The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Electricity

  • Fresh hope for electricity in Aba

    Fresh hope for electricity in Aba

    After some false starts amid residents’ groans, there is some light at the end of the tunnel, as Abia State Governor Okezie Ikpeazu launches another bid for 24-hour power supply in Aba, SUNNY NWANKWO reports

    The paradox of Aba, Abia State’s commercial hub, is gripping. It hosts arguably the most creative artisans in the Southeast, if not the entire country. Aba’s markets are not just patronised by the locals and others from nearby states; some clientele  also come from various countries. Yet, the city parades a horrible network of roads. Electricity in Aba is just as woeful.

    Former President Goodluck Jonathan, in the twilight of his administration, visited the city to inaugurate the phase I of the 504 Alaorji Power Plant Turbine Station under the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) off the Aba-Port Harcourt Expressway. That plant has yet to put Aba residents out of their power nightmare.

    There is also the Geometric Power Transmission Line located at Osisioma Local Government Area, which Jonathan inspected after launching the Alaorji project. The transmission line site, a short distance from the heart of the commercial city, is one of the independent power stations in the country and the only one privately owned in the southeast. It was built by a former Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji.

    The professor and Aba residents thought it would solve their electricity problems. It has not.

    The ex-President seemed aware of the political and bureaucratic bottlenecks that had hindered the project, which had reached 95 percent completion, and promised to bring to a roundtable all the stakeholders to resolve the problems.

    Dr Jonathan also lamented the inability of the independent power plant to distribute the electricity it generated to consumers in the city, adding that it was not in the interest of the state or that of the federal governments.

    Jonathan described Aba as the economic hub of Abia State and the country, expressing optimism that the trade and economic activities would  be boosted if the stakeholders (EEDC and Geometrics) in the power sector would sheathe their swords.

    He said, “Power is key to development and without power our small- and medium-scale businesses cannot survive and that is why this government has decided to set up Nigeria Development Bank to support small businesses because if they are allowed to provide their own power, their income will not be enough for them to survive.”

    The electricity profile is still woeful despite Dr Jonathan’s assurances. Geometric power plant is yet to take off, leaving Aba industrialists in the lurch,with everyone including factory owners and residents alike at the mercy of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) which issues outrageous electricity bills apart from its erratic power supply.

    A visit to Ariaria International market, Eziukwu and Ahia Ohuru (New Market) including various industrial locations in the commercial city reveal that they depend on traders, small and medium-scale entrepreneurs and industrialists to power their machines while offices rely on power generators, at a huge cost.

    Some respondents at Ariaria and other markets including Mr. Dominic Chimezie told our correspondent that they have been relying on private electricity vendors to power their shops and machines for the past 10 years, adding that it was cheaper for them to patronize them (Electricity vendors) than using the public power source and paying electricity bills that doesn’t reflect their monthly electricity usage.

    Mr. Chimezie who said that several efforts to get “the much hyped prepaid meters” failed because the officials of the EEDC told them that they (EEDC) were supplying hotels at the moment further stressed that the reason why goods produced in Aba seems to be costly was because of the cost of production.

    The predicament of Chimezie and so many other traders in Aba and its environs must have inspired the state governor Okezie Ikpeazu, in collaboration with some private sector investors to fly out to Egypt seeking an end to the problem.

    Prof Nnaji,  the CEO of Geometrics Power, was on the flight, as were Mr. Darl Uzu, MD Crown Realities Plc., the lead promoters of the Enyimba Free Trade Zone project and Dr Pascal Dozie, Chairman of Diamond Bank Plc. They went to honour the invitation of Dr. Benedict Okey Oramah the President African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in Cairo, Egypt.

    Founded in 1993, African Export–Import Bank, also referred to as Afreximbank, is an International financial institution with its headquarters in Cairo, Egypt. Its primary objective is to promote and finance  trade in Africa as well as between Africa and other continents.

    Though the governor is already back to the state after the one-day visit, it is expected that the visit would help to see the dreams of the Geometrics Power Project which has incurred a huge amount of debt over the years.

    According to a release by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Enyinnaya Appolos, the Cairo meeting is therefore a major step forward towards realising the project while the Geometric Power Project, which is 95% completed, was identified by the Ikpeazu led Government as a key driver for Aba and Abia economic growth.

