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Tag: Egbin

  • Egbin launches innovative hub to equip leaders, ignite creativity

    Egbin launches innovative hub to equip leaders, ignite creativity

    Egbin Power, power generation company, has opened an innovation centre to equip students with entrepreneurial, practical, and creative skills to thrive in modern educational landscape.

    Named ‘Bright Gyimah Centre for Innovation,’ this facility is in Powerfields Group of Schools, Ikorodu, owned by Egbin Power (member of Sahara Group). It offers students opportunity to develop skills in Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence, and explore creativity in arts, music, culinary, and hospitality fields.

    Head of Corporate Communications & Branding, Felix Ofulue, said the initiative aims to create a dynamic learning environment that fosters creativity and innovation. “The facility is open to exciting career opportunities, serving as a beacon of hope for comprehensive, quality education and has potential to revolutionise education,” he said.

    Read Also: JUST IN: Gospel singer Morenikeji ‘EgbinOrun’ dies

    Ofulue noted the company’s commitment to nurturing leaders to drive progress and prosperity. “This demonstrates our dedication to advancing education and highlights the readiness to groom future leaders. Skills acquired will enable learners to become architects of their success, supporting growth,” he added.

    Director of Governance and Sustainability at Sahara Group, Ejiro Gray, noted the importance of equipping students with skills for future.

    She said: ‘‘At Sahara, sustainability extends beyond organisational boundaries to include positive societal impact. We position students to compete globally, providing them with the platform to learn and apply their skills”.

  • ‘Egbin to deliver full capacity of 1320Mw by month end’

    •Recruits 39 young engineers for training at NAPTIN

    Sahara Power Group, owners of Egbin power plant and First Independent Power Limited, has said the generation company will operate at full capacity of 1320 megawatts (Mw) by end of this month, which will be delivered to the national grid.

    The Group Managing Director of Sahara Power Group, Mr. Kola Adesina, stated this on the sideline of the induction of 39 young engineers, the company recruited that will undergo a 26-week intensive training across the power industry value chain at the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN) in Lagos.

    “We are working hard to ensure that we get the 1320 Megawatts (MW) in place this February. By the end of this month, Egbin will be able to deploy to Nigerians the 1320Mw.

    Currently we can do 880Mw but the limitation evacuation is what is limiting it to 543Mw but as a company, I assure you the availability from Egbin will be 1320Mw by the end of February.

    However, we have two constraints to delivering the 1320Mw to customers. The constraints are gas supply and evacuation and transmission of the power. If the two constraints are there, it may be difficult to deliver the 1320Mw.

    The young engineers will undergo the Graduate Engineering Programme (GEP) at the NAPTIN.

    The Director of Training, NAPTIN, Francis Elughi, said: “The training has four modules. The field work or hands-on-training, will take 16 weeks while classroom work will start with refresher training. The refresher training, which will last for two weeks, is to enable the inductees have basic knowledge of the power sector as they graduated from different engineering backgrounds including electrical, mechanical and chemical engineering, among others. This will focus on overview of power system, after which the training will move to knowing the various components of steel and gas turbines. The second module will focus on overview of power system network to basic rotation and metering.”

    On the training, Adesina said: “The training is essentially to reskill, up-skill, recruit. It is a process to ensure and guarantee regular supply of electricity. The human capital is the most important to us as an organisation in order to offer highest customer satisfaction.

    “The inductees would have the opportunity of learning from some of the continent’s best engineering professionals at Egbin Power and First Independent Power Limited. “We are setting the tone for a future where our people will become power experts with global influence, providing smart solutions to the power needs in Africa and beyond. We are delighted to have this batch of engineers on board. Sahara Power’s vision of lighting up Africa will be driven by the best possible human capital. Most of the technical training sessions will be held at Egbin Power Plc and First Independent Power Limited.

    “Sahara Power Group had since 2014 recruited over 130 graduate engineers in line with its commitment to youth empowerment and local capacity development in the power sector,” Adesina added.

    The NAPTIN’s acting Director-General, Mr. Ahmed Bolaji Nagode, said the power sector needed consistent training activities to address the dearth of human capital in the sector. Nagode said it was imperative for the sector to bridge the knowledge gap by investing in its people through sustained collaboration between the public and private sector.

