Yemisi Izuora/Ijeoma Agudosi
Power Africa exhibition’s, dedicated to the burgeoning African power industry, which opens in Lagos next month has witnessed a 14 per cent increase in both exhibitor numbers and floor space.
This is coming as conglomerates such as Skipper Electric, Schneider, Philips Nigeria and Sakr Power are all taking part to further bolster their growth strategies for the country.
Skipper, one of Nigeria’s largest EPC contractor and service providers, have been heavily investing in the country over the past five years and believes on-going reforms in the Nigerian power sector to be enduring, with attention shifting to effective maintenance and service of existing infrastructure.
The company believes that is it not the lack of equipment that causes epileptic power supply, but the way the equipment is being utilised that is the problem.
“Most of the current equipment being used is lying idle due to lack of maintenance and service, which is also compounding the problem in the sector and adding to power wastage.
So, we are of the opinion that maintaining TCN equipment and bringing them back to operation is a parallel approach to solving power shortage problems in Nigeria instead of purchasing new ones.
Skipper plans to capitalize on this major opportunity to bring non-performing power assets back to the system to perform, and bring about tremendous improvement in power supply.” said Jitender Sachdeva, Group President – SkipperSeil Group.
Taking place from 3-5 November at the Eko Hotel on Victoria Island, Power Nigeria will serve as a comprehensive platform for international exhibitors to showcase their latest technological developments in the power generation, transmission and distribution, lighting, renewable, nuclear and water sectors.
“With current efforts by NIPP and IPPs, we predict a robust power supply in Nigeria that will cross 6,000 to 7,000mw in the next eight to nine months. With such growth statistics on hand, we feel that Skipper’s products business is poised to grow rapidly in the year ahead.
While we have witnessed great demand for almost all products across our portfolio, we have seen a spike in orders for our power transformers and smart products, such as Energy Management solutions, Package Substation, energy efficient transformers etc. over the last couple of years.
This shows that the Nigerian power industry is ready for the next phase of development and Skipper is happy to be an ally to this growth story.” added Sachdeva.
Following the success of last year’s two day conference, the organisers will once again be hosting a number of free to attend content sessions.
The CPD accredited Power Nigeria conference will feature renowned experts from the West African power industry discussing the latest developments in the energy sector.
Dr. Sam Amadi, Chairman & CEO, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, who will be talking about current regulations in the country’s energy sector, what should be expected and how these regulations will impact business moving forward.
A set of panel discussions will also take place during the two day conference starting with ‘Integrating and managing micro-grids for better electricity coverage’.
This question will be discussed by Engr. Adeyemi Biodun Oyedepo, Past President, The Nigerian Institution of Mechanical Engineers and Engr Okharedia Taiwo, CEO, Oaks & Pearl Engineering Partners Ltd.
Other highlight topics include ‘Creative solutions to improve electricity reliability’, ‘Bank appetite to fund additional energy projects in Nigeria’ and ‘Funding stories: Case studies showcasing successful funding of Nigerian projects’.
Anita Mathews, Director of Information Energy Group, organisers of Power Nigeria, is confident that the show is once again in a key position to connect the industry at a time where there is a urgent need to improve basic power infrastructure and systems; “Nigeria remains an important investment destination and our vision is to provide a trade platform bringing the manufacturers and suppliers of equipment and technology in direct contact with the decision makers, specifiers and distributors of products in the power generation, transmission and distribution, renewable and lighting sectors.
Many of our international exhibitors view Nigeria as a key export market and with the country’s urgent need to improve basic power infrastructure and systems, exhibitors are keen to offer their full services to the decision makers in Nigeria.
Therefore due to the government recognition and established presence of the event, Power Nigeria is the ideal platform for companies looking to introduce their products and services or grow their business network in the West African region.”