    Appolos added that the meeting was also used to discuss partnership opportunities in the development of the Enyimba Free Trade Zone Project and completion of Geometric Power project at Aba, amongst others.

    Appolos added that Governor Ikpeazu at the meeting discussed investment opportunities in Abia state and also highlighted the resources his government has put in place to support business growth and expansion in the state.

    The Governor emphasized that it was the vision of the Abia State Government to re-ignite the Industrial potentials of Aba, leveraging its competitive advantage in trade and commerce with centralized location that makes access to all Southeast and Southsouth cities easy.

    The governor said, “The planned Aba Industrial Park Project aims to help Aba capture available windows of opportunities by achieving quick wins in the Leather, Garment, Metal Fabrication industries and also attract export oriented light manufacturing firms that will ultimately create a snowballing effect in the re-ignition of the Nigerian economy.”

    In his response, the President of Afreximbank, Dr.  Oramah stated that the development of Industrial Parks and constant power supply were in line with the bank’s strategic investment thrust.

    Oramah affirmed that good infrastructure is critical to manufacturing and promised that Afreximbank will partner with Abia State in the development of Industrial Parks and Electricity Infrastructure.

    The Afreximbank president also stated that the bank is in support of the emergence of Export Trading Companies and development of standard certification centres to support export promotion.

     

  • Electricity deficit and collapse of local economy

    Nigeria currently is faced with many daunting problems. The two most acute are security (kidnappers, armed robbers, cultists, all sorts of miscreants) and failure of the power system. There are others, but these two give birth to all of them as will be explained. I want to particularly underline the failure or near collapse of electricity supply to the Nigerian economy, to the Nigerian nation.
    The malfunctioning of electricity systems is not new in Nigeria. It has always been there since the 1940’s when it was part of the Public Works Department (PWD). It’s consolidation into the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN) in the 50’s was meant to improve upon the efficiency of being merely an appendage of a government department. ECN subsisted for decades but did not show any improvement in supply and management. Then suddenly government had a brainwave and reconstituted ECN to NEPA (National Electric Power Authority). Finally the much abused power authority emerged as PHCN (Power Holding Corporation of Nigeria). While all these changes in nomenclature? It is simply a failure by the Nigerian authorities to confront the problems of power supply frontally. What are these problems? They are the customary and cultural ailments of the Nigerian Public Service- corruption, lack of commitment, lack of planning, lack of maintenance culture etc. The most noticeable problem was corruption. As a corporation in the public service, ECN men, NEPA workers, PHC operatives were said, and truthfully too, to be ‘fantastically’ corrupt and rich.
    Then suddenly Nigeria’s policy makers woke up to the idea of ‘privatizing’ the power sector. They thought, quite wrongly as it turned out that if government washed its hand off it, at least the distribution aspect, Nigerians would benefit more. They forget that the same Nigerians who have not made the system work since the 1950’s are still around and will move in quickly to perpetuate the evils of yesterday.
    The theme of this piece is that the power system is killing local economy. But before that, let us look back to the ECN, NEPA, PHCN days. Due to the appalling performance of electricity, some major industries fled the country and relocated to neighbouring nations which get their supply of petroleum products from Nigeria. In the Ikeja, Ilupeju and Apapa industrial estates of Lagos State, notable industries like Dunlop, Textile Mills and several others in other part of Nigeria took flight because of the excessive cost of running their factories and businesses. The major cost element was power which was about 30% of the total cost of production.
    In addition to the above, the Nigerian industrial and business base has been further eroded by a near – total collapse of power. Today local ‘entrepreneurs’ – artisans, mechanics, laundrymen, furniture makers, fashion designers, carpenters etc. have all but grounded. These ‘little’ men and women among them are responsible for up to 30% – 40% of the domestic or local economy.
    As a result of all the ills identified here, government was advised to take off its hand from the distribution of electric power to homes, industries and businesses. Privatization indeed is an acceptable policy of a modern day public administration which wants to establish an efficient, corruption free economic enterprise. Hence government went into negotiations and agreement with private entrepreneurs to run and distribute electricity to the people, while retaining some power over the generation and transmission of the power system.
    Now has our best hope been realized? No of course! Never before, not even in the PWD or ECN days has electricity supply to the populace been so abysmally low and ineffective. More than this, now DISCOS arbitrarily raise charges without checking the meters where they exist.
    They go beyond this. They cut off supply to whole communities because some households are owing. It is not uncommon for a cluster of towns and villages to be shut down for months, some running into years. The staff of the DISCOS behave as if they drop from the sky, not having anything to do with humanity. They are rude, crude in their language and offend local and cultural sensitivities. Governments and their agencies are not spared from arbitrary and crude disconnection and punishment. As thing are, the DISCO is the accuser, the prosecutor, the judge and the enforcer. No, this cannot go on otherwise the country will explode. This explosion might start with Mushin and the satellite communities in the Ogun and Lagos Zone.
    The only reasonable thing to do now is government should reverse itself, take a hard look at the agreement and restore to public authority what these speculators and adventurers have been appropriating to themselves these last eight years.
    Babatunde Fashola has a reputation to defend. He has built a name and almost a myth which his assignment with the Ministry of Power should not be allowed to rubbish. ‘They’ almost succeeded in rubbishing Bola Ige before he ran away from that organ of government.
    In my part of the country, power supply hovers around 2-3 hours per day. I think most of the country has such experience. Electricity is the most fundamental requirement of development, apart from security. The question does arise: is the government helpless? Are we sold out inextricably to the DISCOS and their collaborators in government? Both the rural and urban economic activities are dying by the hour, by the day. Is the country working?
    This country must be saved from vultures who will not hesitate to run it down and make it ungovernable. Government must take power back from the charlatans. Such screaming headlines like, “Power System Collapses four times in five days”……… must be avoided like a plague. It is time to discard the DISCOS!

