Minister of finance, Dr.NgoziOkonjo-Iweala,has said the gainsof privatization can only be enhanced by supplementing main stream power generation capacity with renewable energy sources.
Speaking at a seminar in Lagos, she recalled that the recent sales of power assets to private concerns by government in the on-going divestment in the sector.
According to her, with abundant natural resources of sunlight, wind, biomass, the county neededto think of how to harness the resources for power sector.
Also speaking, the chairman, Senate committee on power, mines and metallurgy, Senator, Philip Aduda, said the quest for the development of renewable energy sources would help correct the imbalance created in the past.
He said this was necessary because Nigeria was said to be the worst country in the area of energy efficiency, stressing that renewable energy provides a new frontier that would bring in small players into the electricity supply chain.
House committee chairman, Hon. Patrick Ikhariale,who also aligned himself with other speakers, said it was no longer business as usual.
He said only government cannot shoulder the responsibility of providing its citizens with electricity, asking people with financial muscle and technical know-how to come into the power sector.
In her remark, the CEO, Henshaw Capital Partners, Barbara James, said business financing through conventional banks was inadequate because capital market lending in relation to the gross domestic product (GDP) was still relatively low, so private equity and capital venture would ensure resources were pooled to develop a sustainable energy sector for the country.