The Nation Newspaper

Category: Energy

  • How Matrix Energy stabilised LPG market

    Kerosene, the popular common cooking fuel in most low and middle class homes, is scarce in the market, but nobody seems to have noticed this. In the past, kerosene scarcity used to be one of the national energy crises that bothered the government, but it is not so now, writes BOLAJI OGUNDELE.

    An indigenous player in the downstream sector of the oil and gas sector, Matrix Energy Limited, has explained why  Nigerians are not feeling the scarcity of kerosene, also known as dual purpose kerosene (DPK).

    He said the development was a result of evolution of an era in energy consumption.

    According to Matrix Chief Operating Officer Mr. Loqman Salam-Alada, the increase in the use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in place of kerosene in most homes has reduced the use of kerosene.

    He said the visibility of LPG, also called cooking gas, against those of other hydrocarbon fuels, would continue to increase because of the huge edge it has over others. However, he disclosed that Matrix Energy  had been investing huge resources to make the product more readily available in all parts of the country, especially for the people of the Southsouth/Southeast and some parts of the Southwest.

    According to him, since the company opened its gas depot in Warri, Delta State last December, it has circulated more than 30,000 metric tons of LPG to various parts of the country.

    He said the company had, in a huge way, played a role in reducing the feverish influence of kerosene on the country by making the LPG a product that is no longer an exclusive preserve of the elite. This, he said, has been achieved by making the product more readily available through continuing investment into its Warri facility.

    He hinted of the acquisition of a Greek gas bearing vessel, MT Gremio. Its services were procured to supply  LPG regularly to avoid its sacrcity.

    Salam-Alada said: “Since the inauguration of our facilities in December, we have been able to do about 30,000 tons of LPG within that short period and now, to enhance the distribution of LPG across the nation. We have also secured the services of MT Gremio, a 5000-ton vessel, in a year contract. This will enhance our back-to-back supply of LPG. We will distribute across the Southeast, the Southsouth and the other parts of the country.

    “One significance of this development is that the increase in the supply and consumption of LPG has gradually phased the consumption of DPK out because there’s no DPK in the market and the impact of the scarcity is not felt and this is because more and more people are now moving away from using kerosene and turning to the use of cooking gas. This will continue because Nigeria’s consumption of LPG will continue to increase.

    “What the Matrix Energy gas facility has done is that it has expanded the consumption and the usage of LPG across the zone. Besides the expansion, it has also reduced the logistics challenges the marketer had before now to provide for the movement of products. Before now they used to spend a lot to move their products in trucks from Lagos to the Southsouth/Southsast and some parts of the Southwest, but now, our facility has brought the product closer to them; the price is the same as they would get it in Lagos because the cost of taking it from here to their destination has been knocked down to the lowest. This, again, is one reason why the consumption has sporadically increased; from December to April, we have done over 30,000 tons of LPG.

    “About MT Gremio, it was brought to Nigeria from Greece and it will be in the services of Matrix Energy for the next one year and the reason for bringing the vessel is to guarantee supply of LPG all year round. She brought almost 3,500mt last week and she’s due to bring another 4,000mt next week. This will be her continuous routine.”

    Salam-Alada, however, projected that the product would become more important in a matter of few years as many who are consumers of other petroleum products, like premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, as well as the automotive gas oil (AGO), also known as diesel, will gradually be turning to the LPG because of its financial and environmental advantages over them. It is because of such projections as these that Matrix had decided to commit huge resources into stabilising the LPG market across the country so that when the projected shifts in preference for energy source would shift to the gas, the shock would be drastically minimized.

    “We also project that as time goes on, many people will turn to the use of LPG for power generation. It’s part of reducing domestic logistics in the homes. Another point to consider is the fact that LPG is more environmental friendly, it’s greener, so in the long run, when you consider the effect on the environment, it is cheaper than other  hydrocarbon fuels, besides giving you more energy supply,” he said.

  • Gbarian-Ubie, Omoku plants ready in December, says firm

    The 252-megawatt (Mw) Gbarian-Ubie power plant and 150Mw- Omoku power plant being built by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), under the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs), will be ready by the end of the year, NDPHC Managing Director, Mr. Chiedu Ugbo, has said.

    He said private investors were expectd to take over the 338Mw Egbema plant this year.

    Omoku power plant is in Rivers State Gbarian-Ubie power plant is in Bayelsa.

    Speaking on the sideline of the inauguration of injection sub-stations in Amikanle and Abule Tailor in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State, Ugbo said efforts were being made by the company to complete the three power plants soon.

