The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Electricity

  • Abia community bars electricity workers from entering premises

    Abia community bars electricity workers from entering premises

    The people of Umuobasiukwu Alayi Autonomous Community in Aba North Local Government Area of Abia State on Wednesday barred staff of Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), Alaoji Power Station from entering into their company.

     The Nation gathered that the community members who had arrived the premises of the power plant at about 2am used palm front and erected a canopy in front of the main gate leading into the establishment.

     Sources at the plant said that all efforts by the staff of the establishment to persuade the women and other members of the community to rescind their actions proved abortive as they insisted that their needs must be met.

     No official of the NDPHC could speak to our reporter as a combined team of Police and Soldiers at the security checkpoint in front of the power plant gate couldn’t allow our reporter speak to the women or disclose the whereabouts of the officials of the plant.

     An anonymous source at the facility told our reporter that because of the inability of their colleagues on morning duty to gain entrance into the facility, those of them on night duty were asked to stay back to continue working.

     Another source in the community who pleaded to speak anonymous because of his safety told The Nation  that they decided to protest what he described as marginalization from the community.

     “How can a company sited in our community be generating electricity and yet, the immediate community doesn’t have power? Look at our roads. The road that you rode into the community has been like that after President Goodluck Jonathan commissioned the project towards the end of his regime, if you can remember.

     “They took our lands, built this project but I can tell you that they are short-changing us, in terms of employment. As we speak, members of the local vigilante are also protesting inside the premises because the contractor that hired their services is owing them for about six months.

     “In the past, if we protest, they will use the police and army to scare us away from the facility. The women have been there since morning. I am sure that you saw the pot of corn which they cooked and ate as their breakfast. Let them point to one thing that they have done in this community since the establishment of that power plant which is among the 10 NIPP (Nigerian National Integrated Power Project). We are not going to back out.

     “Go to Rivers State, AFAM VI, they supply electricity to their host community free of charge. It is the same thing in Sapele, Calabar and elsewhere. Why is our own case different?

     “The Chief Operating Officer of the plant came and addressed the protesters, but his explanations weren’t satisfactory to us. We will keep mounting pressure and the picketing on them will continue until the management of the plant fulfills their bargain of performing their corporate social responsibilities and meet other of our demands,” the source stated.

     Nigerian National Integrated Power Project was established in 2004 to address the issue of insufficient power generation and excessive gas flaring from oil exploration in the Niger delta region.

  • Enugu Disco and Aba electricity consumers

    SIR: One of the essences of public corporation is to provide essential services to the public at a subsidized rate. However, if the underlying motive of privatizing the Power Holdings Company of Nigeria (PHCN), was to break monopoly, that motive is good as useless. For example, in Aba where the multi-billion Geometric Power Project could have provided a better and strong alternative, the project was highly sabotaged in a manner which strongly is not devoid of politics. Were Geometric allowed to come on stream, residents of Aba, the Small and Medium Enterprises-hub would have been rescued from the terrible claws of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, EEDC, which holds sway in the South-east.

    The activities of EEDC in Aba are both despicable and exploitative. It is highly inimical to commercial and artisanship spirits of the town. The attitude of the field workers of the establishment- who are arguably permanent staff- is irritating. They are impunity epitomized: disconnecting consumers at will even when there are clear evidences of payment of bills; failure to issue disconnection notices; indiscriminate re-connection charges without issuance of receipts as evidence of payment. These field workers are lords unto themselves and you dare not question their authority.

    The billing system is nothing to write home about. They implement what is called “estimated or crazing billing system” and the irony is that consumers may go some months without electricity but are duty-bound to pay bills. It is a common knowledge that the payment for products is to derive utility, which is the satisfaction derived from consuming a product. For EEDC, “utility” is a “strange concept”.

    The rural communities are not spared in this madness. They are under what is called “the bulk billing system” which runs upwards of N600, 000 .00 per month. More worrisome is the fact that these rural communities are peopled by predominantly peasant farmers whose means of livelihood are inadequate to sustain them. The situation has forced communities and individuals to drag EEDC to court. But this option is as well frustrating because of the delay associated with our judicial system. Some communities that do not consider legal actions as viable options have resorted to self- help by physically manhandling EEDC staff.

    EEDC is urged to rejig their activities in Aba as not to constitute a clog in the wheel of progress of the city as an SME hub of the nation.

     

    • Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu,

    Aba, Abia State.

