Project Proposal

1.1 Introduction

The Country that is looked at in this paper is Nigeria, this is a country that is located in the Western part of Africa, with more than 160 million people is known to be the most populous country in Africa. Nigeria is a developing country, only just started democratic rule in 1999 which has seen the country want to compete with world markets now. There has been a major hindrance in that plight as the electricity sector of the country has been in shambles. For a very long time, the country has been plagued with power outages and with this going on, the country has been slow to move forward. Over the last 10 or more years, there has not been constant electricity with industries and also normal consumers resorting to buying petrol or diesel run generator sets. This cost a lot of money to live on and also maintain as well as the environmental damage it causes on a regular basis, with the high cost of using a generator, the market has been slow to grow, foreign investments not coming as they should and also, local businesses not going to new heights. There has been a cry for electricity reform in the country to ensure constant electricity supply for both business and personal use. The initial electricity company, Nigerian Electricity Power Authority (NEPA) was first the sole company in charge of every aspect of electricity supply chain, it controlled the generation, distribution, transmission and supply sectors and after a hint of electricity reform, it changed to Power Holdings Company of Nigeria (PHCN), which is still in operation today. The Government started the reform in 2000 but till date, there has not been any headway in achieving the goal of power outages, there are still places that hardly see electricity, especially the rural areas of the country which could seem have been neglected. Although, in recent times, there has been an improvement in the electric sector but the improvement is at a minimum. It is difficult to have electricity for more than 24 hours at a stretch, there are always breaks in power supply. The calculated amount of electricity generated in the country is said to be about 3000 megawatts and this is to supply the whole country that has over 160 million people living in it electricity. Taking Scotland which is a part of the United Kingdom as an example, it has a population of about 5.2 million people, the electricity generated is more than 7000 megawatts to supply consumers with many sources of electricity in place.

1.2 Aims/Objectives
The aim of this paper is to show what electricity reform is, how is can be achieved, the different types of reforms that are in place and the best one that will fulfill the electricity crisis in Nigeria. Use various countries as examples in how this reform can be achieved. Indicate the benefits of a successful electricity reform.
The objectives of this paper is to find out different ways to achieve a successful reform, ranging from the introduction of a competitive electrical environment to the regulations that would be associated with these reforms to the way the government of Nigeria should act towards the reforms. Find out how the reform would affect the stock market.

1.3 Methodology to be adopted
This is a research paper, it would not require lab work, just consultation from specified sources as well as extensive research on the topic. For this paper, books would be looked at, journals will be read, research done by others will also be looked at with the date of the research indicated to show the timeline the electric reform has gone over the years. Blogs would be looked at as well as newspapers to see recent developments in the electricity sector. A situation where a person is to be met in order to get more information, an appointment would be booked and there would be a meeting between both parties. Website would be checked and if more information is needed, contact the organization to whom the website belongs to. All these is to make the paper as authentic as possible.

1.4 Principal outcomes

1.5 Structure of the Report
The paper would be structured as follows
a. Introduction
b. Electricity reforms
c. Competition
d. Government involvement
e. Electric Market
f. Benefits of the Reform
g. Conclusion
All with sub-topics in between. The structure of the report is subject to change as time goes on