for the 37 Federal Universities and Teaching Hospitals [6, 7] These and many other programmes would not have been needed if a proper power structure was in place and enough power was generated at various locations and properly transmitted and distributed. Aside inadequate infrastructures at the generation, transmission and distribution levels, inadequate gas supply, breakdowns, and pricing issues / tariffs are some of the challenges often pointed out Another drawback pointed out about the sector is that the TCN is in the hands of the Federal government and that the inefficiencies in typical corporations in Nigeria may be found in the TCN [14]. A new structure that will enable smooth production of adequate power to meet the electricity demand of the nation is proposed
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