The Senate has introduced a bill threatening to ban the importation, sales and use of generating sets in Nigeria.
The said bill titled: “Generating Set (Prohibition/Ban) Bill, 2020”, was read at the floor of the red chamber for the first time today.
The sponsor of the bill is, Senator Mohammed Enagi Bima (Niger South), who in his opinion posited that doing so will make the Nigerian leaders gear their energy into developing the power sector as well as checkmate the hazard contributing to the environmental pollution which is being generated through operating of these generating set.
A close examination of the bill indicates that “any person who owns a generating set; or willingly sells a generating set shall be guilty of an offence whom upon conviction and shall be liable to a jail term not less than 10 years, except those mend for essential services.
The bill listed the essential services to include: medical purposes (hospitals and nursing homes and healthcare facilities), airports, railway stations/services.
Other are elevators (lifts), escalators, research institutions and such facilities that require a 24-hour electric power supply.
The clause of the legislation proposed that such approval for exclusion shall be approved by the Minister of power whom shall on a quarterly basis brief the Federal Executive Council on the numbers of the exclusions approved.
The bill further proposed that “All persons are hereby directed to stop the use of electricity generating sets which run on diesel/petrol/kerosene of all capacities with immediate effect in the country.”
The said bill described a generating set as a machine which produces electricity upon its operation.
Accordingly, there is a myth been circulated that the power sector was been frustrated by the importers of these Generating sets, however, it is believed that banning its importation will give the government the impetus to face the power problem head-on.
More suffering is awaiting Nigerians, especially those running their business on generators.
Meanwhile, last Saturday, sixteen power generating plants were shut down for lack of gas throwing the power generation to record as low as 3,675 megawatts.
The power operators have disclosed the problem may persist for the next two weeks until routine maintenance is completed on the gas pipelines to restore power.