    Ugbo said: “NDPHC, which is the body approved by the Federal Government to add 5,000Mw of electricity to the national grid, is working hard to ensure completion of Gbaran-Ubie, Omoku and Egbema power plants by the end of 2018. While two of the plants – Gbaran and Omoku – would be managed by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company on behalf of the Federal Government, Egbema power plant would be sold to the willing private investors, as part of efforts to improve the growth of the power sector.”

    He said NDHC is working in line with its core mandate of improving electricity generation in the country, stressing that the firm would do its best to help improve power supply.

    According to him, NDPHC is employing various strategies to ensure that its plants accessed enough gas for production and further boost electricity supply.

    According to him, the generation and distribution of electricity is not without bottlenecks, adding that the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and the NDPHC were working to proffer solution to the problem.

    “While TCN is providing solution to the transmission problems  besetting the growth of the sector, NDPHC is also trying its best to solve the mirage of problems in the distribution segment of the industry,” he added.

    Solving power distribution challenges, Ugbo said, was evident from the various injection substations built across the country by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria. He said the body is building hundreds of power stations in the country, to help power distribution companies (DisCos) solve some of their problems.

    He said NDPHC has handed many of the injection sub-stations to energy distributors to enable them manage them well.

    Ugbo said the firm ensures that DisCos’ technical officers attend the inauguration of the projects it handles to familiarise them with the projects.

    Ikeja Electric Chief Technical Officer, Mr. Sunday Oyewale, said the firm has been picking loads from the injection sub-stations in Amikanle and Abule Taylor areas  to improve electricity supply.

    He said the distribution company would boost power supply in communities within its jurisdiction soon, urging the government to build more.

  • Fashola: rains ‘ll cause drop in power supply

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola  has said there would be drop in power supply because of the rain.

    He said power equipment were prone to destruction when there is heavy rainfall, adding that  transformers, wires, cables and others are damaged by thunderstorm.

    Speaking on the sideline of a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, he said heavy rainfall was not a new thing , adding that thunder storms  have  debilitating effects on power supply.

    He said efforts were on to reduce the havoc wrecked on power facilities by rain.

    Fashola said: “We (the government) are guiding against future occurrence as power is key to the growth of the country.  We are trying to bring in power equipment that is water-proof to forestall destruction of the facilities by rainfall.

    He said the Federal Government was worried that the level of investment in the sector had reduced due to the fact that investors were no longer interested in making more investments in the industry.

    He said generation, distribution and transmission arms of the nation’s power sector are worst hit as people are not ready to invest in any of them.

    He said few out of over 100 licences issued to investors in the generation segment of the industry were active, noting that the issue was having negative effect on the sector.

    Fashola said over 800 containers were stranded at the ports across the country, when he assumed office, adding that they were filled with power equipment.

    He said: “The containers were not cleared by the Federal Government then because money was not budgeted for that purpose. Nigerians are witnessing the effects of that mistake because the government failed to spend enough money on the sector. Had it been that money budgeted for the sector was well utilised, we would not have been complaining of irregular power supply in the country.’’

    Fashola said the current administration had succeeded in clearing 501 containers of power equipment, which have been sent to sites where power plants are located.

    “Where do you think those containers are now? They are in the sites, including power substations in the country,” he said, adding that while some power substations have been completed, others are nearing completion,” he said.

  • ‘nPDP planning to cripple Kwara APC’

    Factional chairman of the Kwara State All Progressives Congress (APC) Bashir Bolarinwa has alleged that nPDP members are planning to cripple the party.

    He said in a statement in Ilorin, the state capital, that the nPDP members are planning to destroy the APC before defecting to the PDP.

    He said: “There are growing worries that the brand of politics played by the nPDP members is not only hypocritical, but diversionary aimed at bringing down the chances of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the coming elections.

    “We have come to the conclusion that fragmenting a ruling political party into fractions at this material time is injurious, self-serving and the promoters should only be seen as agents of destabilisation but fifth columnists.

    “We may need to refresh ourselves that the antics of the nPDP members is to demonise our great party and make it less in value before Nigerians. It is part of their plot to demarket the party while they are seeking alternatives.

    The grievances advanced by these people bent on destroying the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Federal Government can be likened to the proverbial woman seeking to divorce.

    “How best can we describe a group that has a special committee collating its grievances against the APC and Federal Government everyday? What is logical in bringing up fresh grievances or complaints on daily basis?

