simplistic way of tackling a major sector that has

 

We deplore this simplistic way of tackling a major sector that has laid the economy low and constitutes a major national disgrace. Last week, the Transmission Company of Nigeria reported that power gen webapex.net that the World Bank now estimates to be worth about $568.5 billion and population of 174 million persons. Observers often compare this to South Africa’s 42,000MW, with a population of 53 million and a GDP of $350.6 billion. The fundamental problems of the power sector are the flawed ownership of the DisCos and GenCos, and foreign direct investment. The DisCos are tormenting Nigerians by refusing to give all prepaid meters.

By bungling the privatisation programme, thereby shutting out genuine international investors and transferring them mostly to hastily floated Nigerian consortia that lack the technical and managerial track record, we cheated ourselves of massive infusion of FDI that would have come from established power sector brands. Truth is, there was, and there is still, no Nigerian company that has the technical and fi westernmagazine.org nancial clout on its own to attract the billions of dollars in investment needed to transform our power sector. The $40 billion (by some estimates) that the government splurged on the sector over a 10-year period largely went down the drain, effectively adding just over 2,000MW to output.

We have given up on Amadi, who has been repeatedly told by the business community, ordinary Nigerians and ev ysin.org en legislators to compel the DisCos to give prepaid meters to customers. Going by their atrocious bills, it is obvious that the consumer debts claimed by them are partly fictitious, phantom billings for power never supplied. The 60 per cent un-metered consumers are subsidising the DisCos. The hikes have also been condemned as outrageous and unempirical by MAN and the Nigerian Association of Energy Economists.