  • Lagos eyes 3000Mw electricity

    Lagos eyes 3000Mw electricity

    Lagos State Government said it plans to build about 3000megawatts (Mw) of electricity power plant that would boost the state’s economy.

    The State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode who spoke during the Oil and Gas Trainers’ Association of Nigeria (OGTAN) 2017 Inauguration of its National Executive Council members in Lagos, said the government is committed to providing a conducive environment for businesses to flourish.

    Represented by the State Commissioner for Energy, Olawole Olumore, he said the state government was focusing on the development of the technology that would sustain the economy of the state and sustain the oil and gas industry within and across the federation. He urged  the association to show commitment in helping to sustain the state’s economy to raise the bar of oil and gas operation.

    “We have seen that you are helping the Nigerian economy and I know very quickly that you will be helping the Lagos State economy in the oil and gas operations.

    “As you are all aware, Lagos State is the newest oil and gas producing state in Nigeria following the discovery of oil in the offshore Lagos, the first oil plant outside the Niger Delta region. The discovery of this hydrocarbon should translate to oil and gas investment in the state and to contribute to the gross domestic product (GDP) of the state as well as diversify its revenue,” Ambode said.

    He urged the association to be dedicated to human capital development, to avoid unintended consequences towards the oil and gas activities as was witnessed in the Niger Delta

  • Fed Govt to provide 15m jobs, 10 gigawatt of electricity

    Fed Govt to provide 15m jobs, 10 gigawatt of electricity

    The Federal Government has said it will provide at least 15 million jobs for Nigerians by the year 2020 as captured in the recently launched Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).
    The Minister of Budget and National Planning, Sen. Udoma Udo Udoma, gave the assurance at a news conference on ERGP yesterday in Abuja.
    Udoma said the implementation of the plan would deliver some key outcomes including generation of at least 10 gigawatt of electricity by 2020.
    “We want to bring down the rate of unemployment by creating over 15 million direct jobs by 2020 in agriculture, manufacturing, construction, services and particularly among the youth.
    “We want the manufacturing sector to grow at average of 8.5 per cent, peaking 10.6 per cent by 2020.
    “We want agriculture to also grow by 6.9 per cent over the Plan period; we want self-sufficiency in rice and wheat in 2018 and 2020 at the end of the plan period.
    “We want 60 per cent reduction in imports of refined petroleum products by 2018 and to become a net exporter of refined crude by 2020.
    “We expect an average of 4.6 per cent average real GDP (Gross Domestic Growth) growth rate over the Plan period with 7 per cent by 2020; we want to achieve single digit inflation rate by 2020.
    “We want to increase crude oil output from 2.2 million barrel per day (mbpd) to 2.5 mbpd by 2020.
    “We want to achieve at 10 gigawatt of operational electricity capacity by 2020.’’
    Udoma said the ERGP evolved from the Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) which government had been implementing since 2016.
    “Already, following the implementation of the SIP, the economy has shown signs of early recovery in the 4th quarter of 2016 as indicated in the recent report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
    “We need to build on that momentum. This Plan, which succeeds the SIP, sets out Government’s economic programmes and strategic interventions over the next four years (2017-2020).
    “When implemented, it will put Nigeria back on the path of diversified, inclusive, sustained growth. This is therefore, our blueprint for economic recovery and growth.’’
    Udoma said the plan would tackle the fundamental problems that held back the progress of the country in the past.
    He said the future prosperity rests upon collective support towards effective implementation of the Plan over the next four years.
    The ERGP’s projected that Nigeria will make significant progress to achieve structural economic change with a more diversified and inclusive economy in five key areas by 2020.
    Udoma said the ERGP is inclusive as the Federal Government will partner with state governments in its implementation.
    He said that the ERGP took into considering the role of states, constituencies and local government as a federation with 36 states and 774 local government areas.
    “We consulted with the states and they have a major role to play, 50 per cent of this economy is at the state level and many of the things we want to do, for instance agriculture is at the state level.
    “The ease of doing business, most of the permits are given at the state level so we are working very closely with the state governments and what they will be doing is based on this plan.
    “They will go down to each state and develop their own plans which will be aligned with this plan.
    “Some of them already have their plan, so they just need to adjust it a bit so that it is seamless.
    “So this plan, the plans of the states will be working collaboratively and closely together,’’ he said.
    Udoma said that the Chairman of the Governors Forum had assured of the states’ commitment and pledged to partner with the Federal Government on the implementation.
    “So every time we meet at the National Economic Council with the governors, we discuss the plan and we work together to try to see how we can make sure that there is extensive collaboration between the states and the Federal Government.
    “So, the states are part of this plan and they are very important part of the plan,’’ he said.
    On the passage of 2017 budget, he said that the ministry was working closely with the National Assembly to ensure its early passage.
    “As regards transportation, whatever needs to be done to provide improved transportation, whether marine, the ports, the rail, roads is all part of our objective, we want massive improvement in transportation.’’
    Udoma said the plan provided incentives for the private sector to invest in key sectors.
    “What drive the private sector are incentives and profit, so whatever you structure, you must show people a part to make some money from it. Once you show people a part, they will invest.
    “So our part as government is where there are constrains, we tackle them, where there are bottle necks we remove them and we want to sit down with the private sector and show them that there are opportunities in this economy.’’
    He said the plan would be an opportunity for the private sector to invest in the economy.