    Fasuan MON, JP writes from Ado Ekiti.

  • Onitsha residents give 21-day ultimatum to electricity firm

    Onitsha residents yesterday issued a 21-day ultimatum to the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) to install pre-paid meters.

    The people, under the aegis of Onitsha South Elites Forum, are protesting the alleged failure of EEDC to install prepaid meters.

    They collaborated with a human rights organisation, Campaign for Democracy (CD).

    The residents are also protesting power outage and ‘crazy’ billing.

    Over 1, 500 demonstrators stormed EEDC offices at Fegge, GRA and Ogbaru, carrying placards. They held copies of their petition signed by their coordinator, Mr. Noel Udeoji.

    Udeoji told reporters they suffered poor service by EEDC.

    He said power outage crippled economic activities.

    The coordinator said they would not tolerate suspension of Credited Advance Payment for Metering Implementation for estimated billings system by EEDC.

    “Why suspend the National Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC)-approved estimated billing methodology and have, in its place, an illegal, exploitative and acrimonious billing system?’’ Udeoji asked.

    According to him, EEDC has 21 days from the date of receipt of the petition to inform residents when pre-paid meters will be procured and installed.

    CD’s National Publicity Secretary Mr. Dede Uzor said the action was to protest blackout in Onitsha and Southeast.

    He said EEDC distributed estimated bills to consumers without supplying electricity.

    “It is believed they exploit residents of billions of naira without commensurate power supply.

    “It is ridiculous. We cannot accept it again. We demand a stop to estimated billing.

    “They should resolve this issue of pre-paid meters within 21 days. If they fail, we will mobilise against them,” Uzor said.

  • Electricity workers seek review of PHCN sale

    Electricity workers have called for a review of the power sector’s privatisation because of what they called the poor performance of the distribution and generation  companies.

    Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Company (SSAEAC) President, Chris Okonkwo decried the dwindling fortunes of the sector after its  November 1, 2013 sale.

    The Minister of Works, Power and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, on January 9 told the distribution companies (Discos) to improve on their service delivery or quit.

    ”We are working as hard as we can to make the environment more responsive to you and as I have said and will repeat that as pioneers, you will carry some burdens. You either improve your services or quit,” Fashola told the firms at the opening of the 11th Monthly Stakeholders meeting in Lagos.

    According to Okonkwo, three years after the Discos and Gencos took over the electricity sector, they are yet to meet people’s expectations.

    “We think it is time to reappraise the content of the agreement that handed over the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to the private sector and its implementation.

    “It is time to hold those who bought the power sector down for what they had signed that they will do. We want to know if they are doing well or not,’’ he said.

