An Assessment of Power Sector Policies in Nigeria

Overview
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In spite of the conscious steps taken by
successive governments in Nigeria to combat power shortages and outages over
the years, the problem of inadequate power supply in the country perpetuates.
This study, therefore, attempted to assess the various policies initiated by
the Nigerian government to improve on the provision of electricity in the
country over the years. Data for the study were collected through secondary
sources. The findings of the study revealed that since the National Electric Power Policy of
2001 was enacted into law in 2005, the Federal Government of Nigeria has been
able to attract private sector investment into the power sector, divests its
interest in state-owned power generating and distribution companies through privatisation,
among others. The study
also found that challenges impeding
the full implementation of the objective of the National Electric Power Policy
of 2001 of ultimately ensuring stable power supply in Nigeria, as with the
other power sector policies before it, include the frequent drop in the volume
of generated electricity due to inadequate gas supply to power plants,
inadequate funding of the power sector, state control of electricity tariffs, underutilisation
of installed power plant capacity, inadequate transmission and distribution infrastructure,
among others. Moving forward, the study recommends that the Nigerian government
aggressively invest in power infrastructures, embark on the full-liberalisation
of the power sector and explore other sources of energy, especially renewable energy,
in order to be able to meet the electricity needs of Nigerians.

Keywords:
Electricity, power, reforms, policy

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An Assessment of Power Sector Policies in Nigeria

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