Juliet Alohan - January 23, 2014
The success of the privatisation of the power sector is hugely dependent on a strong regulator for it to translate to a successful electricity reform, the President of the Nigerian Association for Energy economics (NAEE) Prof Adeola Adenikinju and his International Association for Energy Economics (IAEE) counterpart, Prof Wumi Iledare, have said.
The experts who stated this at a media parley in Abuja to announce the 7th NAEE/ IAEE international conference said unless the regulator remains transparent and efficient, the privatisation exercise would have simply transferred management of the sector from state monopoly to private sector monopoly with no visible results achieved.
They urged the regulator to avoid being captured by industry stakeholders and to have a firm grasp of the sector in order to check the activities of the utilities with a view to ensuring energy access to all Nigerians irrespective of where they live.
The experts explained that the 2014 NAEE/IAEE conference which will hold in Abuja in February with the theme “Energy Access and Economic Development: Policies, Institutional Framework and Strategic Options,” will deliver about 90 papers focusing on international best practice across the world and how such can be domesticated in Nigeria.
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