Murray-Bruce urges President Tinubu to decentralise Nigeria’s power sector
Former Senator Ben Murray-Bruce has called on President Bola Tinubu to fundamentally restructure Nigeria’s electricity sector, arguing that the 2013 privatisation has failed to deliver reliable power to Nigerians.
Murray-Bruce made the call in an open letter to the president titled, “Start the Dance on Electricity: The Privatisation Failed. The Owners Are Billing Darkness”, where he criticised the continued dependence on the national grid and the financial burden of the current electricity model.
Citing figures from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), he said Nigeria had 13,625 megawatts of installed generation capacity as of April, but only 4,286 megawatts was available for dispatch. He also noted that 10 of the country’s 28 power plants accounted for 81 per cent of total generation.
Murray-Bruce argued that the 2013 privatisation failed because the companies that acquired the assets lacked the financial capacity required to operate and expand them. He also criticised the distribution companies, noting that 5.1 million of Nigeria’s 12.31 million active electricity customers remained unmetered as of February, despite the DisCos collecting N801.16 billion between January and April.
He described estimated billing as a major burden on consumers, saying an industry that struggles to generate adequate electricity should not continue to make revenue by billing customers for power they do not receive.
“The answer is to stop trying to power 240 million people from one wire. Every village, every estate, every community in Nigeria should have its own PHCN,” Murray-Bruce wrote.
He proposed that state governments guarantee loans obtained by communities and estates to develop independent electricity systems, while states should use solar power for streetlights, schools, primary healthcare centres and police stations. He said the Federal Government should focus on federal institutions and infrastructure.
Murray-Bruce also cited the Electricity Act 2023, which removed electricity from the Exclusive Legislative List, arguing that states now have greater authority to regulate their electricity markets. He pointed to Aba’s localised power system as proof that alternatives to the national grid can work, urging Tinubu to embrace decentralisation and target significantly improved electricity access within four years.