    Referring to Fashola’s warning, he said the government should not ask electricity investors to shape up, but to also ensure that they implement what was stipulated in the contract for the sale of the power sector.

    Okonkwo criticised the government’s plans to get N309 billion fund from the bond market to “finance shortfall” in the electricity market since it had sold it to private investors.

    He said: “Issuance of bond will amount to spoon-feeding the operators for their inefficiency. The bond will be at a cost to Nigerians as the risk of default will affect the Government Sovereign Guarantee and lead to energy crisis in future.’’

    The union leader said among the challenges that had affected the growth of power supply was DISCOs’ inability to collect revenue for the energy generated and transmitted by the generation companies.

    “Critical to the survival of this sector is revenue collection. There is deficiency in revenue collection. These companies collect revenue of 30 per cent as against 60 to 70 per cent before privatisation and this is the money the sector needs to operate with.

    “Where you produce something and the money for it is not recovered through the market, that product will go extinct. That is what may happen,’’ he said.

    Okonkwo said another challenge was because the country operated a grid system which remained the best option for cheap power.

    “The grid system is where generators very big volume are integrated and connected into cadre and energy is exchanged throughout the interconnected grid.

    “Where the money for the energy is generated and put on the grid cannot come back for the Gencos to plough back into production of electricity for the transmission to recover cost of transmitting and delivering electrify to the Disco’s, then we run the risk for the whole system collapsing.

    “That is why we need to raise alarm again that the Discos have no time to be asked to perform again. What should be done is access them and act on what they have attained so far, positive or negative,’’ he said.

    On metering of houses, Okonkwo said it was sad that consumers were not metered without noticeable improvement in the area of generation or distribution of electricity while tariffs had been increased twice since 2013.

    “The government should come in, apply the terms and conditions of the sale and see if we can correct the mistake,” he said.

    Okonkwo said if the private investors could not manage the sector, the government should take it over, adding that: “Electricity is a socio-economic sector that other sectors, such as health and the economy depend.”

  • Eko Disco apologises for prolonged power outage

    Eko Disco apologises for prolonged power outage

    The management of the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) on Monday apologised to its numerous consumers over the prolonged power outage currently being experienced.

    A statement by Mr Godwin Idemudia, General Manager, Corporate Communications of the company, said that the outage is due to a system collapse from the National Grid, affecting the entire country, as confirmed by the National Control Centre, Oshogbo.

    The general manager said that the system collapsed on Sunday evening at about 7:30 p.m.

    He said repairs were being carried out to bring the system back on and to restore power.

    Idemudia said that the Ikeja West line which comprised of Agbara and Akoka had gradually been restored as of 03:56 a.m. on Monday morning.

    He said the other areas of Lagos were due to come on soon.

    “We are therefore appealing to customers to bear with us as supply will be restored as soon as these repairs are concluded.

    “EKEDC highly regrets any inconveniences caused by this outage,” he added.

  • Electricity tariff: NERC loses bid to halt judgment

    Electricity tariff: NERC loses bid to halt judgment

    Justice Mohammed Idris of the Federal High Court in Lagos has refused an application by Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to stay execution of the judgment barring tariff increment.

    The court, on July 13, declared illegal the upward review of electricity tariff.

    It ordered a reversal and restrained NERC from further increasing the tariff, except in compliance with the Electricity Power Sector Reform Act 2004 (EPSRA).

    “The upward increment in tariff was hasty and procedurally ultra vires,” said Justice Idris.

    NERC appealed the judgment and asked Justice Idris to make an order suspending execution.

    Justice Idris refused the application to stay judgment, describing the application as “unreasonable, lacking merit and therefore dismissed”.

    Activist-lawyer Toluwani Adebiyi challenged NERC’s bid to increase tariff in a suit of May 25 last year, following which Justice Idris granted an order barring tariff increase until the substantive suit was determined.

    But before the suit was determined, NERC and the electricity distribution companies (DISCOS), on February 1, increased the tariff by 45 per cent, which the court reversed.

    NERC and DISCOS have filed separate appeals before the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, of which hearing will begin on January 9.

    Adebiyi prayed for an order mandating NERC to generate more power to meet the country’s power needs, and to develop a multiple long-term financing approach, sourced from banks, capital market, insurance and other sectors to finance the sector.

