Senate partners South Korea to tackle grid collapse

…to explore coconut as alternative power source

The Senate, through its Committee on Power, engaged in discussions on Monday with a South Korean energy company to explore sustainable solutions for the country’s recurring national grid failures and unstable power supply.

Leading the delegation, Enyinnaya Abaribe (APGA Senator, Abia South) the Committee Chairman, emphasised the urgency of addressing Nigeria’s electricity crisis, which had persisted due to outdated infrastructure.

He noted that the primary expectation from the South Korean energy firm, BK Energy, was a pragmatic approach to resolving these longstanding issues.

Abaribe highlighted the country’s electricity challenge, stating that Nigeria had been unable to surpass the 4,000-megawatt generation mark due to inadequate transmission infrastructure.

He stated, “Our major concern as a committee and by extension as a people is how to break the bond and bridge the yawning gap of insufficient power generation in the country.

“We want you to be very practical in your submission for us to buy into whatever new technology or idea you have brought, which should serve as expected solutions for us.”

Read also: Power outage raises grid collapse concerns

Representatives of BK Energy, Haeagwoo Lee and Sangwoo Park, recommended that Nigeria adopt a mini-grid system to address frequent grid collapses.

Lee explained that South Korea, with a population of about 50 million, generates approximately 130,000 megawatts of electricity without solely relying on a national grid.

“There is a need for decentralisation when it comes to wheeling or transmission of power generation to avoid waste or incessant collapse,” Lee stated.

He also pointed out that Nigeria could leverage its abundant coconut resources for power generation, similar to practices in South Korea.

He added, “Nigeria is even a very lucky country where coconut is largely produced agriculturally, which can be converted to graphene for power generation as done in South Korea. Coconut trees can also be used to build a generating plant in any neighborhood.”

Uzo Udemba, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TUG Energy, who facilitated the meeting, highlighted the importance of transitioning towards green hydrogen as the future of energy generation.

He urged Nigeria to position itself as a leader in this emerging sector.

Udemba further noted that many countries are shifting away from centralized national grids for power storage and distribution to mitigate grid failures.

“The BK Energy team from South Korea is here to practically share with Nigeria and Nigerians new technologies for power generation, transmission, and distribution by establishing training facilities within the country,” he emphasised.