CHAIRMAN and Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr Sam Amadi, said decentralisation of electricity generation policy will fast track stable power supply in the country.Amadistated this in Abakaliki on Monday while briefing newsmen.According to him, the time frame set by the Federal Government to attain a steady power supply can further be abridged if thereis a decentralised policy as well as integrated power generation mechanism.He explained that a new process of power generation and distribution had been introduced by the present administration.'The new process involves the building of small grids or power stations and dams by individuals and states for the purpose of supplying electricity to a particular state or area.'This is different from the conventional practise where a grid system allows every power generated in any part of the countryto bechannelled to one source, the national grid, from where it will be distributed to the states.'The new process is part of Federal Government's effort to achieve the target of steady power supply in the country in the shortest time,' he said.He expressed regret that Ivo Local Government of Ebonyi was not connected to the national grid saying, 'it shows the extent of malfunction and lack of capacity for expansion in the power sector before now.''Ebonyi is a core agrarian state, we don't have to build major power station; you can do some renewable, small dams, you can do solar system with government support to help decentralise power generation.'There is no reason why we should not have a micro grid in Ebonyi to supply the place with sufficient electricity, and that is why we are now doing the Independent Electric Distribution Regulation that can allow forsmall grid.'You can take 5 or10 megawatts for some local governments in Ebonyi instead of waiting until the national grid comes.'Amadi noted that the nation was presently building the capacity and the network to carry the capacity, adding: 'It is like you are harvesting your goods, you are also tarring the road to where the goods will go to, which is the market.'He assured that the various Independent Power Projects in the country would soon be commissioned and added to the national grid to increase its capacity.Amadi said that the Federal Government was also strengthening the gas supply infrastructure to the power stations as well as the transmission networks toenable it receive the power being generated.On the metre maintenance charge on electricity bills currently being collected by the PHCN, Amadisaid the removal of the charge wouldstart from the end of the month.
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