    “A robust human capital is required to transform the power sector to achieve higher efficiency, reliability and productivity. As always, NAPTIN is delighted to continue its collaboration with Sahara Power Group on this project.

    “We have through the Sahara Power group graduates engineering programme, produced excellent engineers that are already bringing innovative solutions to processes in the sector. I congratulate the successful inductees, and I am confident that the future is bright for all of you and for the entire power sector,” he said.

     

  • ‘Egbin to deliver full capacity of 1320Mw by month end’

    Sahara Power Group, owners of Egbin power plant and First Independent Power Limited, has said the generation company will operate at full capacity of 1320 megawatts (Mw) by end of this month, which will be delivered to the national grid.

    The Group Managing Director of Sahara Power Group, Mr. Kola Adesina, stated this on the sideline of the induction of 39 young engineers, the company recruited that will undergo a 26-week intensive training across the power industry value chain at the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN) in Lagos.

    “We are working hard to ensure that we get the 1320 Megawatts (MW) in place this February. By the end of this month, Egbin will be able to deploy to Nigerians the 1320Mw.

    Currently we can do 880Mw but the limitation evacuation is what is limiting it to 543Mw but as a company, I assure you the availability from Egbin will be 1320Mw by the end of February.

    However, we have two constraints to delivering the 1320Mw to customers. The constraints are gas supply and evacuation and transmission of the power. If the two constraints are there, it may be difficult to deliver the 1320Mw.

    The young engineers will undergo the Graduate Engineering Programme (GEP) at the NAPTIN.

    The Director of Training, NAPTIN, Francis Elughi, said: “The training has four modules. The field work or hands-on-training, will take 16 weeks while classroom work will start with refresher training. The refresher training, which will last for two weeks, is to enable the inductees have basic knowledge of the power sector as they graduated from different engineering backgrounds including electrical, mechanical and chemical engineering, among others. This will focus on overview of power system, after which the training will move to knowing the various components of steel and gas turbines. The second module will focus on overview of power system network to basic rotation and metering.”

    On the training, Adesina said: “The training is essentially to reskill, up-skill, recruit. It is a process to ensure and guarantee regular supply of electricity. The human capital is the most important to us as an organisation in order to offer highest customer satisfaction.

    “The inductees would have the opportunity of learning from some of the continent’s best engineering professionals at Egbin Power and First Independent Power Limited. “We are setting the tone for a future where our people will become power experts with global influence, providing smart solutions to the power needs in Africa and beyond. We are delighted to have this batch of engineers on board. Sahara Power’s vision of lighting up Africa will be driven by the best possible human capital. Most of the technical training sessions will be held at Egbin Power Plc and First Independent Power Limited.

    “Sahara Power Group had since 2014 recruited over 130 graduate engineers in line with its commitment to youth empowerment and local capacity development in the power sector,” Adesina added.

    The NAPTIN’s acting Director-General, Mr. Ahmed Bolaji Nagode, said the power sector needed consistent training activities to address the dearth of human capital in the sector. Nagode said it was imperative for the sector to bridge the knowledge gap by investing in its people through sustained collaboration between the public and private sector.

    “A robust human capital is required to transform the power sector to achieve higher efficiency, reliability and productivity. As always, NAPTIN is delighted to continue its collaboration with Sahara Power Group on this project.

    “We have through the Sahara Power group graduates engineering programme, produced excellent engineers that are already bringing innovative solutions to processes in the sector. I congratulate the successful inductees, and I am confident that the future is bright for all of you and for the entire power sector,” he said.

  • NNPC restores Escravos-Lagos pipeline, resumes gas supply

    NNPC restores Escravos-Lagos pipeline, resumes gas supply

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC ) on Monday said the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline ( ELP ), which got burnt by a fire, had been restored.

    A statement in Abuja by the NNPC spokesman, Mr Ndu Ughamadu, said that gas supply to customers on the line, including power generating companies, had resumed.

    A section of the ELP at Abakila in Ondo State blew up in flames on January 2 due to bush fire.

