Insurgency: Let’s use coal for electricity generation
June 14, 2016
EVERY time the Niger Delta militants attack oil pipelines or installations in the region, there is the likelihood that electricity generation in the country will drop because of the disruptions to gas supplies.
Experts have, on several occasions, linked economic development to power generation, that is, there is no developed country that is still facing electricity challenges.
This goes further to say that with Nigeria’s poor electricity supply, then we are not near being a developed country.
The fact that we are the biggest economy in Africa is just on the paper; it does not reflect in the lives of Nigerians. South Africans, Egyptians, and even Tunisians, have better living indices than Nigerians.
So we must start looking at how to increase our power generation, which has never risen beyond 5,000MW at the best of times. Unfortunately, the destruction of oil installations by Niger Delta militants is making our dream of generating more electricity a dream, as most of our electricity plants are powered by gas. That is why it is important that we focus on using coal to power our electricity plants.
Coal, which is still being used by China to power its electricity, as well as industrial plants, can be found in commercial quantities in the Eastern part of the country.
It is high time our leaders began to see into the future, thereby moving our power plants from being dependent on gas to coal, since we will always have the problem of the Niger Delta militants destroying oil pipelines.
The Nigerian government has no choice than to quickly look at other sources of power generation if we truly want to experience rapid economic growth.
•Philomena Agu,
Lokoja, Kogi State.
Experts have, on several occasions, linked economic development to power generation, that is, there is no developed country that is still facing electricity challenges.
This goes further to say that with Nigeria’s poor electricity supply, then we are not near being a developed country.
The fact that we are the biggest economy in Africa is just on the paper; it does not reflect in the lives of Nigerians. South Africans, Egyptians, and even Tunisians, have better living indices than Nigerians.
So we must start looking at how to increase our power generation, which has never risen beyond 5,000MW at the best of times. Unfortunately, the destruction of oil installations by Niger Delta militants is making our dream of generating more electricity a dream, as most of our electricity plants are powered by gas. That is why it is important that we focus on using coal to power our electricity plants.
Coal, which is still being used by China to power its electricity, as well as industrial plants, can be found in commercial quantities in the Eastern part of the country.
It is high time our leaders began to see into the future, thereby moving our power plants from being dependent on gas to coal, since we will always have the problem of the Niger Delta militants destroying oil pipelines.
The Nigerian government has no choice than to quickly look at other sources of power generation if we truly want to experience rapid economic growth.
•Philomena Agu,
Lokoja, Kogi State.
Comments
Post a Comment