This came as the Federal Government said on Wednesday it had commenced the procurement of four million meters meant to be distributed free of charge to unmetered power users nationwide.
The government announced the meter price increase in a circular dated November 11, 2021, issued by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission and addressed to managing directors, all electricity distribution companies and all meter asset providers.
”Revisions were mainly to account for slower than anticipated demand from China and India in Third Quarter 2021.
“I do not think anyone in Nigeria needs persuading of the need for urgent action on the environment,” he said, adding: “For Nigeria, climate change is not about the perils of tomorrow, but what is happening today”. Then, he declared: “Nigeria is committed to net zero by 2060”!
“With the enhanced focus on ESG considerations, much effort is now geared towards preservation of biodiversity, climate change mitigation and adaptation, inclusiveness, reduced inequality, human capital and communities’ development, among others. Given the important position of the financial sector in the economy, one can understand why these issues are accorded high priority in the sector and why the sector has begun to consider sustainability in its practices.
The technology group Wärtsilä will supply a 70 MW captive power plant for the BUA’s new Sokoto cement production plant in Nigeria. The new plant is required to supply the energy for an off grid additional cement production line. This follows an order for a 50 MW power plant from the same customer just two years earlier. This latest extended engineering and equipment order was booked in Wärtsilä’s order intake in October 2021.
Ultimately, two things are essential; the political will to remove the subsidy in a pre-election year, and achieving significant domestic refining. Finally, there should be a strong commitment that savings would be channelled into education, health, water, sanitation, SMEs, and poverty alleviation.
Between January and September 2021, Nigeria lost N898.93bn to crude oil losses and repairs of vandalised pipelines, among others, documents obtained from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited showed.
I am convinced that everything we need for the power sector to succeed is available to us. We must ensure that all stakeholders work together as a family to improve the lot of the power sector.
The World Bank has decried the continued spending by the Nigerian government on petrol subsidy, which it said is on track to gobble up N2.9tn this year.
