What Nigeria needs to resolve electricity grid challenges

Nigeria’s electricity network continues to grapple with severe liquidity challenges, significantly impacting the nation’s power supply, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), Tukur Tahir, has said.

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Mr Tahir, in an interview with some energy correspondents, in Abuja on Thursday, said the liquidity issue is affecting the utility companies’ ability to invest in network revamping and rehabilitation.

He emphasised that resolving the liquidity challenge would enable utility companies to invest in their network, reducing the frequency of power outages.

“Another challenge that we have in the network is liquidity. This liquidity issue, you know, if there’s no money, it will be difficult for the utility companies to do the necessary investment to revamp this network, to carry out rehabilitation works, and so on and so forth.

“So that has also affected the electricity networks in the country. As soon as this is resolved, I’m sure there will be enough investment in the network that will now continue to have rehabilitation, replacement of ageing electrical materials and equipment in the networks,” Mr Tahir said.

An electricity network, also known as power grid, is a complex system that generates, transmits, and distributes electricity from power plants to consumers. Over time, these networks can become outdated, inefficient, and prone to power outages.

Electricity network revamping is the process of upgrading, renovating, or rehabilitating an existing electricity grid to improve its performance, reliability, and efficiency.

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In recent years, the power sector has experienced many challenges in areas of electricity policy enforcement, regulatory uncertainty, gas supply, transmission system constraints, and significant power sector planning shortfalls.

The sector has also been marred by liquidity challenges, resulting in unstable electricity supply, poor infrastructure and the inability of power generation and distribution companies to meet consumer demands.

Speaking on the causes of frequent blackouts affecting some electricity distribution companies (DisCos) feeders, he said the agency’s monitoring exercise revealed that the challenges lie at the interface point between transmission and distribution.

He explained that the feeders that are meant to transfer bulk power from transmission to distribution, the 33KV primary feeder lines, have been encumbered in so many ways by installing point load transformers and small transformers on the feeders.

“The 33KV is to carry bulk power from transmission to injection substation. But when you now install smaller transformers, 200 kVA, 100 kVA, 50 kVA, on those lines, each installation constitutes a fault location. So any tripping from one of such locations affects the feeder, and sometimes these trippings are translated up to transmission.

“So when you have these feeders that are now linking transmission and distribution being disturbed, having so many frequent trippings, you know that definitely there won’t be any smooth power flow between transmission and distribution that have affected the networks,” he said.

According to him, the agency has issued a directive restricting the use of 33 kV primary feeder lines for point load connections to prevent further disruptions.

NEMSA’s mandate

Speaking on NEMSA’s mandate, he said, the agency was basically set up to carry out enforcement of technical standards and regulations, technical inspection, testing, and certification of all categories of electrical installations across the power value chain of generation, transmission, distribution, as well as at utilisation level.

“Why do we do that? It’s to ensure that there’s efficient production of safe, reliable, and sustainable electricity power supply in the country, and also assure safety of life and property. So basically the functions of the agency is for safety of life and property in the Nigerian electricity supply industry and other allied industries,” he added.

Speaking on the measures put in place by the agency to ensure compliance with international practices for regulations in the country’s electricity sector, he said samples of meters under the World Bank Distribution Sector Reform Program (DISREP) are currently in the agency laboratory for testing and certification.

He added that no meter in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) will bypass the testing and certification process of the agency.

“All these meters that are coming in, we will ensure they are tested and certified before they are allowed to be deployed. Those that are coming under the World Bank program, we are already in the process of certifying them.

“Those that are coming are in our labs now. They will be tested and certified in the country. It will not be possible for them to deploy uncertified meters. To ensure that our certification is accepted globally, we have the international accreditation under ISO 17024. So, our certification is globally recognised,” he said.

On the challenges facing the agency, he said funding is a major challenge.

“Since the inception of the agency, we have been having this funding challenge where we are not able to make adequate provision of those facilities. Lack of that funding will lead us not to have adequate state-of-the-art test equipment that we use in our various statutory activities,” he said.

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NEMSA was established by NEMSA Act 2015 (now the Electricity Act 2023) to carry out diverse functions, including enforcement of technical standards and regulations.

It also carries out technical inspection, testing and certification of all categories of electrical installations, electricity meters, and Instruments.

It carries out these functions to ensure the efficient production and delivery of safe, reliable and sustainable electricity power supply and guarantee safety of lives and property in the Nigerian electricity supply industry, and other allied industries/workplaces/premises in Nigeria.