- Offers blueprint for actualisation
- Experts offer to lead implementation
A group of energy sector experts have raised an urgent memo to President Muhammadu Buhari calling on him to immediately begin the full implementation here in his home country Nigeria, the laudable suggestion on micro hydropower generation he made to the world in an article in the run-up to the on-going United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26, holding in Glasgow, Scotland.
The group under the nomenclature, ‘Nigerian Oil, Gas and Power Forum’, said Buhari in putting forward one of the strongest suggestions on how to approach the global climate crisis through micro hydropower, had hit at what the group believes is a low-hanging fruit for solving Nigeria’s power crisis, but which has been ignored for far too long.
According to the group, now that the president has told the world that it was a climate-friendly approach to solving power problems, especially in communities, he has shown that he is aware of the solution and should proceed to have it actualised in the country as his bold and genuine effort to make a dent on the intractable problem of power supply.
The memo by the group specifically drew the attention of President Buhari to the statement in his article, ‘Climate Crisis Can’t Be Fixed By Causing Energy Crisis in Africa’, where he stated, “We can bring forward new technologies such as mini-hydro power plants which can operate and produce power day and night along shallow waterways without damaging the aquatic life on which local communities are sustained.”
The group, in its position statement, prepared by its experts in the energy sector, comprising Goody Duru-Oguzie, an engineer, power expert and lead; Emmanuel Ezekwere, an engineer, power expert and former head, engineering and safety standards, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC); Chris Ohurogu, a professor, energy lawyer and former dean, Faculty of Law, Baze University, Abuja; Nick Agule, an energy finance expert; Rilwan Odetunde, an energy investor; and Eleojo Eguche, an energy expert and investor, said it had deemed it necessary to step up its advocacy on the need to accelerate the pace of power generation in Nigeria, using mini hydro power plants, just as the president has advocated to the world.
Titled ‘Position Paper On Power Generation Using Mini Hydro Power Plants Across Nigeria’, the Nigerian Oil, Gas and Power Forum, convened by energy lawyer, Madaki Omadachi Ameh, said it is encouraged by President Buhari’s position, “where he cautioned against a hasty rush to eliminate the use of fossil fuels by the developed world, which would create an energy crisis in Africa in place of a climate crisis.”
The group stated in the memo that the president’s statement on micro hydro power “has turned out to be quite strategic, and holds the key to the massive generation of power from the abundant hydro resources available in the country, and the distribution of such generated power using micro and mini grids to supply electricity at affordable rates to communities within the immediate catchment area of the bodies of flowing water, which abound in every part of Nigeria.”
It said that mini hydro power, apart from helping Nigeria accelerate its pace of compliance with the COP26 carbon targets, “will deliver substantial quick wins to this administration at very minimal cost, since most of the infrastructure required to bring this to fruition already exists at various stages of completion across the country.
“In the course of our research on this issue, we came across a very vital document which clearly tabulates all the existing dams at various stages of completion across the country, which can be used to bring President Buhari’s vision in this regard to fruition within the shortest possible time,” the group stated in reference to a document prepared by the Federal Ministry of Power.
Providing what looks like a preliminary action that the president can direct to be taken, the group said: “We also want the Federal Ministry of Power to identify all sites suitable for mini hydro (1MW downward) in rural areas to power agrarian communities that otherwise would have been difficult to electrify.”
Addressing the usual excuse of lack of finance that often comes up with taking up projects that can benefit the masses, the group called on the president to mandate the Bank of Industry (BoI) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to finance the feasibility studies to bankable documents of all identified sites for the Ministry of Power.
“The document developed can then be auctioned to private investors factoring the capacity and the location of each identified site,” the group further advised.
The energy group urged the federal and state governments to take immediate steps to revive the mini hydropower projects and push to access available international financing for such projects, including under the pledged $100 billion annual support to developing countries, which the developed countries of the world have committed to make available to enable developing countries accelerate the pace of transition to greener sources of energy in order to meet their net zero carbon targets.
“The know-how and expertise required to make this happen exists within the Nigerian Oil, Gas and Power Forum, and will be immediately deployed in support of any government initiative in this regard,” the group assured the president.
The group added that with quick wins in the power sector through a serious, conscientious and dedicated pursuit of the mini hydropower strategy to deliver power to Nigerians, the President Buhari’s administration will leave an indelible mark on the Nigerian power sector landscape at the end of its tenure on May 29th, 2023, and provide a solid platform for future administrations to build on.
Interestingly, a document prepared by the Federal Ministry of Power titled, “Small and Medium Hydro Power: Projects Description,” appears to suggest that there is some understanding in government that mini hydro offers an opportunity for solving part of the country’s power challenges. Why this has not been pursued vigorously is not clear.
The document appears to show that the Ministry of Power has identified and categorised existing Federal Ministry of Water Resources and River Basin Authority dams with hydropower potentials as far back as 2010 but has failed to make a serious push on that front.
Experts say this understanding in government may have provided the basis for the beautiful article written by the president, for which he should now be held to account.
“If something like that has been in existence since 2010 and nothing has been done with this knowledge as a way of solving the country’s power problem, especially as it concerns rural communities, then you can tell why we are not making any headway with our electricity challenges,” said one power sector actor.
The document goes on to identify five categories, from category ‘A’ to ‘E’, and describes the states they are in.
For instance, the ministry describes the categories as follows:
Category A – Completed dams with electromechanical components installed awaiting power evacuation;
Category B – Completed dams with turbines left uninstalled over some years;
Category C – Completed dams with power house requiring installation of electromechanical components;
Category D – Dams with hydro potentials requiring studies on electromechanical aspects; and
Category E – Identified hydro power potential sites as reflected in Y2010 Appropriation.
The Ministry of Power document lists 18 dams across the country that have been identified as capable of delivering small, medium hydropower for Nigeria.
They include Guarara in Kaduna State; Oyan in Ogun State; Ikere Gorge; Bakalori in Sokoto State; Dadin Kowa in Gombe State; Tiga in Kano State; Kiri in Adamawa State; Challawa in Kano State; Jibia in Katsina State; Owena in Ondo State; Doma in Nasarawa State; Itisi/Kajuru in Kaduna State; Amoke/Apa in Benue State; Ogundele/Owena in Ondo State; Idewure in Oyo State; Ifon in Ondo State; Kafanchan/Jenda in Kaduna State; and Ikom/Etung in Cross River State.
The 18 dams were identified as capable of producing a total of 232.6 megawatts of electricity as far back as 2010, but no serious action has been taken by the ministry.
In one part of the document, the Ministry of Power stated in a note that: “Feasibility Studies up to production of bankable documents for the under listed dams is desirable.”
The dams include Ikoba in Edo State, with capacity of 3.12MW; Agbokim in Cross River State with capacity of 2MW; Erin Ijesha Waterfall in Osun State (1.545MW); Igu in F.C.T., Abuja (2MW); Rima in Sokoto State (3MW); and Tede in Nasarawa State (8MW).
Some power sector players, especially those with interest in mini hydro power, say that the country is littered with several water bodies which can be easily dammed to generate electricity.
“There’s so much more that can be added to this list. So many waterfalls in Nigeria with hydropower potentials; for example, Farin Ruwa in Nasarawa State. I recall seeing a feasibility on damming the River Katsina-Ala for a 10mw hydropower plant years ago. So much potential lying waste,” lamented one expert.
The group hopes that President Buhari and his aides would respond positively and quickly to its memo so as to provide a game changer in the nation’s approach to solving its electricity challenge, especially in rural areas and communities.
When applause travels faster than hunger