Tunde Opalana, Abuja
As Nigerians face imminent blackout as a result of collapse
to the national grid, the Senate, on Wednesday, passed the Electricity Bill,
2022.
Passage of the bill followed the consideration of a report by
the Committee on Power, presented by its chairman, Senator Gabriel Suswam (PDP,
Benue North East).
He said the bill seeks to, amongst others, provide an Ideal
legal and institutional framework to leverage on the modest gains of the
privatisation phase of the electricity power sector in Nigeria.
He added that when signed into law, the bill would improve
utilisation of generated power through increased investments in new
technologies to enhance transmission and distribution of generated power to
minimise aggregate value chain loses.
According to the lawmaker, the piece of legislation would
“reinvigorate the Institutional framework for the reform of the Nigerian
Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) initiated and implemented by the Federal
Government.”
He disclosed that the provisions of the bill seeks to promote
policies and regulatory measures that would ensure the expansion of power
transmission networks in Nigeria in order to address any imbalance in the
existing transmission infrastructure.
Suswam noted that the bill would stimulate policy and
regulatory measures to scale up efficient power generation, transmission and
distribution capabilities of the sector; as well as address technological
limitations and outdated infrastructure that are responsible for value chain
loses.
During the consideration of the bill, the Senate President,
Ahmad Lawan sought to know the role and
operational capacity of banks that had taken over distribution companies
(discos) indebted to them.
Responding, Senator Suswam explained that the take-over of
entities (Discos) by banks was duly carried out in collaboration with the
Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NER) and Bureau of Public
Enterprise (BPE).
According to him, there was a transitional process put in
place during the take-over of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC)
by the United Bank for Africa (UBA) to ensure efficiency in service
delivery.
He noted that such transitional process usually involves the
invitation of new investors to scale up generation and distribution capacities.
He further disclosed that the Federal Government had
disbursed $100 million (USD) to Siemens to kick-start transmission in the
distribution end of the power sector.
On his part, Senator Ahmad Babba-Kaita (PDP - Katsina North),
said the faulty way in which Discos were created was largely responsible for
their inability to live up to expectations.
He, therefore, advised the federal government to ensure a
transparent process in the selection of companies to take-over power generation
and distribution across the country.
The Deputy Chief Whip, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (APC -
Niger North), noted that the aspect of renewable energy in the bill, was given
prominence amidst the energy mix.
The Electricity Bill, 2022, after a clause-by-clause
consideration of the Committee’s report by the Committee of the Whole, was
passed by the upper chamber.
The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, in his remarks after the
passage of the bill, said, “because of its importance and sensitivity, we would
like to see a quick concurrence by the House of Representatives, because time
is of essence as far as Nigeria is concerned when you talk about electricity
and energy supplies in Nigeria.
“So, we would like to see that this bill is fully processed
in the National Assembly and sent to the Executive side of government for the
consideration for assent by Mr. President.
“We believe that this piece of legislation can change the
fortunes of the electricity industry in Nigeria for the better.”
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