The Chairman of Ikeja Electric, Kola Adesina, has revealed that by June this year the government together with power distribution companies (discos) will sign a performance improvement plan for the supply of energy.
The agreement will outline the expectations from both the government and the power sector investors, in terms of accountability, reports THISDAY.
“The government has constituted a body; they are reviewing the document and the hope is that by the middle of this year, we would have a sign off on the performance improvement programme.
“So, we are signing another performance improvement plan agreement with the regulator. This new agreement is flowing from the power sector recovery plan,” Adesina said.
He continued: “So, we now have a roadmap that we are now creating. In that roadmap, the expectation is that the government would play its own part, the critical success factors would be made available by government, then we can be held accountable for our performance or lack of performance in the future.”
Adesina reiterated the need for a cost-reflective tariff in the sector. He called for a change in orientation among electricity consumers, saying, “they need to know that this electron is not a national cake”.
He added: “Once government steps into the pricing of a commodity that is required for the success of that nation, for the prosperity of the nation, from an intervention or subsidy perspective, you have then introduced distortion into the system.
“Now, to cure that distortion is a bit of work, which is the reason why we are all arguing today; why things are not working and why exactly desperate measures are required.
He noted that the UK had exactly the same structure as Nigeria until Margaret Thatcher stepped in.
“If you recall from history, it was a bit of a problem. The same uproar, the same noise was made by the British, but the woman [Thatcher] insisted, that no, I am going to do it and I am going to do it well. Today, electricity supply is different in the UK, nobody is talking about the supply of power any more.
“That was because they went through that transition. It was tedious, it was rough, it was challenging, but they were able to overcome those teething problems and today they are supplying electricity in an uninterrupted manner,” Adesina stated.
He revealed that there is an ongoing collaboration between the Ikeja Disco and Eko Disco, being spearheaded by the Lagos State government, to improve power supply in the state, so as to enhance productivity.
“The Lagos state government has a sense of determination and urgency around electricity,” he said.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com