Generator owners in Lagos state will from June 2007, pay between N25,000 and N50,000 per generator to the Lagos State Government as Gas Emission Testing fees.
A directive from the government to some manufacturers, which was obtained exclusively by our correspondent on Monday, gave manufacturers 14 days to effect the payment or face a penalty of N200,000.
The directive said owners of generators of 10-40KVA capacity would pay N25,000 while those with 40KVA and above would pay N50,000 as testing fees.
However, manufacturers have kicked against the levy.
“The new levy will definitely worsen the cost of production in the country,” the Director-General, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Mr. Jide Mike, said in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Monday.
Nigeria, the biggest economy in West Africa, relies heavily on standby generators to power its industries, a situation that has raised the cost of production in the country.
“It is not our making that we have to rely on generators. The government has to provide enough power supply to discourage the use of generators,” Mike added.
The spokesperson, Lagos State Ministry of Environment, Mr. Fola Adeyemi, when contacted on the phone, declined to comment on the policy.
But the directive said the test would commence on all registered generators from June 2007.
It reads, “Generators that emit carbon dioxide beyond 10 per cent must be repaired by the owners within seven days.
“Failure to do so shall attract penalty fees of N5,000 per day until repairs are made.
“Generators with emission of carbon dioxide measuring 20 per cent and beyond shall be shut down immediately.”
Energy cost arising from the use of generators contributes more than 60 per cent to the cost of production in Nigeria, according to Mike.
In spite of assurances to raise power supply to 10,000MW, little has been achieved as only about 3,200MW is currently being generated, according to officials from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria.
Besides, high oil prices have made the use of generators unprofitable, Mike said.
“The manufacturing sector is still striving to produce. It is not well with the sector,” Mike stressed.
He added that the decision by the state government to introduce the levy would draw back the rate of industrialisation.
