The Role of Policy Makers and Institutions in the Energy Sector: The Case of Energy Infrastructure Governance in Nigeria
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Research Context
2.1. The Evolution of Energy Systems in Nigeria
2.2. The Policy Cycle
- Awareness stage—The emphasis is on gathering information about the key that may necessitate the need and development of a policy (e.g., energy access, carbon emission). The potential barriers and opportunities are identified, collected, and analyzed at this stage.
- Problem definition stage—The implications of potential barriers and problems are identified at this stage, e.g., the problems relating to energy infrastructure provision.
- Identification of options stage—The possible consequences of the potential policy options are assessed. An example could be the consequences of decentralizing electrical power generation and its impact at the socio-economic, environmental, and technical levels.
- Policy selection stage—A choice is made regarding the preferred policy, which builds on the previous stages’ understanding of the associated problems and their implications. An example could be choosing an energy generation decentralization policy that addresses the problem of energy access, while improving energy security and reducing vulnerability.
- Policy implementation stage—There is a translation of policy into action. This essentially means the adoption of a particular policy after all the necessary deliberations by concerned stakeholders.
- Policy evaluation stage—Evaluation, monitoring, and tracking of the chosen policy is done in order to ascertain the progress. The evaluation, monitoring and tracking process also helps in measuring the awareness level. Constant evaluation and monitoring of energy access helps in determining the number of persons that have access to energy after a given period, and also to help in ascertaining what amount of energy infrastructure is required to bridge the identified gap in energy infrastructure deficit to address energy access issues.
3. Materials and Methods
4. Findings
4.1. Linkages between Policy Making Processes and Institutions in the Governance of Energy Supply Infrastructure
- Issuance of licenses/permitting
- Regulations
- Granting access
4.2. Governing Energy Supply Infrastructure: The Unintended Consequences of Policy Decision Processes and Institutions
- Government (unintentionally) financing corruption in the energy sector
- Economic delusion
- Energy demands driven more by export needs rather than local consumption.
4.2.1. Increased Opportunities for, and Incidence of, Corruption in Over-Centralized Governance
Nigeria’s centralized system of decision making was driven by the quest for political power, while political power was driven by corruption as those in the political space were greatly enriched by the system.(Extract from interview notes)
…when the NEPA brings to the fore (mostly in writing) that the released funds cannot complete an overhaul, the typical response is “that’s what we have; you have to use it as that is what our budget can accommodate.”(Extract from interview notes)
4.2.2. Economic Delusion
4.2.3. Energy Demand Driven More by Export Need and Not Local Consumption
- There is a large demand for petroleum (crude oil) and natural gas. However, a large part of the extracted crude oil and natural gas are exported. This signifies that the energy supply infrastructure provided in Nigeria was not meant to satisfy only the local demand, but also to meet the demands of the international market.
- The residential sector is the largest consumer of energy resources in Nigeria with a large part of these resources coming from traditional biomass used more for energy services within the home. A large part of this energy, however, is being wasted through emissions and inefficient equipment and appliances.
- Hydropower, natural gas, and crude oil (petroleum) are the three dominant resources used for electricity generation, with a potential for natural gas growing geometrically due to the policy direction of the Nigerian government to use more natural gas for electricity generation.
- The industrial and commercial sectors combined, use far less energy resources in comparison with the residential sector.
5. Discussion
6. Conclusions
Acknowledgments
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Interviewees | Background/Expertise | Date of Interview |
---|---|---|
A | An experienced socio-political expert and economist. He was once a senior special adviser to the president on policy implementation. He has been working and consulting for the government for over 20 years. | 13 June 2015. |
B | A senior politician with over 15 years’ experience in the art of policy making. He was once a special assistant to an executive governor. He later moved to the Federal House of Representatives as a lawmaker where he chaired the house committee on treatise and policy for several years. | 20 June 2015. |
C | A politician with over 20 years’ experience in politics. He was a speaker of a state house of assembly for several years where he chaired several policy sessions at the state house of assembly. | 18 July 2015. |
D | A senior technical expert in energy with over 20 years industry experience. He spent a large part of his working career with the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) where he had technical responsibility for the smooth operation and maintenance of a section of the country’s electricity grid network. | 15 August 2015. |
E | A senior energy expert with more than 30 years’ experience in the electrical power industry. He had responsibility for the general management and operations of one of the regions of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN). Prior to that, he worked with the then National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) from early 1980s, and later the Power Holding Company of Nigeria where he worked at senior levels. He saw a large part of the policy and technical transitions of the Nigerian electrical power sector during his working career. | 24 August 2015. |
F | An engineer with several years’ experience working in the energy industry. He worked in Nigeria’s biggest thermal power station for several years where he handled several roles. | 8 September 2015. |
G | A communications expert with several years’ experience in the energy industry. He was Head of Corporate Communications for one of Nigeria’s biggest electrical distribution company for several years. | 20 September 2015. |
H | An engineer with several years’ experience in energy technology industry. He worked with some top Original Equipment Manufacturers involved in manufacturing and sales of power turbines and electrical network solutions. He has spent a large part of his working career in technology sales and marketing, interfacing with many of the end users and several stakeholders in the Nigerian energy sector. | 30 September 2015 |
Energy Resource (Extraction) and Infrastructure Development | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oil and Gas | Coal | Gas and Electricity | Nuclear | ||
Areas of policy and regulatory interventions | Issuance of licenses | Licensing participants involved in natural gas and crude oil exploration and production | Issuing licenses for coal exploration and extraction. | Licensing of participants and players in the electricity and gas market. | Providing licenses and permits to market players. |
Regulations | Regulations with respect to: New oil and gas field development and pipeline activities Environmental aspects of oil and gas extraction, production and decommissioning. | Managing environmental effects of historical mining activities, such as contaminated water from coalmines. | Providing the required framework for regulation of the electricity and gas market. Appointing members of the various national public institutions that set the strategy for the development and provision of various types of infrastructure, such as: Federal Ministry of Power; National Electricity Regulatory Commission; Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation; Standards Organization of Nigeria; and other relevant stakeholders. | Providing regulatory framework and regulations for licensing and permitting. | |
Granting Access | Granting access to oil and gas exploration and production data. | Access to mining information/data. | Access to historical and resource data, such as: quantities and location of gas reserves, water resources, etc. | Access to natural resource data such as location and quantity of uranium reserves. |
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Edomah, N.; Foulds, C.; Jones, A. The Role of Policy Makers and Institutions in the Energy Sector: The Case of Energy Infrastructure Governance in Nigeria. Sustainability 2016, 8, 829. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8080829
Edomah N, Foulds C, Jones A. The Role of Policy Makers and Institutions in the Energy Sector: The Case of Energy Infrastructure Governance in Nigeria. Sustainability. 2016; 8(8):829. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8080829
Chicago/Turabian StyleEdomah, Norbert, Chris Foulds, and Aled Jones. 2016. "The Role of Policy Makers and Institutions in the Energy Sector: The Case of Energy Infrastructure Governance in Nigeria" Sustainability 8, no. 8: 829. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8080829
APA StyleEdomah, N., Foulds, C., & Jones, A. (2016). The Role of Policy Makers and Institutions in the Energy Sector: The Case of Energy Infrastructure Governance in Nigeria. Sustainability, 8(8), 829. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8080829