Newly elected president of the Nigerian Academy of Science, Professor Abubakar Sambo, has emphasized the need to have the national grid decentralized in order to stop the nation from being left at its mercy each time it collapses.
He noted that this should be done on the basis of regions.
Recall that the national grid had collapsed on 12 different occasions in 2024.
Team@orientactualmags.com learned that Professor Sambo, a Professor Emeritus at the Faculty of Engineering and Environmental Designs, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, said this on Thursday while delivering his keynote speech during convocation lecture held by the Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, which was part of the activities and programmes for the institution’s 12th convocation ceremony.
Sambo spoke on ‘The Optimum Utilization of Nigeria’s Energy Resources for the Sustainable Growth and Development of the Nation’.
He noted that the recent power outages in 17 states which was as a result of vandalization of transmission towers in a state by the bandits, should not be allowed to happen again.
As a step towards the ‘regionalisation’ of the National Grid, Professor Sambo added that states should ensure that they have statewide grids as part of ways to establish their electricity markets as contained in the Electricity Act 2023.
‘All State Grids can operate independently such that faults in one state will not affect other states’ he said, adding that all State Grids should be interconnected with the grids of contiguous states.
Sambo also suggested that dispatchable power plants should be available in states which would be located at strategic points along the National Grid, saying that renewable energy power plants and
small modular reactors have been found to be effective dispatchable power plants.
‘The Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), which TCN says it is only 70% completed and which enables real-time monitoring and control of the grid, allowing operators to detect faults, manage loads effectively and respond to issues swiftly, should be completed as quickly as possible’ he said.
He also called for institution of effective security monitoring of energy infrastructure, ‘such that cameras and sensors can effectively send out signals before damages or theft of energy supply components are done’.
The convocation lecturer , who noted that providing adequate and reliable energy supply with expanded energy mix, to ensure high level of security of supply and in line with the nation’s energy demand and supply projections, is the panacea for sustainable development of the country.
‘Securing energy infrastructure from vandalization, by terrorists and thieves, is a necessary measure to avoid disruption in energy supplies. The very recent inauguration of the Council for Securing National Critical Infrastructure, by the Federal Government, is a move in the right direction.
The local production of power plant components like transformers, solar modules and their balance of systems components of inverters, deep cycle rechargeable batteries and charge controllers, along the lines of what NASENI and a few others have started, should be supported and expanded to cater for the nation’s needs and to key into the AfCFTA initiative, for export to other nations, in the long term.
With the Petroleum Industry Act coming into effect in 2021 and the more recent Electricity Act 2023, the coast is clear for the optimal use of the nation’s conventional and renewable energy resources to
provide for the socio-economic growth of the nation in general and to specifically provide for large energy needs of:
a. Large-scale agriculture and agro-allied industries.
b. Large-scale open cast and underground mines and mineral processing plants.
c. Several manufacturing industries in areas the nation has comparative advantages.
d. Several tourism sites with facilities of international standards.
Providing energy for agriculture, mining, manufacturing and tourism will enable generation of revenue other than the revenue from sale of oil and gas and ensure that Nigeria does not slip to economic recession whenever a pandemic like COVID-19 occurs.
The National Action Plan on EVs, produced by the NADDC, should be approved and implemented. In the same vein, there is the need for the local production of electric vehicles in the country.
There is a need to ensure that the energy supply is based on the nation’s Energy Transition Plan which is based on Nigeria’s commitment to the Net-Zero carbon emission pledge by 2060 and reflecting the nation’s Nationally Determined Contributions for abating climate change but in line with its ‘Just Energy Transition Policy (JETP)’.
It is necessary for the JETP to actively embrace all the low-carbon energy systems of renewable energy sources and nuclear power. Net Zero is not Absolute Zero, This means if the nation can institute carbon capture techniques and establish forestry plantations, which are natural carbon sinks, the nation can continue using oil and gas even beyond 2060’ he said.
In his welcome address, the Vice- Chancellor, KWASU, Professor Shaykh Luqman Jimoh, said that the theme of the lecture is both timely and crucial, considering the vital role energy plays in shaping the socio- economic development of any nation.
The VC, who submitted that the university remains resolute in its mission to foster intellectual growth and contribute to national development, added that the lecture has shown the university’s commitment to addressing critical issues and proffering practical solutions through the power of knowledge.
Also speaking, Chairman of the occasion, Alhaji Sheriff Sagaya, who was represented by Barrister Abdulfatah Salman, called on governments to always prioritize issues that have to do with the young people saying that ‘if the young people are educated, the nation would be great’.
He also urged Nigerian youths to prepare for life before them and also utilize youthful energy in productive ventures noting that ‘Future of Nigeria rests on you’.
Shagaya also urged them to see obstacles as springboard while announcing the donation of N10 million in support of the development and progress of the university-Team@orientactualmags.com Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08059100286, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com. Thank you
