By Mathew Ibiyemi
Nothing screams progressive reform quite like telling a citizen that his/her light might be unstable so that a manufacturer can chill her executive water bottles at sub-zero temperatures.
However, here is the drift. After many years of financial illquidity in the power sector, darkness in many parts of the country and recurring national grid collapses, here comes a brilliant idea to identify high-demand commercial and industrial hubs like Lagos, the Abuja-Kaduna-Kano corridor and the Enugu-Port Harcourt axis and concentrate 24-hour, uninterrupted electricity.
When Joseph Tegbe first assumed office as Minister of Power, he identified something critical. “The problem of the power sector, I would say, is largely financial,” he said. He explained that the lack of liquidity affects the entire power value chain which ultimately hurts reliable power delivery to homes and businesses.
From the inability to pay gas debts owed to power-generating companies to the funding required to replace aging transmission lines, he highlighted how the issue is largely financial, without ignoring the technical challenges facing the sector.
The federal government’s strategy aims to tackle distribution bottlenecks, unlock industrial demand and rescue electricity distribution companies from their endless losses.The approach of creating energy zones is built on the idea of letting the financially buoyant help support the system for everyone else.
Truly, electricity collection rates are gradually improving according to data by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) among distribution companies but there is still a large portion of Nigerians who are unwilling to pay for the electricity they receive, as well as people who are illegally connected to the grid.
The energy zones target the productive side of our economy, which needs reliable power to drive national industrial growth.
Look at it this way. Getting reliable power instead of spending money on expensive diesel translates into a lower cost of production and ultimately, lower prices for goods bought by everyday consumers.
Designating specific industrial and commercial corridors for 24/7 power is intended to bridge the gap between generation capacity and actual distribution uptake, ensuring steady cash flow for power firms anchored around major economic arteries.
The energy zones initiative is a big gamble no doubt. If it succeeds, it could revive manufacturing, cut production costs for businesses and finally prove that Nigerian power infrastructure can deliver round-the-clock reliability somewhere other than on paper.
We have already seen success stories in projects like the Agbara Independent Power Plant and the Azura Power Plant, which show this is possible.
We are also seeing successful examples from the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) which has set up special electrification zones for agricultural communities and universities. So far, the REA has delivered over 200MW installed capacities spread across 15 Universities, over one thousand mini-grid projects across more than 23 states, with recent installations in Oke-Uyi, Kwara State, and Epe, Lagos State.
The Federal Government is not stopping at creating economic zones. Most recently, the Minister of Power performed the groundbreaking ceremony for a National Control Centre in Osogbo which is necessary to address the growing and projected demands of the power sector.
Once completed, the centre will bring modern computer systems, large screens, and data tools to help operators spot developing faults, plan preventive maintenance, and make better use of existing power plants and transmission lines. It will also improve responses to grid problems, support the use of renewable energy and strengthen Nigeria’s coordination within the West African Power Pool, backed by stronger physical and cybersecurity.
If the government’s energy zones strategy works, industrial hubs will hum with steady power, but our responsibility as citizens begins right there. We must then hold the Minister and the authorities to their promise, tracking the revenue to ensure it flows back into developing other parts of the country’s electricity infrastructure. Only then will these energy zones become a stepping stone for all of Nigeria, rather than a permanent luxury for the few.
Mathew, an energy journalist writes from Lagos, Nigeria.