    The incident affected gas supply to customers in Ondo, Ogun and Lagos states with subsequent shutdown of a number of power plants.

    ”With the restoration of the ELP and resumption of gas supply, the affected power plants, with a combined generating capacity of 1,143MW, would resume power generation.

    ”The plants include Egbin in Lagos State; Olorunshogo Power Plant, PEL Olorunshogo and Paras Power Plant in Ogun and Omotosho Plant in Ondo State.

    ”The 36-inch Escravos to Lagos Pipeline System ( ELPS ) is a natural gas pipeline built in 1989 to supply gas from Escravos in the Niger Delta to various consumption utilisation areas.

    It supplies gas to power plants in the South-West and feeds the West African Gas Pipeline System.

    NAN

  • Egbin power plant records 819 days incident-free operation

    Nigeria’s largest power generating plant, Egbin Power Plc, has recorded 819 days of incident-free operation as at August 30, 2017, it was learnt.

    The Nation, during a visit to the plant, observed that as at the period the plant worked without lost time accident while safety audit has been carried out three times with 451 staff and one near miss. On the same date, the plant was generating 599 megawatts (Mw) of electricity. A breakdown of the generation showed that two of the six steam turbines (ST) the plant has, ST1 and ST3 were not producing. STs 2, 4, 5 and 6 were producing 175Mw, 203Mw, 110Mw, and 111Mw respectively.

    The company’s Chairman, Kola Adesina, who during a chat with reporters in Lagos, said safety standards and procedures at Egbin Power Plc have helped the plant to record incident-free operations over the last 827 days.

    Adesina said the power plant operates in line with globally acclaimed standards for Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE) and requires members of staff and stakeholders to abide by its zero tolerance policy on safety infractions.

    “Since we took over the plant in 2013 we have continued to enhance the plant’s HSSE profile through investments in safety equipment and training. For us at Egbin, ensuring safety at all cost is a non-negotiable policy and we are delighted with the progress we have made in this regard and it gives us the impetus to sustain ongoing transformation and preparation for future expansion of the plant.”

    He said Egbin’s safety records had been severally commended by various post-privatisation monitoring team and other regulatory agencies following inspection visits. “At Egbin, every staff is a Safety Ambassador. We demand the same level of commitment from all our partners and stakeholders and remain confident that HSSE issues will always be paramount in our operations.”

    He also noted the importance of collaboration across the sector’s value chain, adding that it would help operators and regulators effectively address the challenges of the power sector.

    “What we need right now is generation, transmission and distribution, working together to achieve the ultimate goal of improved power supply. We have witnessed continuing improvement across the value chain and we need to keep up the momentum and close our ranks where we have gaps to drive better power supply. Issues bordering on un-utilised energy, load shedding and optimised load picking can be better managed by the operators to ensure the system maintains a balance that enhances productivity and sustainability.

    “We should all work as partners in the power sector as the nation is counting on us to make the system work. At Egbin, we remain committed to spearheading intra and inter sectoral collaborative efforts to move the power sector ahead. This will require the support of the government, regulators, operators, local/foreign investors, electricity consumers and civil societies,” he added.

    He pointed out the need for the sector to address and correct the price differential between the actual cost of electricity and current price regimes. “Another important factor that is responsible for the high price of electricity is the lack of conservation. It is imperative for the sector to embark on sustained advocacy and awareness campaigns that will encourage people to embrace conservation and shun energy theft as well as illegal connections,“he said.

    He commended the Ministry of Power, regulators and operators for ongoing deliberations aimed at moving the sector forward while acknowledging government’s ongoing massive investments to ensure that power generated gets to end-users.

    “All hands are on deck to ensure regular power supply to Nigerians and I have no doubt that the power sector will record fast paced improvement in our quest for sustainable power with more investments which can only be driven by the right policies, pricing and personnel,” he added.

  • Egbin expansion: Investors shop for $1.2b

    Owners of Egbin Power Plc are looking for about $1.2 billion to expand the power plant by additional 1,500 megawatts (Mw) by 2020, it was learnt.

