The NESI is primarily made up of the Generation Companies (GenCos), the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), the Distribution Companies (DisCos), and the consumers.
The Nigerian electricity market operators will on Monday begin to review the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) performance in the country.
Stephen Ogaji, the chairperson of the NESI market participants and stakeholders roundtable (NMPSR) planning committee, in a statement on Sunday, said ten years after the privatisation of the Nigerian power sector, market participants, government agencies and institutions, as well as other key stakeholders will gather at the PTDF auditorium in Abuja to assess the performance of the sector and its challenges, as a step towards charting a pathway for the progression of the power sector.
The NESI is primarily made up of the Generation Companies (GenCos), the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), the Distribution Companies (DisCos), and the consumers.
“Although opinions may be divided on the rationale for the roundtable, industry watchers and other key stakeholders are of the view that the examination of the sector along the lines of defined parameters should be a welcomed development as it allows players to clinically determine the issues in the sector and proffer solutions.
“Significantly, this 10-year milestone, post-privatisation, in view of the continued challenges of the power sector, presents the perfect opportunity that is not so much a celebration but a sober reflection/retrospection and an audit of how far we have come, how much further we need to go, and what we require for the journey ahead,” Mr Ogaji said.
He explained that the three-day roundtable event will have eight plenary sessions which will encompass the various segments of the NESI: power generation; gas to power; power distribution, transmission, metering and customer centricity, renewable energy and climate change, access to finance, liquidity and recapitalization.
He added that the conference will also look at the regulatory and policy ecosystem, with a particular emphasis on the Electricity Act, 2023.
“As you are aware, the privatization of the NESI, which took place in 2013 marked a historic turning point in Nigeria’s energy sector, transitioning it from the era of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to a system of private investor ownership and participation,” he said.
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However, Mr Ogaji said the progress in NESI, post-privatisation, has not fully met the lofty expectations set forth in the National Electricity Power Policy, 2001 (NEPP), the Electric Power Sector Reform Act, 2005 (EPSRA) now Electricity Act 2023, and the Road Map for Power Sector Reform, 2010.
Consequently, he said while acknowledging the ten-year post-privatization milestone, under the umbrella of NMPSR, the operators and other stakeholders of NESI are also seeking to assess the evolution of the privatisation, assess the areas of constraint, and determine a roadmap that will provide the pathway to the progress that is currently impeded by various factors.
“Hence the NMPSR is Themed: “NESI privatization & its 10-year milestone: The Journey So Far, Opportunities and Prospects,”
“The roundtable is expected to provide a platform for leading energy professionals and other related experts to discuss and objectively determine a way forward for a privatized NESI, consistent with the aspirations and objectives of NEPP,” he said.
Ultimately, he said, designing a post-privatisation roadmap that will be presented to decision/policymakers, as NESI market participants and stakeholders’ comprehensive contribution to power sector policy formulation and implementation.