    Bolarinwa added: “It is an open secret that the leaders of the splinter group whose levers are with Dr. Bukola Saraki and its side kicks like Alhaji Kawu Baraje are already hobnobbing with other political parties.

    Baraje was recently sighted in Abuja at a meeting convened at the instance of Social Democratic Party (SDP),  and such a man is championing the cause of nPDP members within APC.”

    Bolarinwa said the nPDP members were on their way out of the APC. He said: “The other arrow head of the nPDP seemingly on a journey to his political desert resigned from a Federal Board to join Africa Democratic Party (ADC) in less than five days from the date of resignation. How sincere is a woman whose divorce was premeditated by another man and could pack into his house within the shortest time? It will be safe to say that she has been having extra -marital affairs.

    “The clique deserves no empathy or anything close to it because they are out on a sinister move. We have always reminded them that they have enjoyed everything, including winning elections with the name of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2015. This may be the best time for them to test their popularity and acceptability on a different platform, if they so wish.

    “Those who ask for equity must come with clean hands. Why Dr. Saraki wants the bloc of parties that merged in 2014 to forget their background, when he declared through his lackeys that there is nothing like “legacy” again in Kwara State but he is promoting fragmentation at the top. Hypocrisy of the highest order!

    “While the the “grievances” advanced by nPDP remain frivolous, they have done worse to the legacy bloc in Kwara State.

    He added: “We have consistently shown to the world how our members have been marginalized and cajoled in the past all because we believe in party supremacy, loyal to the leadership of the party and President Muhammadu Buhari. This clique has not only destroyed party supremacy but chased internal democracy away.

    How did we get into having two congresses in Kwara State?

    It was owing to the selfish nature of a clique that believe everyone must kowtow to a personality even when principle of fairness and equity are not respected.

    Our members were denied nomination forms, and level play field to contest – even if they will lose, they should have allowed them the chance to contest in the first place.

  • ‘Govt needs to revisit sale of DisCos’

    Dr Yunus Akintunde, an energy expert, has called on the Federal Government to revisit the privatisation of the power sector. The exercise, he tells Southwest Bureau Head BISI OLADELE in this interviwer, was hurriedly done. He recommends a micro approach to power generation in the promotion of alternative energy and for a more efficient management.

    How can Nigeria create more wealth and jobs and stabilise the economy from the energy sector?

    Energy is a major source of strength for economy, security, the health sector, education and so many other areas. The first issue is that the government has to realise the role energy can play in our lives. It must realise the role energy can play in developing this nation. Wherever there is energy poverty, there will be economic poverty. A welder cannot survive economically when there is energy poverty.

    Why do medical personnel carry coolers about? What do they have in those coolers?

    They have vaccines and they put ice cubes in them because vaccines have regulated temperature. If you carry ice cubes in coolers for four to five hours, will you retain the same temperature? It is only because they cannot get energy supply.

     We have so many primary health centres with poor or no electricity supply. How do they sterilise their medical wares?

    They use either methylated spirit, some use flame to sterilise medical wares. That is able to cause more troubles than solution. Look at the education sector in rural areas where there is no electricity supply, if they post you there as a teacher you won’t wish to stay and the reading hour of students has been reduced. It is a practical thing. If they ask you to read with candle, you cannot read for as many hours as another person reading with electricity. There is no way a country will have energy crisis and survive unemployment. What do you want to employ people to do? Look at hotels now, most of them run on generating sets from morning to night.

    By the time they deduct the cost of diesel and related expenses, they will be forced to reduce the staff to make up for their profit.  So, the issue of unemployment is seriously tied to energy poverty.

    How can the government solve the problem?

    It is unfortunate that in most cases, non-experts, people that have little or no knowledge about this subject, advise the government on what to do. We have a very serious problem of energy shortage in Nigeria.

    The major one, especially in terms of electricity, is generation. What we are generating is it enough for us? No. And that is why at times it is funny to see people distributing electric transformers. Transformers cannot generate electricity. It can only distribute what is available and most of our transmission lines are weak and outdated.

    Even the quantity of electricity generated, during transmission, more than 20 to 30 per cent is lost before they get to the distribution companies. At the end of the day, the distribution companies have little to distribute. Two, we have to think of alternative sources power supply, including renewable energy.

    There is controversy over the privatisation of the distribution segment of the power sector. Do you think  the government shouldn’t have privatised?

