Popular Electricity

Power cuts and incessant power failures can be so irritating and quite annoying. This has been responsible for the slow technological growth of most third world countries.

Industrialization evolves around effective electricity supply and management.

Most third world countries will perpetually remain in that category until the constraints to useful, regular and steady power supplies are removed. Nigeria, for instance is a leader in the third world economy, aptly tagged ‘the giant of Africa’, but electricity supply for the nations citizenry and industrial concerns is grossly inadequate. The country has not been able to surmount a 4,000mw generation barrier she has had to grapple with for years, in spite of her growing population, which is estimated to be about 150 million.

Often it has always been argued that State monopoly and control of the electricity industry in most developing nations contributed to this mess as a result of administrative bottle-necks, corruption and inefficiency associated with State -run agencies. At the same time the electricity business must be taken seriously, because of the high capital involved and also the need to get high return on investments in order to remain in business. Healthy competitions should be encouraged as the market is liberalized to take other participants with States’ monopolies broken.

The challenge that arises most often is how to determine the right electricity pricing index in the midst of poverty, high unemployment rate and poorly remunerated populace; this coupled with the high cost of electricity production has been a major hindrance to the implementations of workable energy policies in the third world nation. This however, suffice to say, can not negate the fact that effective electricity supply, holds to key to industrialization, growth and poverty eradication in developing nations.

OJO ‘BIYI is an Electrical Engineer and the author of Electricity Solution Guide http://www.lightupnaija.com and http://powersystemsengr.blogspot.com