SON Partners SEA On Energy Services Regulation

Some participants during the fourth annual conference of the Society of Energy Administrators (SEA) of Nigeria on Thursday in Lagos.

By Grace Alegba

The Society of Energy Administrators of Nigeria (SEA) has announced its partnership with the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) on enforcement of compliance with quality in handling services in the energy sector.

Dr Babatunde Adeboye, SEA President and Project Director, Nigeria, disclosed this on Thursday in Lagos ,at the fourth annual conference of the association titled “Energy Management Summit, 2024.”

The event, which also featured induction of new members, had the theme:
Energy Management Services Compliance: A Tool For Green Energy Systems in Nigeria”.

Adeboye said removal of energy from the exclusive list would facilitate influx of investors into the country, both at state and federal levels, for bulk energy development.

He said the anticipated influx necessitated the need for compliance with standards.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that President Bola Tinubu had in June, 2023 signed the Electricity Act into law ,which removed energy from the exclusive list.

Adeboye said the nation’s energy sector was large and had regulators in various fragments, but that there was no single body to enforce accountability to standards of operations, hence the birth of SEA in 2014.

He thanked the Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON) for its support to see the need for energy management services compliance standardisation in Nigeria.

“I am glad to inform our professional members that SON has established Energy Management Services Department (ESMD) and energy management services national technical committee for effective energy management services accountability through compliance in Nigeria.

“Energy management services education, research studies and human resources development are gaps that need to be bridged for effective leadership and commitment,” he said.

He said the association was already partnering universities for human resources development, adding that, MBA graduating students from Lagos State University were among inductees at the event.

Adeboye said Lagos is the hub of energy consumption, adding that, SEA was “working hard to create opportunities through which people can manage the system”.

Dr Ifeayin Okeke, SON’s Director -General, said energy had not been isolated in the past, adding that, with the establishment of energy department in the SON, the organisation would adopt measures to ensure compliance with standards.

Okeke ,represented by Mr Ekokeme Preye, Chief Standards Engineer, SON, Lagos Operations ,urged SEA to ensure that its members head energy departments.

Deputy Chief Whip of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr David Setoji ,who represented the Speaker, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, said ongoing power sector reforms required involvement of all stakeholders.

He said opportunities abound for states due to decentralization of the power sector and that the Aassembly already passed a bill, which when signed into law, would bring enormous benefits to residents.

The guest speaker, Prof. Yemi Oke, challenged SEA to be prepared for the tasks ahead as the energy sector is complex and wide.

He said SEA represented a critical human resource component of getting it right in the energy sector in Nigeria to block loopholes, bridge the gap in administration, governance, regulation and compliance.

Oke, an expert in Energy Laws from the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos (UNILAG) ,identified challenges in the energy sector, including manpower and governance

Mr Ajomo Babatunde of the Lagos State Safety Commission, stressed the need for professionals to collaborate and assist the government of the state.

Ajomo, who represented the Director- General of the Commission, Mr Lanre Mojola, explained the functions and roles of the commission.

Alhaji Salisu Mohammed Baban-Inna, an oil and gas industry expert ,was awarded fellowship of the society ,while 28 others were inducted into various cadres of membership. (NAN).