    The company’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dallas Peavey, told The Nation on the sidelines of the visit of a delegation of the United States (U.S) congressmen led by Senator Chris Coons to the company that the management has started moves to achieve the expansion of the plant. He said the environmental impact assessment (EIA) and engineering design, among others, had been completed.

    He said the management was exploring all partnerships with the United States government, World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC), Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), among others, to ensure that power was available to Nigeria.

    He said: “On the visit of the congressmen, we are working together with stakeholders and partners looking for a better future, how to do things better and especially Nigeria needs power and we need to make it available.

    “Since we took over Egbin in November 2013, we have improved efficiency more than it was and increased it to installed capacity of 1320Mw. We are working with the government to ensure evacuation of generated power. Currently, we have 700Mw stranded power that Nigerians need. We are working the TCN, U.S, World Bank, IFC and the Sahara Group to get the power out.

    “However, the challenge is that the plant is 35 years old and the cost of replacement of its parts requires a long lead term. This plant was built by Marubeni Consortium, which used Hitachi Company of Japan for the Electric/Mechanical. Therefore, to do the changes, you have to bring the company down here. But we are looking at the U.S. to find some parts to reengineer the system operate and improve it and make it work. We are working with the U.S government and other stakeholders to make it work.”

    On gas supply challenge, the Egbin chief said gas is not an issue today. We have more than sufficient gas supplies to be able to generate power. The issue is evacuation of power and that is why we are working with the TCN, he added.

    On returns on investment, Peavey said: “We have spent over $400 million on the plant and $120 million on repairs only but currently we are not focused on making returns. The strategy was not to make money immediately. The money was spent to develop the nation. It was not invested with expectation to make returns on investment immediately. The Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with government is for 20 years. We still have 16 and half years more.

    “In the last six months, you noticed that the power sector doesn’t have blackout/system collapse as before. This is because we are working better with the distribution companies (DisCos), the transmission and gas companies so that we can generate and they can take it and do what it is needed for so that customers get what they pay for.”

  • Egbin repairs upgrade cost $400m, says MD

    • Begins 1500Mw expansion plan

    The management of Egbin Power Plc has said the owners of the largest Nigerian power plant, Sahara Group, have invested $400 million in the plant since they took over the company in November, 2013 to date.

    Egbin Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer, Dallas Peavey, stated this during his presentation on the activities of the company to a delegation of the United States congressmen led by Senator Chris Coons of Delaware and accompanied by the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Stuart Symington, to the power plant at Ijede, Lagos.

    Peavey said: “At the time of takeover of Egbin Power, the power plant was operating at less than 30 per cent capacity and Unit-06 had not been operational for over 10 years. Despite the extensive regulatory challenges, KERL have successfully moved the plant to original generation levels and operate the assets based upon international standard position, investing substantially, over $400 million, in the plant since take over. The Egbin Power Plant is now operating at over 88 per cent with Unit-06 returned to full original operational service.

    “Prior to the privatization of the plant in November 2013, Egbin averaged generation of below 240 megawatts per hour due to the dismal operational state of its six units. At its lowest point, only two of the six units were partially operational.

    “The Power plant was saddled with an excess of over 1000 employees with an alarming number of aging experienced workforce approaching retirement.  The Administrative Building was in a deplorable state, un-safe and a very bad occupational environment which made it difficult to work in for the employees.”

    He also stated that the management wants to increase the capacity of the plant by 1500mw by 2020. Currently, Egbin’s capacity is 1320Mw, so on completion of the expansion, the total capacity of the plant will be 2820Mw.

    “Everything is now working and fully usable. We have done major changes and overhaul of facilities. We have also employed 107 engineer graduates from universities in Nigeria. We have invested heavily on Egbin. In the next month, we will be building a training facility for Egbin.

    “We have upgraded the Distributed Control System (DCS) to Units 4, 5 and 1 to the latest modern technology available. The remaining DCS unit upgrades are being performed concurrently with the remaining unit overhauls.

    “We have carried out replacements and repairs of major essential parts of the plant such as of re-tubing specific sections of the boilers, replacement of the high pressure heaters and switch gear-breaker system, among others,” he added.

