Grid collapses: Senate threatens to repeal privatisation policy

The Senate on Thursday said the privatisation of the power sector 11 years ago has been a total failure because of the inconsistency in power supply and frequent national grid collapses. The red chamber warned that it might propose legislative measures to repeal the policy as part of efforts to ensure a stable power supply […]

Grid collapses: Senate threatens to repeal privatisation policy

The Senate on Thursday said the privatisation of the power sector 11 years ago has been a total failure because of the inconsistency in power supply and frequent national grid collapses.

The red chamber warned that it might propose legislative measures to repeal the policy as part of efforts to ensure a stable power supply in the country.

This followed the consideration of a report by the Committee on Power, which investigated frequent national grid collapses and related issues, chaired by Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South).

Abaribe, who presented the report of the committee’s findings, said factors such as ageing infrastructure, abandoned projects worth trillions of naira, regulatory inefficiencies, security lapses, lack of modern monitoring systems like SCADA, and inadequate financial oversight were responsible for the frequent grid failures. 

The senator highlighted that despite substantial investments in electricity infrastructure, the grid has suffered 105 collapses over the past decade.