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With more than 60% of its population unable to access the power grid, Nigerian engineers are now racing to devise viable alternatives to deliver electricity to an additional 85 million people or more in less than 12 years.

An email sent to me by one Irene Faluyi-Smythe talked of an event that will rally Nigerian engineers in the Diaspora to return home and take part in engineering development that would deliver sustainable power, and I got interested.

Sponsored and hosted by the UK chapter of the Engineering Forum of Nigerians, the 14 June 2008 conference in London will be looking at means and ways of delivering sustainable power in the country.

The event will bring together key industry leaders, decision makers, the financial sector amongst others, to highlight the vast opportunities available in the Nigerian power sector.

The Nigerian federal government has a year 2020 national prosperity objective that recognizes that the availability of reliable, affordable energy, especially electricity, is essential for economic and social development.

Currently about 60% of the nations’ population - approximately 85 million people have no access to electricity services.

This means that the west African nation, also the continent’s most populous, will have to use the good services of its engineers to help transform its power sector to address the energy shortage as well as create an environment in which renewable and sustainable energy technology can be effectively developed alongside conventional energy sources.

That is why the race to deliver sustainable electricity is so crucial to demand a London meeting of engineering minds.

“We appreciate the fact that those engineers based outside the country must also take part in the country’s development and complement whatever is done by those who are home-based“, said Faluyi-Smythe.

“This is a great opportunity for investment and capacity building in the Nigerian energy sector through self-participation or partnerships where applicable”.

The organizers of the event dubbed ‘Delivering Sustainable Power Solutions for Nigeria’ say capacity building will provide the engine to drive the much needed economic and social development and improve the quality of life of its citizens.

Already, there is a new wave of investment to increase capacity of the electricity power industry championed both by government and the private sector.

A host of regulatory and sector reforms are now in place to address the many challenges of the sector.

Image credit: Clare Marie at Flickr under Creative Commons