The Nation Newspaper

Tag: distribution companies (DisCos)

  • Obsolete equipment hindering power distribution, says Fashola

    Obsolete equipment hindering power distribution, says Fashola

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, on Wednesday explained why distribution companies (Discos) reportedly rejected over 9,000 megawatts of electricity within one week recently.

    Noting that power generation has grown from 2,690 megawatts in 2015 to 6,800 this August, he said that there is a problem with distribution caused by the inability of Discos to upgrade their equipment to the level of the generation being made.

    According to him, an average of 4,000 megawatts of power are not accepted regularly, due to the weak capacity of the equipment being used by the Discos.

    He said that some of the equipment acquired by the Discos upon privatisation have become antiquated and obsolete and hence, require being upgraded if they would be able to absorb and distribute the existing megawatts of electricity.

    The Minister said that the government was committed to guaranteeing stable power supply, pointing out that the power sector reform of the federal government would address that problem.

    He said, “On the rejection of 9,000 megawatt of power, I have not read the report.  As at the beginning of the 10th August this year, the amount of power that was available to be delivered to the grid was 6,800 plus megawatts. So what that means is that from 2,690 in 2015 when this government was inaugurated, we have demonstrated that we can grow.

    “We have overcome the gas challenges and the vandals and pipeline repairs have progressed and that has impacted success on the generation side. Our power is going to come from different sources, hydro, gas, solar and that is why we are investing in mambilla for more hydro so that when one source is vulnerable we can rely on another’s source.

    “But in addition to power increase in terms of production, the transmission capacity has also increase, it has moved from the proverbial 5,000 to 6,700 megawatt that we can will. But the problem now is at the distribution end. For the kind of sustainable power we all want to see, it means every part of the value chain must work. And that is why I will continue to say that as we demonstrate our ability on generation and transmission we will demonstrate the same on our distribution.

    “So what we are now putting on the grid because the Discos can’t take the power is roughly about 2,000 megawatt so there is 4,000 plus averagely that is not being taken. So if you calculate for three days or five days, that your submission on 9,000 is probably not correct.” he said

    On whether the improvement of power supply in the country is a result of raining season or improvement on the part of Discos, Fashola said, “what is interesting is that for the first time in a long time, our gas fired plants and our hydro power plants driven by water have converged together, and when you factor that to the improvement that the Gencos investors have made into their plants and are still making, it explains the improved power supply that you have.”

  • TCN will complete over 200 electricity projects, says Fashola

    TCN will complete over 200 electricity projects, says Fashola

    The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) will complete over 200 projects to improve power supply to the distribution companies (DISCOs), Mr Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, said on Wednesday.

    Fashola made this known in a keynote address at the Nigeria Energy Forum (NEF) in Lagos, entitled: “Roadmap for Incremental, Stable and Uninterrupted Electricity Supply in Nigeria’’.

    He was represented by Mr Louis Edozie, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power.

    According to him, currently, TCN is concentrating on completing over 200 projects it has at hand to ensure smooth transmission of energy to the national grid.

    “Electricity is a very topical subject in the country; lack of it affects production, security, comfort and standard of education.

    “If all of us will draw all energy needs from the grid, we will need over 13,000 Megawatts (MW), but unfortunately, the maximum we have from the grid is just 4,700MW.

    “This is not what we want and this is not where we want to be.

    “The government inherited a very weak transmission; throughout 2016, there was a challenge of energy evacuation in Eastern part of the country.

    “This evacuation problem which had been on for over 15 years in Calabar, Ikot-Ekpene, Alaoji, Ugwuaji Transmission Line had been addressed and the transmission is now in operation,’’ Fashola said.

    He said that the transmission line would aid the smooth evacuation of energy generated by power plants in the Eastern part to the national grid.

    Fashola said that the Federal Government was concentrating on legacy generation projects inherited from the past administration.

