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.”
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