A don, Dr Ovat Oyama, says increased investment in renewable energy will be the panacea to the epileptic power supply caused by incessant collapse of the national grid.
Oyama, who lectures Economics at the University of Calabar, Cross River State, stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday, July 8, 2020 in Lagos.
According to him, harnessing the prospect of renewable energy is the antidote in bridging the power gulf in the country.
“Renewable energy has the capacity to address our power needs both domestically and on industrial scale.
“It is environmentally friendly and causes little or no emissions to the climate,” he said.
He noted that many developed countries were shifting from conventional hydro energy to renewable ones, because it is the energy of the future.
He added that the nation’s economy with so much magnitude, must not be allowed to experience irregular power supply with the availability of alternative energy.
“Alternative energy sources such as solar can meet our domestic energy demands, especially, in areas where there are regular sunlight.
“Also, turbines powered by winds should be constructed in desert prone areas where there are unending winds,” he said.
The nation’s electricity grid has collapsed 108 times after the power sector was privatised, according to data from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
The TCN, which manages the national grid, is still fully owned and operated by the government.
While the TCN says the grid has a wheeling capacity of 8,100MW, the highest power generation ever attained in the country stands at 5,375MW.
By Simon Akoje
