Nasir Imam
9 November 2009
Abuja — Experts in the environment and energy sector have called for the need for a legislative framework to boost the potential, benefits and the viability of decentralised energy in Nigeria.
Professor Abubakar Sambo, Director General, Energy Commission of Nigeria, who spoke at a stakeholder's proframme yesterday in Abuja, said inadequate access to electricity is a key driver of poverty, low economic growth and underdevelopment and unless this is addressed Nigeria will not achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
He said currently the Nigerian power sector is a highly centralised one.
"A centralised power system is one in which power is generated from a small number of large plants and is then transmitted over very long distances to customers. Despite the huge amounts of investment into this centralised power system, electricity supply in Nigeria has not been able to satisfy demand and has even declined in recent years. The situation is now so bad that President Yar 'adua has considered declaring a state of emergency in the power sector.
"This type of power systems have not only failed to provide power to the people, they have also failed the environment. So Nigeria finds itself in a difficult place - conventional energy generation has not been capable of meeting the demands for energy of the population and it is a major contributor to changes in the climate that seriously hinder economic development in Nigeria itself.
Also speaking at the occasion, Executive Director, International Centre for Energy, Environment & Development (ICEED), Ewah Eleri, said despite its abundant potential sources of energy Nigeria suffers from acute energy poverty. Less than 50% of the population have access to electricity, a situation particularly severe in rural areas.
But there is an alternative to centralised power systems; an alternative that could provide energy for the poor, that would not make a significant contribution to climate change.
The alternative is decentralised energy.
Recent research, documented in the Christian Aid / ICEED / WADE report, Clean Development Pathways in Nigeria shows that renewable decentralised energy systems in Nigeria would be cheaper, cleaner and faster to develop than fixing existing or installing new conventional centralised energy systems.
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