Yemi Oke Calls For Decentralised Power Solutions, Says We Can’t Rely On A Weak National Grid

Professor Yemi Oke, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and a Professor of Energy and Electricity Law at the University of Lagos, has said that Nigeria’s power sector urgently needs decentralised, off-grid solutions as the national grid remains weak, unreliable, and costly to maintain.

Oke, in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Friday, called for immediate reforms, highlighting the pressing need for regional grids and stronger regulatory oversight to prevent further collapses.

Oke discussed Nigeria’s late entry into necessary reforms and highlighted key solutions, emphasising that action taken now is overdue but necessary.

Reflecting on the recent grid collapses, Oke stated, “I think we started too late. I would agree to the fact that now we have started taking the right steps, but it’s too late because we ought to have started taking those steps years back.”

He suggested that Nigeria should have begun moving towards alternative grid structures, noting that global trends favour decentralised power solutions.

“The world is actually going off-grid. I was encouraged by the position of the ministers recently, when they declared that the country would look into state grids, regional grids, and other options.

“That’s almost 19 years late because all this has been advocated since the late Yar’Adua administration,” he added.

Prof. Oke likened Nigeria’s aging grid infrastructure to a “weak pipeline” prone to rupture under pressure, comparing it to the national pipeline system.

“Our transmission infrastructure is very weak, and I have a problem with policy direction,” he said.

Reflecting on the recent blackout, he calculated the slight improvement in transmission capacity, but noted that “according to the Power Holding Company’s press statement, the collapse was due to an attempt to strengthen the grid—but it’s too late.”

Addressing reports of power distribution companies (DisCos) rejecting loads, Oke explained that this could exacerbate grid issues. “Discos rejecting load might not stop the problem. For instance, if you are to take 500 megawatts, you will look at the mathematics of translating that into money from your consumers.

“If you’re not sure of making the benefits of the megawatts allocated to you, some DisCos will reject it, which can also lead to grid collapse because you can’t store all these megawatts.”

Oke questioned the regulatory oversight in the sector, pointing out that both the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and power sector companies are regulated entities. “Where is the regulator? Even TCN is a regulated entity, granted that it’s government-owned.

“DisCos, GenCos, and other service providers in the power sector are regulated entities. If we had something similar to effective farm regulation, an independent regulator, then if anything happens, we have a power regulator,” he remarked.

Oke suggested that frequent national grid failures imply oversight gaps, adding, “If the players are not playing by the rules or not discharging their duties as required by law, they should be sanctioned. The fact that it’s a government entity doesn’t exempt it from regulation.”

Further, Oke highlighted that Nigeria has long faced issues of underutilised capacity. “I have always advocated for better performance from the Nigerian Regulatory Commission (NRC); all is not well in the power sector.

“DisCos have been rejecting loads. We have tons of idle megawatts. Even under the Obasanjo regime’s National Integrated Power Project (NIPP), there were idle megawatts that couldn’t be uploaded to the national grid because of capacity restrictions.”

Regarding rural electrification, Oke expressed his concerns with the role of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), which he has previously called to be scrapped.

“Even since the era of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act of 2005, I questioned the relevance of the Rural Electrification Agency and the Rural Electrification Fund.

“Under the unamended constitution, even off-grid was for the state, but the Act centralised it,” he noted, arguing that funds should be directed to states to work on rural electrification through local governments.

“The closest level of government to the rural areas should handle rural electrification,” he stated.

Emphasising the need for decentralisation, Oke stated, “We need staggered, decentralised solutions completely off-grid. We can’t rely on the grid; it’s weak, and replacing it is expensive.”

He also noted that while states are now permitted by law to engage in power initiatives, they face challenges in attracting investors. “How many of the states are playing? They are challenged because no prudent investor would bring money into your state unless your state is able to play by the rules.

“The state must be competitive to attract investment,” he said.

Boluwatife Enome

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