    Fielding question from reporters, Director and Co-founder of Sahara Group, Mr. Tonye Cole, said: “The privatisation that happened in Nigeria is first of its kind in Africa. Everyone knows that when Nigeria succeeds, other African countries will succeed. This is the reason we have put so much efforts so that it does not fail.

    “We have had a lot of discussions with people engaged in power, and the most important thing for the power sector in Nigeria has to do with the policies, advocacy and making sure everything is in place to enhance investment growth.

    “When we took over, nobody was coming from the university to work in the power sector, so we had very aging population of engineers in the power sector and now we have to fill that gap very well. So we have been able to make the business good for the young people to come in and the only way we can do that, is to make this a success. We need to ensure that the power sector in Nigeria does not fail.”

     

  • Egbin threatens shutdown over N110b debt

    Egbin threatens shutdown over N110b debt

    The management of Egbin Power Plc, Nigeria’s largest power plant, has threatened to shut down operation owing to non-payment of N110billion debt. This may throw a huge segment of the population into blackout, The Nation has learnt.

    The plant has 1320megawatts (Mw) capacity.

    Its Managing Director, Mr. Dallas Peavey, yesterday in Lagos lamented that the huge debt has caused serious liquidity problem to the firm coupled with gas supply and transmission challenges. The problems, according to him, have stretched the company to its limit, adding that by next week, the firm may close shop, which will push the country into another round of blackout.

    Peavey told reporters that the plant was being gradually forced to shut down due to debt and adverse effect of grid instability that endangers its turbines. He identified inadequate gas supply to generate at optimal capacity as another challenge.

    According to him, the planned shutdown of the plant may cause Nigeria’s electricity supply, which recently witnessed improvement to get worse in the coming weeks.

    Peavey said: “Egbin power plant is one of the biggest single power generating stations in Africa with an installed capacity of 1320 Mw consisting of six units of 220Mw each.

    “Following the conclusion of the government’s privatisation exercise in November 2013, the consortium formed by the partnership between New Electricity Distribution Company and the Korean Electric Power Corporation (NEDC/KEPCO) acquired Egbin Power.” He added that the effect of the debt has become worse for the company.

    He said: “We owe the gas companies and have others like our technical partners (KEPCO) to pay, and importantly our lenders, the banks. We have made massive investments in making the plant available to generate electricity sustainably but unfortunately, we can’t break even due to the gross inefficiency in the value chain.

    “The government guarantees to pay us for every megawatt we generate and sell to NBET but they have not done that.  We just got paid for the month of December 2016, three months later and we were only paid a paltry 28 per cent out of the total 100 per cent of the verified and accepted invoice for that month.”

  • Egbin unveils maiden sustainability report

    Egbin Power PLC has unveiled its maiden sustainability report for the power generating company to boost access to affordable, reliable and sustained energy in the country.

    Entitled ‘Building a sustainable future,’ the report is the first of its kind in Nigeria’s power sector, it highlights Egbin’s status since its privatisation in 2013; its values and governance model; alignment of the company’s strategy with its commitment to a sustainable global economy; socio-economic and environmental impact of its activities and the roadmap for future plans.

    According to a statement by the spokesman of Sahara Group, owner of Egbin, Mr. Bethel Obioma, Egbin’s Chairman, Mr. Kola Adesina, in the report said: “We are delighted to unveil Egbin’s maiden sustainability report as it reinforces our resolve to ensure sustainable growth for the company having achieved major milestones since the new management took over on November 1, 2013. Egbin remains committed to working with all stakeholders as we seek to establish Egbin as a foremost industrial hub for economic growth and development.”

    Sahara Group, working through a special purpose vehicle in collaboration with Korea Electric Corporation (KEPCO), acquired majority shareholding to complete Egbin’s privatisation in 2013. Following its privatisation, generation capacity in Egbin grew from an average of 400megawatts (Mw) to hit 1100Mw in 2015 for the first time since its inception; with the company already planning to double the plant’s capacity by 2020.

