• Stakeholders insist Buhari failed in sector despite N1.7b intervention, $3b loans
• Nigerians paying for darkness, says Oke
• Amadi: Sector worst in last seven years

The state of the Nigerian power sector has degenerated to its worst level in the last seven years, as industries and homes ration less than 4,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity, despite promises made by the All Progressives Congress (APC) government to increase power generation to 40,000MW.

Despite indicators, such as regulations, metering, debt, corruption, corporate governance, generation capacity, grid performance, transmission, distribution capacity and sanctity of contract rated “poor” by industry stakeholders, the current administration may have spent above N1.7 trillion to intervene in the sector, while borrowing another $3 billion.

Stakeholders, who spoke with The Guardian in separate interviews, said most Nigerians are paying for darkness, adding that the sector has been abysmal under President Muhammadu, as three ministers brought in to manage the sector could not turn things around.

APC, during the 2015 election campaign, promised to increase electricity generation and distribution to 40,000MW between four and eight years.

“The APC government shall vigorously pursue the expansion of electricity generation and distribution of up to 40,000MW in four to eight years. The party will also work assiduously at making power available from renewable energy sources, such as coal, solar, hydro, wind and biomass for domestic and industrial use, wherever these prove viable,” the party’s manifesto had noted.

Just last week, Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, who took office after Babatunde Fashola and Mamman Saleh failed to perform, gave a self-appraisal, pointing to what he called a bright prospect for the sector.

But industry players insisted the sector is in a sorry state and requires urgent lifeline.

Association of Power Generation Companies had, in a document shared with The Guardian, said available power generation capacity was 6,616.28MW in 2015 but currently stands at around 5,634.47MW.

The national grid collapsed about 99 times under the Buhari government, leading to a loss of N1.76 trillion for the generation companies alone. Also, most distribution companies (DisCos) are already insolvent, as debt crises have brought the sector to its knees.

Amid challenges of metering, increased tariffs and transfer of funding of new transformers, poles, wires and others to consumers, Nigerians, in the past eight years, have spent about N5.7 trillion on supply of electricity. They pay an average of N720 billion yearly in electricity bills.

The practice of load shedding and electricity rationing is ongoing across the DisCos serving the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). With DisCos accepting an average of 3,000MW daily in the last few weeks, stakeholders expressed concerns about the state of the sector.

Recall that the Federal Government had privatised the power sector in November 2013, with expectations that supply to homes and industries would, by now, exceed 40,000MW.

Data obtained from the Osogbo-based Nigerian Electricity System Operator showed that available electricity in the country, as of 5:00 p.m. on Sunday was 4,231.60MW.