  • Century Power to boost electricity by 1,500Mw in 2018

    Century Power Limited, a subsidiary of the Obijackson Group, owners of Nestoil Limited, will boost electricity generating capacity by 1,500 megawatts (Mw) on completion of its proposed power plant in Okija, Anambra State.

    The power station, known as Century Power Generation Plant, will be built in three phases. The first phase will  have a generation capacity of 495Mw and is expected to be completed in 2020.

    Its Managing Director, Dr. Chukwueloka Umeh, said this at panel session at the MIT Energy Conference in the United States.

    He noted that the challenges facing the power sector in the country were being addressed by the private sector.

    He said: “There are challenges facing each facet of the power value chain in the country, starting from gas generation all the way to electricity distribution. To fix these issues, significant investment is needed. A large part of this investment will come from local and foreign investors but the government must create favourable conditions in all these sub-sectors to ensure influx of these desperately needed investments. It cannot be business as usual.”

    “Nigerians are entrepreneurs but we must have the right infrastructure to unlock the potential that we have been speaking about for decades. It is easy to see that we export timber but import toothpicks simply because we do not have a steady and reliable supply of electricity to allow small and medium enterprises (SMEs) manufacture goods locally at competitive prices, thereby creating jobs for the growing unemployed population. The population worries about tariff increases but do not realise they actually pay much higher tariffs by generating their own power with petrol or diesel powered generators.”

    On tapping renewable energy sources, he said what Nigeria still needs were large base-load plants with the capacity to generate from 100Mw and above. Renewables are essential to help preserve the environment and sources such as hydro are definitely good to have in the power mix. However, available gas turbine technologies come with higher efficiencies, which make them a sustainable source of power without negatively impacting the environment, he said.

    Gas-fired gas turbine plants operating in open cycle or combined cycle mode are the best option for Nigeria to quickly boost its base-load power output to a reasonable number because they can be developed, built and commissioned in three tosix years, he added.

  • Electricity company apologises for prolonged power outage in Lagos

    The management of the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) on Sunday apologised to consumers in Ajah, Lagos and environs over the protracted power outage in the communities.

    Mr Godwin Idemudia, General Manager, Corporate Communications of the company, said in Lagos that the outage being experienced by Ajah, Ogombo, Ajiwe and some neighbouring communities was due to a faulty equipment.

    Idemudia, however, said that repair work to resolve the issue was ongoing by the technical crew of EKEDC and Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

    He assured the consumers that electricity supply would be restored on Monday.

    “We wish to apologise to all our customers in the Ajah area and its environs over the recent long period of outage being experienced.

    “This outage has been due to faulty equipment which is being worked on by EKEDC and TCN. Normal supply should be back by Monday, March 20.

    “Kindly bear with us as we find lasting solution to this.

    “EKEDC highly regrets any inconveniences caused by this outage,” Idemudia said in a statement. (NAN)

  • Ikale citizens urge Akeredolu to give them electricity

    Ikale citizens urge Akeredolu to give them electricity

    Indigenes of Ikale, Ondo State, resident in Lagos, have urged Governor Olurotimi Akeredolu to provide electricity supply and other infrastructure in Ikale land.

    A prominent son of the soil, General OluBajowa (rtd), spoke yesterday ahead of the Ikale Night slated for today in Ikorodu, Lagos.

