In this piece, SAMUEL OGIDAN looks at the NEMSA Bill before the National Assembly and how it will help revamp the power sector, save lives and by extension improve the nation’s economy
The success of the economy of any nation worldwide is critical to its growth and development. The need to properly regulate it is not negotiable in any serious society. This has necessitated the recent public hearing on the Nigerian Electricity Management Service Authority (NEMSA) Bill currently before the National Assembly.
The hearing was organized by the House of Representatives Committee on Power and the bill has passed the first and second reading in both chambers of the National Assembly.
More than any other thing, Nigerians stand to benefit in diverse ways if the bill is passed into law as it would among others, empower Electrical Management Service Limited, an enforcement arm of government to ensure that both electrical materials and equipment brought into the country and those locally produced for use in the Nigerian Electrical Supply Industry (NESI) are properly inspected, tested and certified to ascertain their quality, standards and specifications for the production and delivery of power supply. This is also to guarantee safety of lives and property in Nigeria.
Expectedly, the document is receiving some hard knocks from some critics who believe it is a duplication of responsibility and usurping the responsibility of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) among others. They are also of the view that it would derail the on-going federal government’s reform in the power sector. Proponents of the bill are however of the view that the supposed demerit is far less that what it seeks to achieve. First, they posit that the passage of the Bill would not only create a robust power supply in the country, but also take the nation’s economy to the next level and ensure that the operational standard of Nigeria power system to enable it meet with the international best practices. The Act, when it finally becomes one, would also go a long way to save federal government and Nigerians lot of its scarce resources. They contend that another regulatory body does not intend to corrode the powers of any agency, but rather to create an agency of government that will have specific roles and responsibilities in an area that will be dealing with technical standards.
Besides, it would bridge certain technical gaps observed in NESI and also ensure that technical lapses in the power sector do not mar President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation agenda in the sector. Establishing an independent energy regulatory places with considerable power in the hands of such an entity, will eventually result in the creation of policies that are at odds with government goals and objectives and also result in the issues of prioritisation and lack of focus/expertise if both regulation and compliance are entrusted to the same organization. This therefore makes the need for another regulatory body charged with technical enforcement responsibility to ensure that standards are adhere to in the power sector, very imperative.
Ghana and India are good examples where there is division in service delivery and regulation in the power sector. In the case of Ghana, it has Public Utilities Regulatory Commission and Energy Commission of Ghana, while India has Central Electricity Commission, a central regulator, which provides a commercial framework and level playing field, Central Electricity Authority and Chief Electrical Inspectorate, which are in-charge of technical regulatory enforcement.
It should be noted that the mandate of EMSL is far removed from that of NERC and other agencies in the power sector. While that of NERC as established by EPSR Act of 2005, outlines in Sec. 32 is to function as economic or commercial regulator to develop electricity market, EMSL empowered by NEMSA Bill is vested with the powers to among others, enforce technical inspection, testing and certification of all electrical materials and equipment brought into the country.
The mandate and responsibility of EMSL as enshrined in NEMSA Bill is not to replicate or duplicate the functions of other agencies. The Bill has been described as timely as the passage would go a long way to ensuring safe and reliable power supply.
The assertion that it would create employment for foreign expert/engineers, technicians among others to the detriment of Nigeria expert/engineers and increase the cost of doing business in the sector, has also been debunked by the industry experts, as the agency will not swell the bill of the federal government, but generate its IGR to sustain its activities.
Explaining the importance of the Bill at the public hearing, the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Electrical Management Service Limited, Engr. Peter Ewesor reiterated the need for technical enforcement in the industry to ultimately curtail the loss of lives and property from electrical fire and electrocution caused by substandard electrical cables, materials, networks and installations.
He cited a case in Abuja, Garki to be precise, where a house went up in flame few months ago, claiming the lives of eight people and the planting of an electrical concrete pole for power improvement in Lagos where technical safety standards were ignored, leading to the electrocution of five people, including a pregnant woman.
“In the international best practice, the regulator and the enforcement agency are suppose to work hand in hand. The regulator is to make all the relevant rules and regulations, create standard and another agency will enforce the regulations and not being the lawyer, the judge, the prosecutor, the police and the warder at the same time,” he said.
Also in his submission, an energy expert, Engr. Adoko Sambwa called for urgent passage of the Bill in order to maintain uniform energy supply standard across the country, safeguard lives and property and keyed into the Jonathan’s transformation.
He explained that the Bill would enable EMSL to carry out qualitative technical inspections, testing and certification of all electrical installations, monitor and evaluate power systems and networks, eliminate the presence of fake transformers as unscrupulous merchants import transformer with incorrect specifications, thereby creating imbalances in the entire power network.
Sambwa added that the passage would also allow EMSL to eliminate fake energy meters, eliminate substandard materials, eliminate bad workmanship in the power sector, testing of power equipment and materials to check out the accuracy of specifications/standards and quality among others.
The enforcement of technical standards, inspection, testing and certification functions to be backed by the Bill are to ensure stability of networks, power systems, security, reliability and quality of supply and at the same time guarantee safety of lives and property in the Nigeria Electrical Supply Industry.
Having regulatory and technical enforcement bodies in a ministry is not a new development, ministries as Transport, Petroleum, Aviation, Environment, Science and Technology and Education have more than one regulatory and technical enforcement bodies, they exist side by side and working towards achieving the vision 2020 mandate.
To achieve this goal, the government will need a robust regulatory and technical enforcement environment to effectively drive this vision. The power sector reform embarked upon by government is expected to ultimately transform the sector into sustainable and viable sector to deliver safe, reliable and constant power supply and at the same time ensure security of supply, as monopolizing the regulatory body would strangulate President Jonathan transformation agenda in the sector.
Succinctly put, EMSL headed by Engr. Ewesor is carved out from the inspectorate division of the Federal Ministry of Power to perform specific technical and enforcement functions for the good of Nigeria economy.
