The National Electricity Regulatory Commission(NERC) has said that Nigerians are partly the reason why there is poor power supply in the country.
The General Manager of the Commission, Dr Tony Akah who was in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka to deliver a lecture marking the second annual lecture series of the department of Economics at the weekend said Nigerians take advantage of the flat rate bills to waste power, leading to poor supply.
In a lecture titled: “Energy consumption, challenges and prospects in the 21st century, Akah said electricity was not a social product, and as such, must be priced appropriately for investors to want to put in their money.
He however regretted that because of the flat rate billing system which rather guesses out a consumer’s consumption rather than metering the actual rate consumed, most Nigerians leave their appliances on throughout the day, thereby wasting the little available energy.
“In Nigeria, you find a situation where families leave their light on, all through the day and this has impact on the facilities. In some cases, you see people using 100 and 200 watts bulbs. But the normal thing is for people to us the LED bulbs, which are just 3 and 5 watts. We will conserve a lot of energy by using these kind of bulbs.”
Akah said Nigerians should learn to maximize energy in order to let others have electricity, and that they must also learn to switch to low energy consuming bulbs as this will help consumption.
He called for patience on the part of Nigerians, stating that the power sector reform is real and is vigorously being worked towards, hence, only patience from Nigerians will let them enjoy it.
Most Nigerian industry, he said are on self generation because the country cannot meet their demands on power, this he said is the reason Nigeria is import dependent, because firms prefer to relocate to countries with steady power.
Earlier, the Anambra state governor, Chief Willie Obiano praised the department of Economics, Nnamdi Azikiwe University for organizing the lecture. Represented by the Commissioner for Education, Prof Kate Omenugha, Obiano said the theme of the lecture was apt.
He promised to give support to the federal government to ensure that the power sector reform was achieved, while praising it for their commitment, he also called for patience on the part of Nigerians, so as to allow time for a workable reform.
During his welcome address, the Head of Department of Economics, Uche Nwogwugwu said the theme of the lecture was purposefully fashioned to recognize the role power plays in everyone’s life.
He stated that just as Nnamdi Azikiwe University this year ranked as the most preferred university in Nigeria, so the Economics Department has become the most subscribed course.
