In what is obviously a bold response to the acute crisis being experienced in Nigeria’s power supply sector, the Kebbi State Government has reportedly allocated 200 hectares of land to a private investor to set up a solar power plant capable of generating 5,600 megawatts of electricity in the state. Briefing newsmen on the development, a former Chief of Staff to Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State and now National Organising Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Suleiman Muhammad Argungu, said work would soon commence on the project with the expected arrival of 30 Canadian technicians for that purpose. According to him, “The project will be located at Fakon Sarki in Argungu and has been designed to improve and stabilise power supply to all communities as well as to create jobs”. He explained further that Kebbi State has already secured the approval of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to set up a transmission station for the realisation of the objective.
This is certainly heartwarming news, given the severe power shortages that have gripped the country in recent times, a situation worsened by the repeated collapse of the National Grid. Indeed, power supply plunged to 2,312 megawatts in March only to rise a bit to 3,522.80 megawatts and has since not exceeded 4,000 megawatts. This is a far cry from the at least 40,000 megawatts deemed necessary to meet the energy needs for a population of approximately 200 million people. Although the country’s 23 power generating plants, which are connected to the National Grid, have an installed power generating capacity of 11,164 megawatts, actual power supply has consistently fallen far short of this target due, among others, to incessant partial and total system collapse, as well as load shedding by the generating companies.
The parlous power supply situation is a key causal factor in the country’s protracted economic crisis, compounding the cost and ease of doing business, especially by the manufacturing sector, and thus severely limiting the capacity, both of the organised private sector and the informal economy, to create jobs at an appreciable level. The Kebbi example with this project has the potential of substantially increasing the country’s power generation capacity by tapping Nigeria’s abundant but neglected power sources. Experts have persistently wondered why the conundrum in the power sector has continued over the years, even though the country is endowed with large reserves of oil, gas, hydro, coal and solar power resources. This is surely an initiative that other states will do well to emulate.
It is noteworthy that the TCN has given Kebbi the go-ahead to actualise this project even though it is widely believed that power generation and distribution ought to be fundamentally decentralised, with the sub-national units of government constitutionally empowered to utilise the resources available to them to provide power to their citizens, most likely with greater efficiency than obtains today. While some states can utilise the ample coal deposits within their territories to generate electricity as being done in several parts of the world, others can use their water, wind or solar resources. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced plans to provide the sum of $250 million to expand electricity distribution and transmission infrastructure as part of an emergency approach to ensure the stability of the country’s grid and power system.
This initiative intended to strengthen the interface between the TCN and the electricity distribution companies for more efficient power supply across critical locations is a commendable response to the electricity crisis. But even more critical is the need to quickly decentralise power generation and distribution as Kebbi plans to do. However, it is also important that the Kebbi State government ensures the efficiency and appropriateness of technology being deployed for this facility, as well as the technical proficiency of the private investor so that it does not become another white elephant project.