The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Electric

  • Ikeja Electric unveils new tariff

    Ikeja Electric has said the implementation of its new tariff structure, which started on February 1, will boost service delivery.

    Its Head of Commercial, Mrs. Folake Soetan, said the cost-reflective tariff would boost the capacity of distribution firms, strengthen the power value chain and improve the quality of service to customers across the nation.

    She said the tariff would further drive Ikeja Electric’s investments and plans to ensure sustained excellent service delivery to all customers within its network.

    “At Ikeja Electric, the new tariff represents another opportunity for us to demonstrate our commitment to transparent, equitable and reliable power distribution to our esteemed customers. We are passionate about service excellence and will continue to work closely with our customers to achieve our ultimate goal which is: let there be light for all Ikeja Electric customers,” she said.

    The new payment structure will be implemented across five major categories including residential, commercial, industrial, special and street lights. Soetan said the company would engage all classes of customers to explain the implication of the new tariff on billing going forward as well as reinforce how customers can take advantage of Ikeja Electric’s various payment channels for convenient, reliable and secure bill settlement.

    “Integrity, professionalism and transparency are some of the values that drive our operations at Ikeja Electric. We will embark on multi-stakeholder engagements that will address all enquiries regarding the new tariff to ensure full understanding by our customers. Our customers can rest assured that the process will be transparent,” she added.

    She noted that in addition to the engagements, Ikeja Electric would attend to customer queries on the new tariff via its contact centre helplines, walk-in customer care centers (IE Serve), dedicated email service, Facebook, Twitter and the company’s corporate website.

    She said: “Ikeja Electric is passionate about powering homes, communities, lives and businesses across its network. We are confident that the new tariff as well as our ongoing metering, customer enumeration and technical audit projects will enhance the quality of our service. We appeal for the support of our customers by way of prompt bill payment and exposure of energy thieves and vandals that attack our equipment and installations. This will make more power available to bonafide Ikeja Electric customers”

  • Ikeja Electric rolls out programmes for efficient service delivery

    Ikeja Electric rolls out programmes for efficient service delivery

    The Ikeja Electric has begun the roll out of two vital programmes – Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI) and Customer Enumeration, Technical Audit and Asset Mapping (CETAAM), aimed at ensuring that customers are metered, and get quality service.

    The Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI) targets the metering of all customers with smart meters and the Company targets installation of 300,000 meters in the next three years.

    Chief Executive officer, Ikeja Electric, Mr. Abiodun Ajifowobaje said the roll out of the smart meters, which started last month, represents a remarkable step in the company’s quest for redefining service delivery in the sector. This development resonates with our new spirit, new drive and new energy identity, as we strive to create value for our customers, he added

    Ajifowobaje told reporters in Lagos that the meter roll out started in September with the installation of 6000 meters after the successful completion of the pilot scheme of the advanced meter installation phase which began in June this year. The Ikeja Electric is set to commence with the second phase of the project; the mass roll out of the meters. These meters are designed to enhance efficient energy usage and transparent billing in real time, he added

    According to him, the company aims to install 10,000 meters this month, and will be able to attain the peak monthly installation of 15,000 meters by December. He said the scope of the metering project is to deploy approximately 300,000 electric meters for Ikeja Electric’s residential, commercial and industrial customers between September 2015 and December 2016 in mapped out areas in all the Business Units of the Company.

    Ajifowobaje noted that Ikeja Electric’s Advanced Meter Infrastructure (AMI) is a state-of-the-art technology that enables utilities to read, disconnect and connect meters remotely and to detect individual customer outages quickly using a wireless communications network. The metering project will replace today’s meters with “next generation” electronic meter technology that improves customer service and enables customers to proactively manage their energy use and save money by giving them the power to control how much electricity they use against how much electricity they pay for.

    According to the Ikeja Electric chief, the scope of the metering project is to deploy approximately 300,000 electric meters for Ikeja Electric’s residential, commercial and industrial customers between September 2015 and December 2016 with installation of about 12,000 meters monthly in already mapped out areas in all the Business Units of the Company. With the metering project, the issue of estimation will be totally eradicated through improved billing. The customers will also be able to track the usage of electricity and eliminate energy wastage, he said.

    To also improve quality of service, Ikeja Electric has started Customer Enumeration, Technical Audit and Asset Mapping (CETAAM) project across its network .The project is slated to run from October 2015 to April, 2016.

