By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

Abuja — Energy stakeholders in Nigeria’s power and renewable energy sector have called for the adoption of a “lifecycle approach” to infrastructure development, urging a shift from hurried project rollouts to coordinated strategies that integrate technology, strict standards and skilled manpower to ensure long-term reliability and sustainability.

The call was made at the Nextier Power Dialogue held in Abuja and hosted virtually by The Electricity Hub under the theme, “Improving Standardisation and Maintenance for Energy Access and Sustainability.”

Regulators, developers, policy experts and market operators at the forum examined persistent weaknesses in Nigeria’s decentralised energy systems, particularly mini-grids, which they said continue to undermine reliable energy access.

Panelists, including the Chief Executive Officer of Sosai Renewable Energies, Habiba Ali; Regional Coordinator for West and Central Africa at the Africa Minigrid Developers Association (AMDA), Chimaobi Omeye; Infrastructure Consultant at Nextier, Chinedu Ogoilegbune; and sustainability expert, Adanne Wadibia-Anyawu, attributed frequent mini-grid failures to a combination of poor system design, substandard components, inadequate installation, harsh environmental conditions and weak maintenance culture.

Ali said Nigeria’s energy sector had traditionally prioritised installation targets at the expense of long-term upkeep.

“Nigeria’s energy sector has long chased installation milestones, but maintenance is often abandoned after commissioning. These failures are not isolated; they cascade from the cradle to the grave of a project,” she said.

The speakers acknowledged emerging improvements driven by stricter regulations, performance-based financing and enhanced safety inspections, but stressed the need for early collaboration between developers and regulators. They described inspections, testing and certification as essential risk-management tools rather than bureaucratic obstacles.

The panel emphasised that accountability must cut across the entire value chain, with regulators enforcing standards, developers complying with requirements, financiers rewarding system uptime, and consumers demanding certified components and skilled technicians.

Omeye stressed that maintenance should be embedded in project economics from the outset.

“Maintenance cannot be treated as an add-on. It must be built into revenue models from day one. Poor upkeep, dispersed rural sites and capital-expenditure-driven tariffs are eroding reliability,” he said.

Ogoilegbune warned that rapid technological advances could outpace workforce capacity if continuous training was neglected.

“Artificial intelligence-driven design, remote monitoring platforms, firmware updates and e-mobility will outpace our technicians without sustained and deliberate training,” he cautioned.

In concluding, Wadibia-Anyawu urged stakeholders to redefine success in the energy sector.

“Energy access should be measured by longevity, safety and uptime, not by how quickly projects are launched,” she said.