President Tinubu’s sudden decision to stop the oil subsidy regime on 29th May 2023 has resulted in a hike in the price of premium motor spirit (PMS) also known as petrol from an average of N200 to above N600 per litre.
The hike in petrol price has affected the cost of living and transportation all over the country. While the government has approved the conversion of Petrol buses to run on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), they are yet to express the same effort to electricity power generation and generators which serves as an alternative source of power to Nigerian homes and businesses.
According to the Energy Progress Report 2022, Nigeria has the lowest access to electricity globally, with about 92 million persons out of the country’s estimated 200 million population lacking access to power.
The country’s power grid has continued to collapse at regular intervals, leaving the few powered communities in darkness for many days.
In a bid to reduce the amount of money spent on petrol, Nigerians have resorted to converting their gasoline generators to propane or butane-powered generators. The first step of conversion is to change the petrol carburettor, a device built to supply spark-ignition engines with a mixture of fuel and air. This will be replaced with a carburettor that uses Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG).
Mr. Samuel Nsoha, an Energy Expert and CEO of Luton Group has called for caution in the conversion of power generating sets from Premium Motor Spirit (Petrol) to Liquified Petroleum Gas (LNG).
Mr Samuel stated that: “Leakages of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) could lead to explosion if not properly installed and maintained. Secondly, the Nigerian market is saturated with expired gas cylinders. According to the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), gas cylinders expire after 15 years of production”.
He explained that “Technically, a converted petrol engine to LPG will have less efficiency because it was not originally designed for such fuel source if compared to an engine that was designed for such. Although it is cleaner and cost-effective than PMS, we must tread carefully”.
“As stakeholders in the Energy Industry, we must continue to emphasize on the safety of Nigerians and also enlighten them on the associated risks if these converted generating sets are not well maintained and monitored“.
Mr Samuel also encouraged Nigerians to embrace solar power generation as their alternative source of energy, while also calling on the government to invest in the power sector and save Nigerians from the hazards of seeking alternative power supply.
