With the signing of the Nigeria Electricity Act 2023 by President Bola Tinubu, organisers of the WorldStage Economic Summit (WES) have chosen “National Dialogue on Electricity” as theme for the 2023 edition.
The dialogue will hold on Wednesday, August 30 at the Event Centre, Nigerian Exchange Limited on Customs Street, Lagos.
“The Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) has undergone fundamental changes over the past few years through the implementation of the government’s reform programme with structure that consists of the Federal Ministry of Power, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Electricity Generation Companies (GenCos), Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos), Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, Gas Aggregator Company of Nigeria and Nigerian Electricity Management Service Agency (NEMSA).
“The dialogue is coming at a time when the NERC is actively engaging the 11 successor DisCos on their request for tariff review, as many consumers are alleging extortive practice of estimated/arbitrary billing while calling for an effective metering plan and fair deal,” a statement by the organisers read.
President and CEO of World Stage Limited Segun Adeleye added that the issues in the power sector are inexhaustible going by what he called the frustration of the operators and the concerns of consumers including manufacturers that put their annual economic loss to epileptic power supply at about N10.1 trillion or two per cent share of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Mr Adeleye added that while the electricity industry is characterised by huge supply gap due to dilapidated power infrastructure and poor distributions networks, the new electricity act could be the game changer more so when the federal government has affirmed to treat adequate energy as a topmost national economic priority.
Participants in the summit are expected from the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), Federal Government, National Assembly, MDAs, state governments, organised private sector, local and foreign investors, media and other relevant stakeholders.
The WorldStage Economic Summit is conceived to address economic challenges through diagnoses and application of practicable solutions with public and private sector engagement in a research and innovation-driven platform to inspire new thinking in business initiative, policy formulation/implementation, economic reform and development.