    The lawyer asked the court to mandate NERC to make available to Nigerians within two years, prepaid meters as a way to stop indiscriminate estimated bills.

    In a supporting affidavit, the plaintiff said despite NERC’s mission of “keeping the light on and to meet the needs of Nigeria for safe, adequate, reliable and affordable electricity,” most communities do not get more than 30 minutes of electricity supply daily.

    “The masses are paying an estimated and indiscriminate bills, ranging from N5,000 to N18,000, while spending an average of N15,000 to N20,000 for fuel to maintain generating sets weekly.

    “Businesses have collapsed, industries have closed down and residents cannot sleep comfortably at night due to inefficiency of our power industry.

    “Companies and commercial houses are groaning under throat-cutting power bills, which they are paying for, yet not getting benefits of such payment,” Adebiyi said.

  • 90 million Nigerians living without electricity, says ex – minister

    Between 80 and 90 million Nigerians do not enjoy electricity supply, Former Minister of Power Dr Lanre Babalola has said.

    With a population of about 180 million, this means that over 50 per cent of the people are not connected to the national grid.

    Babalola spoke at the weekend, at the National Discourse organised by The Companion, an association of Muslim men in business and profession at the University of Lagos main auditorium in Akoka, Yaba.

    He attributed the inability to distribute electricity generated to shortage of gas, wondering why the government is selling the gas to foreign countries.

    “You know what, these foreign nations are using the gas purchased from us to boost their distribution of electricity and we deprive ourselves of its usage all in the name of getting more funds to finance our budgets,” he said.

    Another cause of epileptic power supply, according to Babalola, is that 25 per cent of the electricity produced does not get to customers because of technical losses.

    The Companion National President Alhaji Musibau Oyefeso said the theme: “Energy for sustainable economic development: What strategic options for Nigeria,” was chosen because it is an issue that concerns all.

    “The 21st century life we live today is power driven. Power or energy if you like, has become an indispensable factor in our daily life. We rely on it for virtually everything we do. It is perhaps no exaggeration to state that electric power is the backbone of the 21st century technology in all spheres of life whether at home or at work. Fortunately for us, Nigeria is blessed with virtually all known sources of power whether conventional or renewable ranging from hydro to gas, thermal, coal, solar, as well as wind and bio-mass among others. Yet it is ironical that we have not been able to convert these resources to power for the benefit of our people and the economy,” he said.

    According to him, electricity has been identified as  largely responsible for local industries’ inability to compete at the international level as it takes up to 20 per cent or more of the cost of production.

    “The significance of power to the economy is unquantifiable. Evidence shows that power has been a major resource in large shortage for our industries. The effort of government in increasing power generation has also yielded little or no positive result. The much needed private investment in the sector has also remained unfulfilled. The challenges seem enormous but not insurmountable,” he said.

    Chairman on the occasion Chief Gbadegesin Giwa said the power sector has become a nightmare for individuals, businesses and other organisations.

    Besides, Giwa said, it is having negative impact on the socio-economic development of the country.

    He said: “This impact is across all sectors from health to industry and manufacturing to commerce, governance, entertainment, and many more. Several billions of naira and foreign currency have been expended by different administrations on power supply.

    “In addition, some of our best minds have also been deployed as ministers and special assistants in the ministry to provide leadership and deliver power to the economy, yet they ended up achieving little or nothing. The challenges seem so enormous ranging from deliberate sabotage to inappropriate laws, regulations, funding, manpower, security and many more. The change of status from public/government driven sector to private sector driven alternative does not seem to be having any positive impact either. This, therefore, calls for a more robust approach to the seemingly intractable problem. Fortunately for us, power supply is taken for granted in other climes because all forms of challenges have been overcome and the technology to provide power is generally available and not rocket science. What is required is strong political will and the resolve of all stakeholders including the general public to join hands in tackling the challenges.”

  • Who defends the rights of electricity consumers?

    SIR: It is no longer debatable that electricity consumers in Nigeria are groaning under the yoke of the ‘privileged’ power distribution companies. It is not just the reoccurring issue of non-supply of electricity but forcing consumers to pay heavily for what was poorly supplied. In some parts of the country, it is a clear case of paying for services never rendered.

    Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, IKDC, as an instance, stopped power supply to Idimu and adjoining communities in Alimosho Local Council Area of Lagos in September. It would amount to an understatement, arguing that currently the outage has completely grounded socio-economic activities in the areas. Shockingly, IKDC has not issued any official statement about the ugly development and there is equally no sign that it would resolve the issue soon.

    It is also very obvious that the consumers are bearing the unmerited hardship without any sympathy or support from relevant government agencies. The ones saddled with the protection of consumers’ rights are simply unconcerned. In fact, it appears that they are more concerned about their salaries and other welfare packages.

    The same nonchalant attitude is equally noticed in the appropriate law-making organ of the government. It has severally debated the shameful power supply and consumer exploitation issue without making any meaningful impact. It would be recalled that it strongly condemned and even put on hold, the proposed increase in electricity tariff. Was its directive fully obeyed by the distribution companies?

    The consumer-exploitation challenge, no doubt, pre-dated the ruling government at the centre. But, it is imperative to emphasise that she promised and is evidently concerned about effecting ‘change.’ The promise must not be limited to ‘fighting high-level corruption cases.’ She must, as a matter of urgency, initiate and implement steps aimed at addressing persistent public outcry over DISCOs’ exploitation.

     

    • Sunday Shorikwue Odiaka,

    Lagos.

  • Blackout/highbills: Electricity consumers knock phedc

    Electricity consumers in Akwa Ibom state have accused the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution company (PHEDC) of fraudulently extorting members of the public without corresponding power supply.

    The consumers say the power company has completely neglected their responsibilities to members of the public, but has only made circulation of outrageous bills the most regular and visible aspect of their services to Akwa Ibom people

    Speaking with our correspondent in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, Mr. Idongesit Ekpenyong, Resident of Anwa Nsa street, Uyo expressed disappointment that such fraudulent activities could be allowed to go unabated in the state.

    Ekpenyong said the entire PHEDC team in Akwa Ibom have displayed high sense of irresponsibility and fraud against members of the public by forcefully and constantly placing charges for services not rendered.

    He said the idea behind the estimated billing system was the company’s calculated plan to gain at the expense of the public as any appropriate billing system would have revealed the true state of services rendered.

    Citing his street’s experience for instance, the consumer expressed disappointment that after one year of total blackout due to faulty transformer, the company, after  installation of a new transformer,  facilitated by one of the residents sent in bills covering the one year period of the total blackout.

    His words: “Imagine a situation where you had no light in your area, not even a flash for one full year, and for this reason there was absolutely no point bringing in any bill, but after one year, one of the residents of the area facilitated installation of a new transformer, two weeks after the new transformer was installed, they brought in bills covering the entire periods of total blackout. So ridiculous it was that some flats were receiving bills of N150,000 and single rooms N50,000-70,000.

    “As though such daylight robbery was not enough, the people came in after a month to disconnect cables from virtually every building because no one could understand or succumb to such level of fraud, and where would anyone have gotten such amount in this era of economic recession to pay to a company that did not flash light even for a minute during the period of such fraudulent charge.

    “Some of us in this area had to go to their office to complain about the one full year of blackout,  the illegality of the bills sent, and they advised us to apply, which we did. Till this moment that I am speaking with you, our bills are still coming with those backlog of charges for power not supplied. They advised us to pay N2000 for reconnection, we did, but they did not come, they rather recommended an independent person who later came to reconnect on a separate charge.”

    Ekpenyong therefore called on the Akwa Ibom State government to call the company to order by advising them to desist from robbing members of the public for services not rendered.

    He suggested the need for the company to be properly monitored to ensure that their services justifies the amount charged members of the public.

    Another consumer and resident of Akpan Ukpo, off Esuene street, Mr Isaiah Udofia complained that PHEDC by its activities has defiled ?every sense of responsibility and duty owed members of Akwa Ibom public.

    According to Udofia, the company has adopted a strategy of supplying powers to most streets in Uyo just within 48 hours to distribution of bills, as a bait to lure the people to pay bills.

    He said: “If you are resident in Uyo, observe these people closely,  you would notice that they usually bring light two days to the 15th day of every month that they usually go about to ?circulate bills, the moment they are done with bills circulation, such light will go off till same time next month.