    I think it was a wise decision, but at times, you have good intention but you might be taking a wrong action. It was a wise decision but not properly managed. One, in modern days, the government has no business in business. For example, they privatised electricity generation, electricity distribution but government is still holding on to transmission. If they want to privatise the whole thing, let them privatise the entire chain. The government still wants to retain the entire system but you can’t be here and there at the same time. You can’t be on the two sides of a fence at the same time. If you believe there is need to privatise, you privatise everything.

    Two, it might not be true that the distribution companies are just milking the public. If the business is so good they won’t be selling their shares off. We have most distribution companies now, even after government has assisted them repeatedly, they couldn’t survive because the problem has not been addressed. Why? There are so many decisions government has to take and the public has to key into them.

    For example, up till now, some people do not have prepaid meters. I believe some houses do have prepaid meters and some don’t have meters at all. Some people have prepaid meters but they bypass the meters and so on. There is a lot of problem and if you study the Multi-Year-Tariff-Order 2, published by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, you see some of these challenges. There are lots of things that need to be addressed and I believe the government was too much in a hurry to conclude the sale of the distribution companies.

    There are basic things that need to be discussed and resolved before finalising the sale of the electric generation and distribution companies. They could have resolved those issues. In some cities, if after five to six years, people cannot have their meters it means you can’t have correct meter. Even the distribution companies can’t know how much they should have and how much they are earning. So, the problems are so many and unless government revisits the procedure and take some actions, there may not be headway. Again, consumers have to be properly enlightened.

    Why do you think the government should revisit the sale?

    I believe the assessment before the sale was wrong, it wasn’t properly done, and you have to assess the situation very well. For instance, when they were selling it, I was representing Oyo State Government on the special committee in the electricity regulatory commission.

    What is the percentage of the Oyo State Government’s share in Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company?

    Nobody could say what the worth is, and the distribution company has inherited most of the electricity equipment of the rural rectification board. Those transformers, the pole, the cable and so on, even the landed property where those things were put on, are owned by the state government.

    What is our share there?

    That is part of the problem. Then, we should have known how we can make projections. What are we having by now? How many houses do we have in Oyo? What should be their metering strength? What do we have now? So, you must have a budget of projection – what you expect to come in and what is coming in. That is when you will know whether you are performing or not. But in a situation where you just amass figures, say, in Oyo State, they should make N2 billion. Statistics does not lie but people lie with statistical figures. They give wrong figures, they give statistics that is not too correct and at the end of the day you have crisis.  If you look at the way electricity has been distributed, Yola Electricity Distribution Company has the least. I think it has three per cent or so. Which figure did we make use of?

    Is it the population? is it the land area? Is it the electricity consumption? So, it is not the concept that is wrong but the procedure and execution.

     Assess the success of power generation in Nigeria? Is it not legal for states to generate power?

    The primary responsibility of the state government is to serve its people. If I start to generate electricity by law, I have a limit by which if I generate more than that I have to release to the national grid. Once I generate and upload to national grid, they might buy from me but my people might not benefit from it. That is why I was trying to come to alternative sources of providing electricity. All of us cannot rely on this hydro-plant or gas plant and so on. Most countries are thinking of renewable sources of electricity. Oyo State has large towns and cities, suc as Ibadan, Ogbomoso, Oyo, Iseyin, Saki, Ereuwa, and Igbora. By the time you have 10 cities in Oyo State that have regular supply of electricity by whatever means, people will say Oyo State is good. People say there is stable electricity supply in Ghana but it is not everywhere in Ghana. It is only those places that have huge economic activities and have sustained the sources of electricity.

    Their economy can survive the provision of electricity. Those are the people you first take care of before thinking of the rural areas. And the consumption in rural area is always low. They use electricity mainly for two or three things – lighting and ventilation. If there is electricity supply, they can use fan and probably for radio and for charging phones. Go to most big cities, several houses have air conditioners and other high electricity consuming gadgets and machines such as washing machines and electric iron. That is why I believe that if we can generate separate electricity for say, some parts of Jericho GRA, University College Hospital, Federal Secretariat, and University of Ibadan, among others, you will have taken care of a huge percentage of the electricity needs of the state.

  • Exeron to aid electricity acces

    METKA, the business unit of MYTILINEOS S.A, an international engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor and industrial manufacturing group, has brought technology that boosts access to power.

    The technology called Exeron is a unique and innovative power conversion system that provides reliable power in non-electrified regions and unreliable grid locations.

    A result of the combination of resources and expertise of METKA and International Power Supply (IPS), Exeron is considered the most advanced hybrid off-grid system, delivering uninterrupted output of power through intelligent control of various energy sources, including solar panels, wind turbines, the electrical grid, and/or diesel generators.

