Amid the global disease scare posed by the deadly coronavirus pandemic, experts want the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to rally round the Nigeria’s electricity market while making case for a post-COVID-19 sustainable electricity market driven by a structured efficient market.
The global economy is already witnessing a downturn amid the COVID-19 scare, industry analysts said the Nigerian electricity market policymakers must commence the process of rallying round the market in such a manner that investor confidence is not eroded after the pandemic.
Already, the Nigerian government had directed the Vice President to head the panel of post-COVID-19 economic sustainability era; this is as industry analysts make case for an efficient electricity market for a post -COVID-19 era while also rooting for intervention that will bolster market efficiency.
“The market must be reset beyond the tariff review to drive efficiency. For instance, a loan at a single-digit interest rate for the Meter Access Providers to meter about 4.6 million Nigerians is inevitable to drive market efficiency,” Chuks Nwani, an energy lawyer and power sector governance analyst, said.
“The government must find a way to ensure loan at a single-digit interest rate for Meter Asset Providers while ensuring a flexible payment plan of at least five years moratorium in such a manner that will ensure everyone is metered, and to assist the Meter Asset Providers and drive efficiently meter driven market,” Nwani said.
According to Nwani, “The government must find a way to build confidence on the investors. For instance, the same way the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Finance Ministry is rallying round to resuscitate the economy post-coronavirus era that must be the way to drive intervention into the power sector to sustain investors’ confidence into the sector.”
Recall, the reform process of the power sector was backed by the Electricity Power Sector Reforms Act of 2005, which was the law that even gave birth to the establishment of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) as the policemen of the sector.
However, several problems that pre-exist before the privatisation still rear its ugly heads post-privatisation prompting uproar and the public picky each time the regulator tries to increase the tariff.