    Adesina noted that whilst the report covers the period from January 1 to December 31, 2015, references are made to activities from the point of takeover of the plant in 2013. “It’s a celebration of our success and recognition of areas where we could have performed better. In addition to reiterating our continuing quest for sustained outstanding performance, it also demonstrates our commitment to transparency and best practice for the benefit of all our stakeholders.”

    Egbin’s sustainability report was developed using the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework and provides a metric for measuring the company’s financial and non-financial performance. The report employs the GRI G4 “In Accordance” Option of the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines and the supplement dedicated to the Electric Utilities sector issued in 2013.

    The report includes disclosures on key indicators in areas material to Egbin’s stakeholders including the level and capacity of energy generation, economic performance, workforce diversity, safety report, conservation and biodiversity management as well as strategies targeted at improving performance in these areas.

    Adesina said the management of Egbin is hopeful that sustainability reporting in the power sector would help ensure that the interests of all stakeholders are taken into account across all points of the sector’s value chain.

    “We intend to make this an annual publication and hope it will inspire other operators in the sector to follow suit. We believe Egbin has once again raised the performance bar in the sector as we work towards using the principles of sustainability to achieve our goal of optimising our generation capacity through quality human capital, continuing investments, consideration for socio-economic and environmental issues and strategic alliances that will open new frontiers for Egbin across Africa,” he said.

    The intended audiences for the report include Egbin’s shareholders, customers, employees, suppliers and other third party business partners, government and regulatory organisations, local and foreign institutional investors, international agencies and the general public. These stakeholders are directly and indirectly impacted by the activities of the organisation.

    The report will be disseminated through hard copy and online versions, which will be hosted on Egbin Power’s website (www.egbin-power.com) and Sahara Group’s website (www.sahara-group.com), among other online portals.

  • Egbin to invest in Katsina, others 

    Egbin Power Company is planning to explore opportunities in renewable energy sources in Katsina, Adamawa, Borno  and other states in the Northeastern and Northcentral parts of the country.

    It’s Chairman, Mr Kola Adesina, who made this known during a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, said the decision to invest in renewable energy in those states was borne out of the desire to help  improve electricity generation and distribution capacity in the country.

    He said: ‘’We would be building renewable energy plants in Adamawa, Katsina, Borno and other states, in line with our goals to improve power supply in the country. The renewable energy initiative would help in providing electricity to some sections of the populace that do not have access to grid electricity transmission. Our vision is to electrify Nigeria, and we have been nominated on the Committee that is charged with the responsibility of Lightening Up Lagos.”

    He explained that infrastructure has been a major problem in the sector, arguing that failure of the operators to get the requited equipment for power generation and distribution is affecting growth of the industry.

    Adesina said his firm would establish power industrial park, through which stakeholders in the value chain would be getting materials needed for production.

    According to him, the industrial park would be similar to the parks, which the Federal Government, has approved for the oil and gas sector.

    ‘’Our plan is to build industrial power for the electricity sector, as soon as we overcome our challenges. The park would help in fast-tracking the growth of the sector, by increasing the electricity generation and distribution output” he added.

    He said power is one of the three critical sectors that should be developed to move the economic forward, urging the Federal Government to help grow the industry.

    Adesina explained that the sector, especially the operators are grappling with huge debts, arguing that the issue has not allowed them to produce the desired growth.

    He appealed to the government to help Egbin Power Company, recover debts in the course of running its plant.

    The foreign exchange market, he said, is unfavourable, in view of the fact that the value of the naira has fallen drastically.

    He noted that, naira which was exchanged for N159 to a dollar few years ago, when investors were buying the assets of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), now sell for N197 per dollar at the official market.

    This, he said, made operators to spend more on importation of raw materials, with its undesirable consequences on the industry.

    this in line with the Federal Government’s decision to boost power supply via generating 33,000 gigawatts (Gwh) of electricity through renewable energy sources,

    It would be recalled that the Federal Government adopted the Renewable Energy Target(RET) scheme few years. The scheme, adopted from Australia, was to assist Nigeria to optimally maximise its renewable energy sources. The government had broken the scheme into two namely the Small-scale Renewable Energy Target and the Large-scale Renewable Energy Target in order to allow businesses and individuals invest in the off-grid transmission in order to increase power supply in the country.