The Federal Government has expressed grave concerns over the growing trend of manufacturers and industries abandoning the national grid in favour of captive power solutions, driven by a profound loss of confidence in the reliability of the national grid.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Power, Mr. Adebayo Adelabu, during a board retreat of the Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Company (NELMCO) held in Lagos at the weekend.
The Minister expressed deep concern that, despite achieving a record generation of 5,155 megawatts of electricity, much of this capacity remains unutilised due to the exodus of bulk electricity users, particularly in the industrial sector, from the grid.
“The majority of large-scale electricity consumers, such as industries, have disconnected from the grid due to past failures in reliability. They have turned to their own captive power plants, which are significantly more costly,” he lamented.
Adelabu emphasised the inherent advantages of grid connection as a more cost-effective and reliable power source compared to captive power plants.
In a bid to restore confidence and encourage industries to reconnect to the grid, the Minister outlined the Federal Government’s commitment to improving the reliability and stability of grid power.
