• Says Disco that fails to meet 20-hour obligation under ‘Band A’ should be sanctioned
Dike Onwuamaeze
President of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Dr. Ifeanyi Okoye, yesterday, stressed that manufacturers “cannot finance 21st-century industrial transitions with 30-day commercial bank loans at cut-throat interest rates”.
Okoye also said manufacturers were looking forward to a time when power distribution companies (Discos) that failed to meet 20-hour supply obligation to “Band A” customers would be sanctioned or made to pay compensation to the affected customers.
He spoke yesterday in Lagos during the Second Edition of the Manufacturers Energy Security and Energy Efficiency Summit 2026.
Okoye explained, “Transforming a factory’s energy infrastructure requires capital. We cannot finance 21st-century industrial transitions with 30-day commercial bank loans at cut-throat interest rates.
“Therefore, a core pillar of this summit is unlocking structured financing.
“We are bringing financial institutions, climate funds, and green investors directly into the room. They are here to design long-tenured, low-interest capital instruments, carbon credit pathways, and asset-financing mechanisms that make green transitions instantly accretive to your bottom line.”
Okoye said MAN had consistently drawn the attention of government and relevant stakeholders in the energy space to the fact that energy is the oxygen of manufacturing.
“Yet, for decades, Nigerian manufacturers have been starved of this vital oxygen,” he said.
The MAN president stated, “High electricity tariffs, erratic grid supply, and a heavy reliance on fossil fuels have made industrial production in Nigeria exceptionally difficult.
“When energy expenses claim nearly half of a factory’s operating budget, competitiveness evaporates, retail prices skyrocket, and jobs are placed on the line.”
He added, “Our members, for sure, are resilient; we have proven this by keeping factories open against all odds.
“But resilience should not be a virtue, and should have its limits.
“When public electricity distribution networks—even under the current Band A framework- fail to deliver the guaranteed hours of power, and when alternative fuels drain billions from corporate balance sheets, survival requires a radical transformation of our energy architecture.”
Okoye said that was the reason for the summit, stressing that MAN is stepping forward with concrete, actionable solutions.
According to him, MAN is pleased to spotlight its strategic implementation vehicle, which is the Manufacturers Power Development Company Limited (MPDCL), working hand-in-hand with its esteemed international partners, GIZ and the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP).
He stated, “Together, MPDCL and GIZ-NESP are bridging the gap between industrial energy demands and modern technical realities.
“They are bringing forward innovative, cost-effective energy solutions tailored to unburden manufacturers once and for all.
“Today, we are moving beyond advocacy into implementation. We are officially unveiling and advancing the Industrial Energy Cost Reduction and Adoption Programme.”
Okoye explained that the flagship initiative was designed to hand power back to the manufacturer — literally and figuratively, “through aggressive factory-roof solarisation, advanced battery energy storage systems (BESS), captive natural gas options, and smart energy management networks.
“We are poised to cutting down factory overheads and shielding our businesses from global fuel shocks,” he said.
In her keynote address, titled, “Listen to The Manufacturer First: From Energy Pain to Proof of Concept,” Chairman, Anambra, Enugu and Ebonyi Branch, MAN, Dr. Adaora Chukwudozie, said manufacturers were constrained to effectively running a second power system, paid for by themselves, beside a grid they also paid for.
Chukwudozie stated, “Our generators may be the only employees who never ask for leave — but they also never stop asking for diesel. And the joke ends at the balance sheet.
“For manufacturers, energy is no longer simply an operational issue. It is a competitiveness issue.”