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By Pita Ochai
It was a unique gathering of experts in the energy sector recently when Informa Energy Group organised a three-day exhibition and conference aptly tagged ‘Power Nigeria’. The event which also brought together leading energy companies in Nigeria, Africa, and other parts of the world afforded them the opportunity to showcase the latest technology in the power sector. Altogether, there were about 40 exhibitors from more than 15 countries which showcased their products and services in the booming energy sector, particularly in the areas of power generation, transmission and distribution, lighting, renewable and nuclear energy.
Professor Chinedu Nebo, the minister of power, who declared the event open described it as worthwhile as it came at a time the present administration was fast-tracking the ongoing reform in the power sector. He explained that apart from using the exhibition to showcase the latest technology in the industry, it was a platform for stakeholders to brainstorm on how to drive forward Nigeria’s power sector by boosting capacity, ensuring regulatory compliance, increasing efficiency, supporting the idea of renewable energy and financing new projects. To him, the power sector challenges will soon be overcome based on the sincere partnership between the private sector and federal government.
Dr. Sam Amadi, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, chaired the seminar on “Implementing the Regulations: What should be expected and how will business be impacted?” He noted that the advice by stakeholders would help in regulating the power sector.
Waziri Bintube, Chief Financial Officer of Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) also delivered a lecture titled: ‘Achieving the vision: Encouraging private sector electricity investment.’ He highlighted government actions aimed at reducing the risk profile of the power sector, the estimating market requirements, investment opportunities and ways to support independent power producers and successor generator companies.
Mrs Anita Mathew, Director of Informa Energy Group, organisers of Power Nigeria said the technical seminars were meant to give visitors an opportunity to hear experts’ presentations on the energy sector, while the Power Nigeria exhibition helped to showcase the latest technology and intelligent energy solutions the industry has to offer.
Commenting on the Nigerian power sector, Mathew said: “The Nigerian power sector has been struggling to meet demand with a number of generation units in the power plants across the country operating much lower than their installed capacity. Investments have to be made in funding all the regional power systems to develop the available resource potential for power generation to eventually cater to the country’s growing electricity demand. Power Nigeria provides the platform for stakeholders to take this forward.”
Among the leading energy companies which exhibited their products and services at the event was China General Nuclear Group (CGN) Limited which has more than 30 years cable compound manufacturing history. There was also Clarke Energy, a Nigerian-based company which specialises in the provision of gas engine power plants. The company has installed over 270MW of gas-fuelled generation capacity in Nigeria as captive power plants for industry and independent power producers. Oman-based manufacturer of power and distribution transformers, Voltamp Energy, presented its latest range of power transformers extending up to 315 megawatts. “We’re expanding our product portfolio to further enhance our brand name in the local and African regional power sector. The power transformers market is growing strongly and Power Nigeria provided a platform to benefit from this growth while providing an opportunity to diversify our product portfolio,” Aasit Naik, General Manager of Central Marketing at Voltamp Energy said.
A Bulgarian company — International Power Supply — launched its new modular hybrid power system, Exeron, designed to combine power effectively from different sources of energy including sun, wind, diesel generator and grid.
On its part, the UK-based training specialist — The Faraday Centre — promoted its newly built training facility in Lagos which provides training in high and low voltage for the land, marine and offshore industries.
Power Nigeria was organised by Informa Energy Group with the support of the Federal Ministry of Power, the Nigerian Association for Energy Economics, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission and the Foundation for the Development of Africa.
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