    He said that such project include the small, but important 1.2 MW Solar Power Plant in Lower Usuma Dam, Bwari, Abuja, which is the first solar project in the country.

    The minister said that the project was now in operation, powering some parts of Abuja metropolis.

    “The 10MW Wind Dam in Kastina, which has been under construction for many years, will soon be completed and commissioned for operation.

    “The 30MW Phase 1 project at Gurara Hydro Power Plant in Kaduna, which had been abandoned, will also be commissioned next year and this will boost supply to Kaduna and Jebba.

    “The work is ongoing to ensure smooth transmission line of the energy to the grid.

    “Also, the 700 MW Zungeru Hydro Electric Power Plant, which had been abandoned several years back, will be completed by early 2019 and connected to the grid,’’ Fashola said.

    The minister said that work had begun on the 3,050MW Hydro Electric Power Plant in Mambilla, Taraba which was conceived about 42 years ago.

    “It is through the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration that the project was redesigned.

    “The project will be delivered in 2024,’’ he said.

    Also, Prof. Jidere Bala, the Director-General, Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), said that energy worldwide was one of the drivers of economic and social development.

    Bala said that there was no way poverty could be eliminated without reliable energy supply.

    According to him, energy supply must, however, be done in a responsible and sustainable manner.

    “These involve energy security, energy equity and environmental sustainability,’’ he said.

    In his remarks, Mr Dele Ayodele, the Deputy Managing Director, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), said that some of the challenges facing the power sector include technical and commercial losses.

    Ayodele said that technical and commercial losses were core issues that bedeviled the sector from performing its responsibility to consumers.

    He said that if the issues were not resolved, it would continue to linger on.

    In his address, the Chairman of NEF, Dr Daniel Adeuyi, said that the forum would enable the participants to exchange knowledge, build capacity and foster innovation in Nigeria’s energy supply industry.

    Adeuyi said no nation could develop in the dark, adding that sustainable energy was the passport to economic development.

    “Across Africa, the key energy challenge is how to electrify millions of households, remote communities and small-scale entrepreneurs as quick as possible,’’ he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that theme of the forum is: “Sustainable Energy for Economic Development’’.

  • DisCos raise alarm over FG’s failure to provide N100b subsidy  

    Following federal government failure to provide N100 billion subsidy that was promised upon handover of the entities to investors on November 1, 2013, the 11 electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) Monday raised the alarm over poor funding of the sector.

    In a statement issued by the Discos under the umbrella of Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) lamented over the poor funding for the transmission section of the sector, which they said has resulted in the huge load rejection cases.

    The statement issued by ANED’s Director of Advocacy and Research, Barrister Sunday Oduntan said government which holds 40 per cent equity in the utilities stated many interventions in the Performance Agreement of DisCos with the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).

    “To date, the government has not met the privatization transaction foundational requirements of providing N100 billion in subsidies; payment of MDA electricity obligations; ensuring that the DisCos have debt free financial books; and implementing a cost reflective tariff,” it said.

    On transmission constraints, ANED doubted if the N50 billion appropriated for TCN in the 2016 budget was released by half adding that, “This funding level is even more pitiful when, especially, measured against TCN’s estimate of $7.5 billion for its five-year expansion plan that is expected to take us to 10,000 megawatt (mw), from our current 4,500mw.”

    The DisCos said they can only recover their costs when they have more energy delivered by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) in the area where they have customers.

    “Should the DisCos have to suffer financial losses due to the limitations associated with TCN’s wheeling constraints? They queried in the statement.

    ANED said TCN which is still a public utility “has remained underfunded over several decades.  Such limited or underfunding has resulted in poor transmission infrastructure and planning, with the consequences of grid instability and limited wheeling capacity, adversely impacting the distribution and generation of electricity.”

    They decried the continued dearth of TCN funding saying it impedes the DisCos’ ability to distribute power and has led to crashes in power turbines of Generation Companies (GenCos) due TCN consistent requests for de-loading.