    Anita Otubu, Head of Special Projects, Rural Electrification Agency (REA) said: “Our sole mission at the REA is to provide access to reliable electric power supply for rural dwellers, and the launch of Exeron in Nigeria is a welcome development as it would contribute significantly to the realisation of our objectives.”

    On how the system works, METKA Project Director, Dimitrios Triantafyllopoulos, said: “Exeron intelligently combines various power sources with battery storage to reliably provide baseload power. Battery banks are used to store energy for later use at nighttime, for peak shaving during daytime or to provide resilient energy to the load during grid outages. It is an affordable and efficient solution suitable for a wide range of applications, including residential, industrial, oil and gas, telecoms, defence and security.”

    METKA West Africa Operations Manager, Emmanuel Elegbe, said: “Exeron is an energy management system. As such, no costs and time are needed for integrating parts from various manufacturers. The system comes pre-configured from the factory, allowing for quick and easy installation.

    “In addition, the intelligent battery management system is able to extend the life of the storage system up to 30 per cent. And because the system’s modular architecture allows load sharing between modules, the output power remains unaffected in the rare case of failure. Another key advantage of Exeron is that the modular system can easily be scaled up to meet tomorrow’s energy needs; power upgrade takes just a few seconds and no tools are needed.”

    Off-grid applications represent a quickly growing segment of the global power solutions market, and Nigeria is no exception. To this end, the Federal Government instituted the Rural Electrification Fund to enable more private sector participation in power projects such as grid extension, interconnected mini-grid, isolated mini-grid, isolated micro/nano grids and stand-alone systems. A minimum of $10,000 (N3.5million) and maximum of $300,000 (N106million), or 75 per cent of the total project cost, whichever was less, could be given as grant.

    METKA IPS is well positioned to meet the challenges of the rapidly growing hybrid and off grid power market, serving the needs of customers in Nigeria and around the world with affordable and efficient solutions, Elegbe said.

  • ‘EATECH is best process automation engineering firm’

    An indigenous engineering firm, Engineering Automation Technology Limited (EATECH), has won the Best Instrumentation, Mechanical and Process Automation Engineering Award for its various technological innovations and products designed to boost safety in the petroleum and aviation industries.

    The award was presented to EATECH by the Institute of Oil and Gas Research and Hydrocarbons Studies at the African Oil and Gas Globe Awards held in Abuja.

    The Institute of Oil and Gas Research and Hydrocarbons Studies Director-General, Ambassador Moses Essien, lauded the company  for its commitment in making huge investments in growing the local engineering manpower capabilities to undertake some of the most technical and difficult jobs in the country’s oil and gas industry that were performed by expatriates.

    EATECH was also praised for launching some products into the  market to assist detect adulterated aviation fuel (Jet A-1) and poor quality lubricants, which had wreaked havoc on some aircraft and vehicles.

    Deputy Chairman of Council, Institute of Oil and Gas Research and Hydrocarbon Studies, Prof. Charity Emaviwe, who presented the award to EATECH, said the Federal Government must do everything at its disposal to enact the requisite laws that would encourage the growth and prosperity of local firms doing business in the oil and gas sector.

    In her response after receiving the award, the Chief Operating Officer of EATECH, Mrs. Ugochi Alisi, thanked the board of the institute for taking pains to recognise professional organisations that believe in best practices and good governance, noting that the award would serve as a great source of inspiration for the management and staff of EATECH to put in greater efforts in recording more successes in the years ahead.

  • Speedy approval of FDP will attract investments, says Kachikwu

    The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has said speedy approvals of Field Development Plan (FDP) by the Federal Government will attract huge investments into the oil and gas sector.

    Kachikwu disclosed this while delivering a keynote address at a technical symposium on Field Development Plan (FDP) approval process, organised by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Lagos section 61, in Lagos.

    The minister, who was represented by the Senior Technical Adviser in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Mr. Johnson Awoyemi, said FDP was one of the fundamental criteria in the development of upstream exploration and production projects in Nigeria.

    He noted that the symposium  was not only apt, but very timely, adding that SPE serves as a platform for promoting and disseminating technical knowledge and advice to government on policy initiatives regarding the development and production of oil and gas resources.

    According to him, the government is ever ready to partner any creativity on the part of SPE that will add value and enhance economic sustainability along the oil and gas value chain.