    The project will involve mapping the location of each of the electrical network entities from the 132KV/33KV and 11KV systems to the distribution transformers and poles.  Ajifowobaje said: “It is going to be a thorough project that will ensure a solid foundation for efficient, equitable and transparent power supply to the esteemed customers of Ikeja Electric.

  • BMW builds street lights with electric car-charging sockets

    BMW builds street lights with electric car-charging sockets

    BMW has developed street lights equipped with sockets to charge electric cars, it said on Friday, and will run a pilot project in Munich next year that uses existing local authority lighting networks.

    BMW said it has made two prototype “Light and Charge” street lights which combine efficient Light Emitting Diodes (LED) with the company’s ChargeNow recharging stations for electric cars.

    “Seamless charging infrastructure is essential if we want to see more electric vehicles on the road in our cities in the future,” Peter Schwarzenbauer, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, said.

    The Munich pilot will install the first charging lights, which can be grafted straight onto the existing local authority street lighting infrastructure, BMW said.

    These additional charging stations can be used by as many drivers as possible, regardless of vehicle model and electricity provider, BMW said.

    Two street lights are already installed in front of the BMW headquarters. Drivers will be able to pay to charge their cars via a mobile phone app.

    BMW has developed some of the most advanced electric cars, including the i3 city vehicle and i8 hybrid. But electric cars as a product category have struggled to gain widespread popularity due to their limited operating range, the scarcity of charging stations and the time it takes to recharge them.

    BMW and other car makers are increasingly expanding their know-how of electric cars and related technology that could broaden their appeal.

    In addition to developing street lighting, BMW has already invested into software and applications that help drivers of electric cars find a parking space and charging stations, including investments into Justpark.com and the SLAM charging network.

    BMW executives recently met with rival Tesla Motors to discuss the availability of electric vehicle charging stations.

    In September, Daimler said it had bought mytaxi and RideScout, two smartphone applications that will help the maker of Mercedes-Benz limousines provide services to people who do not own cars.

  • Will electric cars be solar powered soon?

    Will electric cars be solar powered soon?

    Ford will make a debut that taps into solar charging this week at the Consumer Electronics Show, according to CNN Money. The innovation was made possible thanks to a roof covered with solar cells provided by SunPower. For investors in the solar and electric vehicle spaces, it is well known that the connection between the two macro developments is basically inseparable – no wonder Tesla Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Elon Musk is also the CEO of SolarCity. But such an early move to solar-powered cars is somewhat of a surprise.

    The nice thing about a battery is that it is simply a way to store energy. How exactly the energy in the battery is created can vary; Sunshine, of course, would be the most sensible source. Sunshine has greater potential than any other source for energy – approximately 23,000 TWy annually, actually. This potentially dwarfs the second-largest source of energy, coal, at 900 TWy in total reserves. Effectively tapping into solar power, therefore, could potentially be a goldmine for the advent of electric cars.Though the concept is untested in the market, Ford sold approximately 85,000 hybrids and electric vehicles in 2013 – that is a meaningful potential addressable market for SunPower, who just reported only $2.5 billion in revenue in the trailing 12 months. The idea of solar-powered vehicles has also appeared to encourage investors in SolarCity; shares shot up 6 per cent last week.

    Tapping into solar power could potentially be a goldmine for the advent of electric cars. Though Ford’s move to roofs covered in solar cells is impressive, the benefits are currently very few.

    Ford says the solar-charging roof will be built into a version of the C-Max Energi plug-in car that is already sold by the company. Dubbed the C-Max Solar Energi, it will only go about 21 miles on an electric charge – just like the C-Max Energi. The vehicle roof only provides an eight-kilowatt incremental charge throughout the day. The benefits from solar power, therefore, aren’t enough for the model to ditch the gasoline tank.

    If solar technology continues to improve, Tesla could consider a similar move at some point in the future. Musk’s two publicly traded companies are already working together, in fact. On Dec. 4, SolarCity announced a partnership with Tesla to use the electric-car manufacturer’s batteries as a “smart energy storage system.” The battery technology combined with solar power provides two major benefits: It reduces energy costs by using stored electricity at peak demand, and it provides backup power during grid outages.

    Solar power may only provide marginal benefits for the world today, but the sun’s enormous potential should not be ignored. Ford’s vote of confidence in both solar power and electric cars certainly isn’t a reason to go out and buy every electric car and solar stock. But it is important enough news to reevaluate thoughts on the potential of the energy source and its implications on relevant industries.