Several energy and real estate experts in the country have called on the Federal Government to localise electricity distribution within the country to improve its supply and grow the power sector.
According to PMNews, this call was made at the closing of the 3rd Lagos Real Estate Market Place Conference and Exhibition in Lagos, tagged: “A Town Hall Meeting On The Lagos Real Estate Emerging Markets—Mitigating The Potential Risks.”
At the event which hosted business owners and decision makers of big organizations in the country, the con-census was that for businesses to thrive and the power sector to be able to supply enough power throughout the nation, the distribution of power must be localized to the state level.
One of the speakers was the Chief Executive Officer of Extradite Consulting, Eyo Ekpo, who said the distribution of electricity was a local business and should be treated as such to allow the retail electricity distribution business to thrive.
Ekpo stated that the distribution of electricity should not be domiciled with the Federal Government but with the state governments.
He said, “It is an aberration for nine electricity distribution companies only to cover the 35 states in the Federation. No country in the world does so.
“We live in localities, hence electricity must be localised to foster the desired improvement and growth we desire in the sector,” he said.
Chief Executive Officer, of Viathan Engineering Ltd., Habeeb Alebiosu, said that in spite of the activities of the regulator and distribution companies, not much had changed in the energy sector.
Similarly, Managing Director, Auxano Solar, Chuks Umezulora, demanded that the government domesticate the supply chain in the nation’s renewable energy, while, putting up policy that encourages energy-efficient appliances.
Co-founder and Director, ELALAN Construction Company, Andre Geday, said it was no longer sustainable for his company to spend about N50 million a month on diesel due to the poor performance of electricity distribution companies.
He, therefore, appealed to the federal government to stabilise the sector to avoid the ripple effects of the expenses incurred by companies and industries on the end users of goods and services.