    He said it is important that government acts quickly to evaluate and approve FDPs, thereby, ensuring that investors’ momentum does not dip, adding that some of the main issues that have resulted in approvals delay are the inadequacy or incompleteness of plans that do not address all the project development issues.

    He said: “Hence, as part of our 7 Big Wins, we initiated the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialisation Programme (NGFCP) as a solution. The purpose of the NGFCP is to eliminate wastage of gas, thereby, stimulating economic growth, driving investments and providing jobs in the nation through the use of widely available innovative technologies.“

  • PTI trains DPR technical workers

    Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), Efurun, Delta State has trained the first batch of the new Technical Assistant workers of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

    In a statement, the institute’s Deputy Director, Public Affairs, Mr. Brown A. Ukanefimoni, said the workers were trained on exploration, drilling and refining of crude oil, measurement of petroleum products and detection of adulteration of products, among others.

    The first batch of the trainees completed the two-month intensive training, while the second will spend more.

    PTI Principal/Chief Executive, Prof Sunny E. Iyuke said the PTI  equipped with human capital and state-of-the-art facilities to develop the oil and gas sector.

    Iyuke said PTI trained the take-off staff of Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company (WRPC), Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC), Port Harcourt Refining and Petrochemical Company (PHRC) and the then Eleme Petrochemical and Refining Company (EPCL).

    He urged other parastatals in the Petroleum Resources ministry to emulate the DPR. The principal praised DPR for partnering PTI.

    DPR Director, Mr. Mordecai D.B. Ladan said: “The DPR is proud to bring this training to PTI, which is renowned for its hands-on training and the only institute to train technical manpower for the oil and gas sector.’’

    The Director, who was represented by the Zonal Operations Controller, DPR, Warri Zone, Mr. A.E. Antai, urged them to use the knowledge gained during the training.

  • NDPHC boosts power supply in Lagos with substations injection

    The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), owners of the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP), has inaugurated two injection substations of 30 mega volt ampere (MVA) capacity each to boost electricity supply to Lagos.

    Its Managing Director, Mr. Chiedu Ugbo, while inaugurating the projects in Lagos, said the two 15MVA power injection substations will boost electricity supply to customers within Ikeja electricity distribution company (DisCo) and its environs.

    Ugbo said the company was not just concerned about increasing the quantum of power distributed, but the quality of electricity being supplied. The NDPHC chief said as part of the company’s effort to boost power supply in the country, the company  has lit up residents of Amikanle and Abule Taylor under Alimosho with 1/15 MVA transformers each to supply from Ayobo transmission station  through a dedicated 22.5 Km line for effective supply.

    He said one of the injection substations is a 15 MVA, 33/11KV capacity, which currently has a peak load of 7.7 megawatts, adding that it was a dream come true for the people of Lagos.

    The project, he said, was constructed by the NDPHC under the NIPP of the Federal Government. Ugbo added that the project will go a long way in boosting the economy of the state through the expansion and sustainability of small scale businesses.

    “As from today, residents within the Ikeja DisCo and its environs would start to benefit from effective and efficient power supply.

    “The substations currently serve Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) within the community including banks, eateries, shopping plazas, roads sides shops, welders block industries as well as religious places of worship.

    “Part of the 11kv line from injection substation has been connected to Ikeja DisCo’s network. This connection makes the substation coverage wide in serving the communities within Alimosho Local Government Area. We are working tirelessly to ensure that all pending project are completed soonest, we have over 70 distribution projects ongoing across the country,” he said.

    The NDPHC boss said when all pending projects are completed it will increase electricity supply to various communities across the country. He said the project was part of the Federal Government’s power sector recovery programme to boost electricity generation and distribution.

    According to him, NDPHC projects will help to address key bottlenecks in the distribution network and improve access to affordable and reliable electricity service to Nigerians.

    He, however, lauded Minister of Power, Works and Housing Mr.Babatunde Fashola, under whose leadership, NDPHC was transformed better for effective service delivery.

    Ugbo said over 40 projects has been completed in the last two years under his watch, while commending his predecessor, Mr. James Olotu, for his effort at ensuring effective monitoring and completion of projects to meet world standard.

    “The just commissioned projects would turn around the commercial growth and economic development of most communities under Ikeja DisCo. With the growing improvement in power supply across the country, Nigerians can attest to the fact that the power sector has taken a lead under President MuhammaduBuhari’s administration,” he said.

    Chairman, Amikanle CDA,  Mr OyegbemiAzeez, commended the NDPHC management for energising the community with power supply, adding that the community had suffered from poor electricity supply for years.