The Chairman, Roundtable of Electricity Distribution Companies and former Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Dr. Ransome Owan, in this interview with OKECHUKWU NNODIM, says the Federal Government’s stake in the power sector is still huge despite its privatisation
What is your view on the current power reform?
In my humble opinion, the process is irreversible. It has been said that only a mad person does the same thing over and over again expecting a different result. This seminal action by the government to sell the Power Holding Company of Nigeria is one of the best things to happen to us all. But the real job now begins for all new owners and managers of distribution companies, generation companies and the Transmission Company of Nigeria. The entire value chain of generation, transmission and power distribution must work in perfect harmony so that the full gains of the power sector reform can be enjoyed. And since the Federal Government is 40 per cent owner in Discos, 20 per cent owner in Gencos and 100 per cent owner of the TCN, it can’t afford to walk away from the sector just yet.
Do you see sincerity on the part of the government in the privatisation process?
The government is very sincere in this privatisation process and I honestly believe that the clock cannot be rolled back anymore. The reason I say this is because it has taken the government since March 15, 2005 to arrive at this stage. The Electric Power Reform Act was passed into law on March 15, 2005. It was enshrined that the government should get out of the business of electricity and bring in private owners. But to do that, several steps were taken. One of it was to create the sector regulator, market operator, up until when NEPA was divided into 11 companies of Discos, six Gencos and one transmission company. All were part of the law and the government was told to sell these companies to the private sector. So, we have actually gone very far, from March 15, 2005 to August 21, 2013 and you can see that it has been a very difficult process, but the government stayed by its promise and it has left everything to the private sector.
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