    “In addition to poor supply of power, the bills have also become so high that one is left to wonder if power bill is the only thing one should be doing with his monthly income. While some apartments are receiving bills of between N8-12,000 every month, single bedrooms are charged as high as N5000 every month, I honestly do not understand what these people are up to.”

    In response to the public outcry on fraudulent and outrageous bills despite poor power supply by PHEDC, the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly has publicly criticized the power distribution company over  their ?illegal activities against electricity consumers.

    This followed a notice of motion brought before the House by member representing Ibesikpo Asutan State constituency Mr. Aniekan Uko during one of its plenaries. The motion was titled: “The unwholesome and alleged fraudulent charges on electricity consumers in Akwa Ibom State by PHEDC”

    Uko frowned at a situation where electricity consumers in the state particularly in rural communities were made to pay accumulated tariff even when they never consumed or had power supply within those periods of time.

    He prayed the house to urge the management of PHED Company to be responsible for the repairs, replacement and buying of broken down electricity equipments as stipulated by Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission NERC.

    “A situation where electricity consumers including unmetered houses and communities neither enjoy quality electricity supply nor see light for months due to prolonged breakdown of electricity equipment like the transformer but made to replace, repair or buy the transformer is far from being transparent” he said

    Lawmakers who spoke on the matter including Leader of the House and member representing Oruk Anam state constituency, Udo Kierian Akpan and member representing Mbo,  Samuel Ufuo stressed the need for the house us to interface with the management of the PHEDC and institutions especially affected by the situation.

    This they submitted would help them to come up with a lasting solution to solving the lingering problem while taking into consideration that there was a similar motion brought before the house at the beginning of the year.

    The Speaker Hon Onofiok Luke after listening to the submissions urged the House committee on Rural Development and Public Utilities and Committee on Commerce, Industry and Tourism to harmonize the two motions and report back to the house within two weeks.

    Efforts to reach the Public Affairs managers of PHEDC, Mr John Onyi proved abortive as he neither attended to his calls not reply text messages

  • IFC, DFID partner to improve SMEs’ access to electricity

    International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group and United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID) are partnering to facilitate the deployment of off-grid and embedded solar systems in commercial and industrial sectors of Nigeria.

    According to an official of IFC, Ejura Audu,  the ultimate goal was to help corporate organisations and small and medium scale entrepreneurs (SMEs) to have better and more reliable access to electricity, utilising the country’s abundant solar resources.  He added that this would contribute to Nigeria’s economic growth and greenhouse gas emission reduction.

    Through this deal, IFC’s Off-Grid and Embedded Solar Market Development and Finance Programme, and DFID’s Solar Nigeria Programme will launch a new programme for solar market development and finance.

    One of the major components of the partnership is the provision of technical support and financial instruments to financial institutions.This will help them develop business solutions for the emerging solar market, especially solar PV technology investments in Nigeria.

    The programme is being launched at a workshop that will share market study findings, present the key components of the programme implementation phase, and collect feedback from stakeholders.

    DFID Nigeria’s Head of Office, Ben Mellor, said: “The UK Government is committed to helping to increase investment in off-grid energy and accelerating the delivery of solar energy systems that will help improve access to energy for more businesses. As access to energy is one of the most critical business needs in Africa, particularly Nigeria, the UK’s Department for International Development is determined to assist in bringing solar technology financing solutions to smaller businesses and corporates,  and we are working with IFC to help implement these solutions.

    “IFC has been at the fore, creating and facilitating solutions to help increase access to energy at the home and corporate levels in Nigeria,” said Eme Essien Lore, IFC Country Manager for Nigeria.

    “The solar market has the potential for quick wins in bringing access to electricity for more businesses as it takes less time to install. It also enables production of electricity at the point of need, which eliminates transmission losses to a great extent. We are working with DFID to accelerate access to electricity for more businesses and help contribute to economic growth in the country,” she added.

    The programme is part of the World Bank Group’s Energy Business Plan for Nigeria where each institution in the World Bank Group (IFC, IBRD and MIGA) will leverage their competencies and products to provide solutions for projects and sustain the power sector.

    Over the past three years, the IFC has financed close to $3.5 billion in renewable energy projects worldwide, including biomass, geothermal, hydro, solar, and wind.