The stage appeared set for a
comprehensive probe of the nation’s power sector as the Senate declared on
Friday that officials of the Federal Ministry of Power, its departments and
agencies and other key players within the sector would soon appear before it.
The Chairman, Senate Ad-hoc
Committee on Power, Senator Abubakar Kyari, stated this when the Senate
President, Bukola Saraki, inaugurated the 14-member fact-finding panel at the
National Assembly Complex.
Kyari said stakeholders in the
sector from 1999 till date would be asked to provide information in order to
achieve the committee’s laudable objectives.
He added that the committee would
beam its searchlight on the unbundling of the power sector facilitated by the
Bureau of Public Enterprises.
According to Kyari, the committee
will seek inputs from the establishment on the process of privatisation as it
relates to funds committed to the exercise, funds generated and the settlement
of laid off staff of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria.
Apart from this, Kyari stressed
that the committee would verify the claims of the successful bidders, their
companies’ financial profiles and why they were already asking for bail
out/loan facilities from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He noted that a close look at the
entire power value chain (generation, transmission and distribution) called for
review of Nigeria’s policies in order to obtain optimum performances across the
board.
Kyari said, “The abysmal
performance of the generation segment is no longer news in view of the current
deteriorating power supply which hovers around 4,600MW for a population of over
170 million people, despite the huge resources committed into it.
“The committee will beam its
searchlight in this direction to put things in proper perspectives, and having
realised that the transmission segment is the major linkage between the
generation and distribution fronts, increasing our capacity in this direction
is also very necessary, since power produced must be utilised immediately.
Kyari added that the committee
would seek explanations from the management of Transmission Company of Nigeria
on the terms of its management contract with the Federal Government as it
relates to assets inherited, funds injected into the company and the
achievement recorded.
On the distribution segment, the
senator said the committee was desirous of ascertaining the level of funds
committed into it before privatisation since the segment was currently solely
private sector driven.
He stressed the need for
vigilance as successor companies were expected to bring in investments to
improve the quality of services.
However, he added that signals
emanating from their activities showed that excessive profiteering had been the
major determinant of their decisions.
He also said that it was on
record that some of the distribution companies reject power load allocations to
reduce cost.
He said their metering system of
the distribution companies calls for a fundamental review, since the emphasis
had been on estimated billings and imposition of fixed charges for services not
rendered.
Kyari said, “There have been a
lot of unwholesome practices by some of these companies, the committee has to
get down to the root of these problems especially where provisions have been
made in the past through appropriation, prior to privatisation and funds were
not properly utilised.
“We must find out what has
brought us to this sorry state. The National Integrated Power Project was
designed to fast-track the improvement of electricity supply nationwide, hence
it was involved in project implementation across the gamut of the power chain.
“However, some of the power
plants built have not been able to contribute meaningfully to the power
generation through the National Grid.
“The resources committed to these
projects are enormous and the committee, in keeping with its mandate, would be
seeking answers in order to chart the way forward.”
However, Saraki asked the
committee to work towards the resolution of all the challenges currently facing
the sector, stressing that the country’s economic woes could only be addressed
when the power sector was fully functional.
He said the immediate concern of
the 8th Senate was to use every legislative instrument at its disposal to
ensure that “light replaces the darkness” in the country.
Saraki said, “Our economy cannot
be prosperous without addressing the problems of the power sector. The power
sector is a key driver of the economy.”
Copyright PUNCH.
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