The Electric Power Sector Reform Act that was passed in 2005, which serves as Nigeria’s electricity reform law, is one of the best in the world and is almost perfect, the Minister of Power, Works, and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has said.
He stated this at the 2017 Power Africa Nigeria Conference in Abuja on Thursday, adding that nothing was wrong with the law in its entirety, as concerns about the Act might be on its implementation by the government.
Fashola explained that with the law, the business of power generation, transmission and distribution had been democratised and was now within the domains of both the federal and state governments to consider investing in.
“The EPSR Act is a great piece of legislation that is comparable to any other in the world. That law was put together by members of the National Assembly whom Nigerians elected as their representatives, and who committed to giving Nigeria a law to enable us develop our power sector,” he stated.
The minister noted that in implementing reforms, which the law enunciated, like the privatisation of defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria, there might have been errors that had left some gaps.
He, however, stated that the government would close the gaps and correct the errors by using the recently approved Power Sector Recovery Programme.
“We now have the PSRP to fill the gaps in the privatisation that were perhaps omitted, and also enable us pass through what I believe is a transitional phase from government monopoly to private sector operated power sector,” Fashola said.
The minister told participants at the event that state governments were now free to invest in power generation, transmission and distribution.
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