Biodun Ogunleye, managing director, PowerCap Ltd, Lagos, has urged the Nigeria's government to upgrade the nation's electricity transmission network for an enhanced and effective electricity distribution nationwide.
According to a report in a Nigerian newspaper, Leader, Ogunleye said that the appeal for new investments in the nation's electricity transmission backbone followed significant stability recorded in electricity supply across the country.
He to the News Agency of Nigeria that the need for government to invest massively in the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) stemmed from urgent demand for maximum electricity generation and distribution.
"Again there are so many approaches in dealing with these electricity challenges; government doesn't necessarily have to rely on the transmission networks to make electricity available nationwide. Most of the approaches are relatively outdated, the rate of growth and the demand that we have on ground do not permit us to have big network, he said. "The funds we are going to spend on every transmission infrastructure could be committed into building additional generation capacity and embed them within the distribution networks."
Ogunleye also urged the distribution companies to explore alternative sources of electricity generation such as embedded generation to enhance the quality and quantity of electricity within their distribution network.
"Anytime we experience power challenge, the quickest solution remains the embedded electricity generation approach, for a faster and cheaper access to additional capacity. I'm more of the view that we need to diversify how and where we get energy from. And then, let it be relevant to the need of the people that want to consume the power supply," he said.
The energy expert also said that there was a need to separate the delivery of electricity from politics, adding that the country needs to deal with electricity or power as business. He said that the distribution companies (DISCOS) must be allowed to do business as they intend, while the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the regulator, should preoccupy itself with issuance of guidelines.