    According to him, Ikale land had been in darkness for over five years. He urged Akeredolu to put smiles on the faces of indigenes and residents by giving them electricity and other social amenities.

    Another prominent son, Asiwaju Benson Akindeju, said Ikale indigenes in Lagos would gather today to mark Ikale Night, to promote their culture and celebrate people who have contributed to the development of Ikale land.

    He said: “We will celebrate our people, those who have contributed to the development of our community. Our cultural values will be on display and we shall discuss the way forward.

    “The Laragusin of Iyansan Kingdom, Oba Z.A. Oyewunmi; Michael Akinfolarin; Dr. Taiwo Ojapinwa and Ayodele Arogbo will be honoured. Prince Jimmy Odimayo will be honoured as Ikale Man of the Year.

    “Col. Festus Olabode Meghoma (rtd) will chair the occasion while Senator Yele Omogunwa will be the special guest of honour.”

    The event will hold at Big Soul Hotel and Garden, Agbede, Ikorodu,” he added.

  • Electricity: Challenges and prospects

    With a population surpassing 170 million, Nigeria targets an ambitious 20,000MW of electricity generation by the year 2020 and to rank among the top 20 economies in the world. Nigeria’s current available generation capacity, estimated at approximately 6,000 MW, is inadequate to meet the unsuppressed demand estimated at approximately 15,000 MW.  According to World Bank Report, only about 55% of the population currently have access to electricity; and for that segment of the population, only 30% of its needs are currently met. Meeting the generation targets set for 2020 requires substantial private-sector investment in the supply chain, including gas to power infrastructure, generation, transmission and distribution networks. Most of these are now private-sector-operated (except the transmission system).

    Purpose of Privatisation

    The purpose of the privatisation was to ensure increased electricity supply in the country, through enabling and preservation of efficient industry and market structures, while also ensuring the optimal utilisation of resources for the provision of electricity services. The reform also sought the maximisation of access to electricity services, by promoting and facilitating consumer connections to distribution systems in both rural and urban areas.

    The reform, however, provided that the prices charged by licensees are fair to consumers and are sufficient to allow the licensees to finance their activities and to allow for reasonable earnings for efficient operation. The reform also made adequate considerations for safety of lives and equipment as well as protection of consumer rights.

    Concept of Electricity Pricing in Nigeria

    The privatization programme was premise on the provision of a cost reflective tariff – as relates to every business endeavour, having the right pricing is an essential requirement for success. Balancing between a cost reflective tariff and an affordable tariff is one of the biggest challenges facing the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).

    Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO) is the methodology used to set wholesale and retail prices in the NESI. It is a unified way to determine total industry revenue requirement in a building block approach; total cost associated with generation – total cost associated with transmission – total cost associated with distribution as well as regulatory charges.

    Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), being the regulator for the industry has the mandate to approve tariffs. In an effort to make electricity tariffs more affordable, NERC adopted sculpting of the tariff such that Discos are required to under-recover now (by charging less than the cost reflective tariff) and are allowed to recover in the future. This model, while bringing temporary ease on the retail tariff, comes with attendant challenge of how to manage the huge shortfall resulting from the sculpted tariff.

    The sculpted average tariff for Kaduna Electric in 2016 was N30/KWH while the actual cost reflective tariff was N48/KWH. This was approved based on economic indicators (inflation, exchange rate, gas prices) prevalent in 2015 and the resulting shortfall from the sculpted tariff in 2016 amounts to more than N25 Billion.

    The MYTO model also requires bi-annual review of these economic variables which has not been done since January 2016. By the time the exchange rate variable is adjusted in the model, the average cost reflective tariff for Kaduna Electric will be around N74/KWH.

    Cost-Reflectivity vs. Affordability

    The crucial role energy plays in the development of the economy cannot be over emphasised. Industries in this part of the country can only thrive with reliable and affordable access to electricity. While this is much desired by all, the current structure does not fully support the realisation of this objective.

    Charging a cost reflective tariff of more than N70/KWH at this period of economic recession is not only irrational but detrimental to the growth of the economy. Therefore, Kaduna Electric fully supports a fair and affordable tariff that will support growth and development within our franchise states. It is however important to note that as privately run company, decisions are guided based on its business case that does not jeopardise the interest of all major stakeholders.

    The government has the overall mandate and authority to steer the course of economic direction in this country and she has a critical role to play in ensuring that this balance is achieved.

