An energy expert, Prof. Stephen Ogaji, has urged the Federal Government to regionalise the national electricity grid to attract investments and curb frequent system collapses.
Ogaji, General Manager, Commercial and Business Development, Niger Delta Power Holding Company Ltd. (NDPHC), made the call in an interview on Monday in Lagos.
The Minister of Power, Mr Joseph Tegbe, had on Oct. 9 announced plans by the Federal Government to build a new Eastern-Western electricity grid to address recurring national grid collapses.
Tegbe disclosed this at the Harvard Business School Association of Nigeria (HBSAN) energy conference in Lagos.
He said that the government was set to commence procurement for the projects and that Nigerians would begin to see benefits within two to three years.
Ogaji, however, said Nigeria needed a regionalised grid to strengthen electricity supply and stimulate industrial development.
“A single national grid will not take us anywhere. The grid should first be regionalised, with states within each region allowed to develop it alongside private capital.
“Government cannot make this investment alone,” he said.
He described decentralised generation as a short-term solution that could increase electricity costs for consumers.
According to him, an interconnected regional grid will reduce the risk of system-wide collapses, attract private investments and promote regional industrialisation.
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