    The Role of Government

    Government interventions are necessary to moderate prices and make electricity more reliable and accessible. Government intervention can come through a combination of all or some of the following; by subsidizing the price of gas to thermal power plants, bearing the burden of exchange rate shock on the retail tariff, taking up responsibility of tariff shock due to low generation capacity as a result of security issues, support the Gencos and Discos to access cheap finance through international, regional or local developmental initiatives among others.

    Conclusion

    A clear link has been established between electricity consumption and economic growth. With an annual population growth rate of around 3% and an unemployment rate of nearly 15%, Nigeria is in pressing need of boosting its productive activities to curb crime and reduce poverty levels.

    Manufacturing and other SMEs are the key drivers of economic growth, which is mainly challenged by reliable and affordable electricity supply.

    For the reform in the electricity sector to be achieved, all stakeholders – Discos, Gencos, Government, all categories of consumers – must holistically work, and in some cases make difficult sacrifice towards the success of the industry.

    As a Disco, we are committed to improving the quality and reliability of electricity supply within our franchise states. Significant investments have already been made in acquisition, studies, foundational ICT systems, working tools, metering, safety systems, replacement of existing systems, expansion of grid, maintenance of existing systems, working towards providing alternative payment channels through web, POS, ATMs, mobile etc. Further investments is being put in place to close the metering gap, have a robust Customer Relationship Management Systems, advanced Distribution or Operations Management Systems, as well as new infrastructure and grid expansion.

    Our customers across all categories – Industrial, Commercial, MDAs and residential – have a responsibility to behave ethically and pay their electricity bills regularly and timely to enable us meet our market obligation and serve our customers well.

    The government even has a bigger role to play in ensuring stability of the industry. The liquidity challenge currently faced must be addressed and issues currently affect the industry that are macroeconomic in nature such as FX risk, security challenge affecting generation capacity, impact of inflation must be owned and addressed by government to make electricity supply more affordable and reliable.

    The synergy amongst these different stakeholders is necessary for electricity sector to become the catalyst of economic growth in Nigeria.

     

    • Yusuf Hamisu Abubakar, OON, is Chairman, Kaduna Electricity Distribution Plc

  • Electricity firm seeks public support against vandalism

    The Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) has urged members of the public to help in containing the growing activities of vandals affecting steady power supply in the zone.

    The Senior Corporate Communication Officer of the company, Mr Kingsley Nkemneme, made the call Friday in Yola in an interview with newsmen.

    Nkemneme said that within the past two months no fewer than 10 transformers were vandalised.

    “Our properties worth millions of naira were vandalised by insurgents, which we are trying to replace only to be faced with this raising problem of vandals.”

    Nkemneme lauded the effort of Mijili community in Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa who assisted in arresting a vandal, and urged other communities to emulate them.

    “We want to urge the public to be active participants in helping us to serve them better.

    “Whoever they saw around our facility who claimed to be our staff must tender genuine ID card of YEDC.

    “The public need to know that while we suffer economic losses due to activities of vandals, which is pure economic sabotage, they (public) experience hardship due to lack of power supply caused by the vandals,” he said.

    On shortage of pre-paid metres, Nkemneme assured that the company was set to acquire 130,000 metres under its first phase of metering for the year.

    He also said that the company had recently installed 240 single phase high voltage transformers to boost power supply in the zone.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the YEDC is covering Adamawa, Borno, Yobe and Taraba states

  • Police confirm electrocution of Engineer

    The police in Enugu on Saturday confirmed the electrocution of a 40-year-old Electrical Engineer, Enyinnaya Ukpabi, in Amenu Edem-Ani community of Nsukka Local Government Area.

    Spokesman of Enugu State Police Command, Mr Ebere Amaraizu, said in a statement that the incident occurred on Feb. 23.

    “It was gathered that the deceased, a retired electricity officer, was said to be clearing fault from a public power supply line.

    “In the course of the clearing of the fault, there was a sudden trip-off on the line, leading to his electrocution.

    “He was promptly rushed by sympathisers to a private hospital, where he was later confirmed dead,’’ Amaraizu said.

    He stated that the body of the deceased had been deposited at the hospital mortuary and that the police had begun investigation into the matter.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that similar incidence occurred on Oct. 20, 2016 when a staff of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) attached to the university town, was electrocuted.

    The incidence happened when the staff was trying to relocate a high tension live wire to pave way for an on-going road construction in the area. (NAN)