The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Electricity

  • Communities protest ‘crazy’ electricity bills

    Fourteen communities in Ikorodu, Lagos, have protested against what they call “billing irregularities” by the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC).

    The communities, which stormed the company’s office in Alogba Estate, Ikorodu, displayed placards bearing complaints, ranging from crazy bills, irregularity of power supply despite constant billing to absence of meter readers.

    Their representatives from Maya Jaiyesinmi, Olori Ijo, Abaku, NPA Estate, Itele, Liadi, Idafa and Enyiogbe, among other communities, told the Business Manager Mohammed Abdullahi, that they wanted pre-paid meters urgently.

    Their spokesman Olusoji Daomi, a lawyer, asked the manager to explain the reasons for exorbitant bills when there were no meters in the area.

    He said: “For about two years now, we have been paying excessive bills here in the name of estimation. I use a fan, a television and a bulb in my room-and-parlour apartment and pay the same amount as the person who uses televisions, air conditioners and other appliances in his house.

    “If there are inadequacies in the system, should it be on the people? I believe the IKEDC should be able to reach a compromise and a fair way of reaching a sharing formula that will not affect the people.”

    Responding, Abdullahi said on power outage, their firm’s feeders have not indicated non-usage, adding: “If there have been such issues and they are just lodging their complaints on the day of protest, they are not being fair to themselves.

  • New directive on tariff irks electricity consumers

    New directive on tariff irks electricity consumers

    Electricity consumers have described the new directive that distribution companies (DISCOs) should fix electricity tariff after consulting with consumers as wicked,exploitative,and unprogressive.

    The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission ((NERC), had directed DISCOs to fix electricity tariff in consultation with consumers, subject to ratification by the regulator.

    The directive has irked consumers who are already battling with poor power supply, estimated billing, meters shortage among others.

    Ponle Olurotimi, a lawyer, said the directive would make consumers to be at the mercy of electricity companies.

    She said consumers have always been at the receiving end of policies, directives and laws made to make changes in the sector.

    According to her, the condition of the average electricity consumers is pathetic because they pay bills without getting commensurate values.

    Olurotimi said the directive would further aggravate the problems of consumers, adding that they would be contending with numerous problems at a time.

    She said: “While consumers are sleeping in darkness due to power outage, they would at the same time be burdened with huge bills. Based on this, consumers are going to suffer a great deal.”

    An Information Communication Technology (ICT) expert, Thomas Ajadi, said the directive was aimed at worsening the plights of consumers.

     

     

     

     

  • TCN fails to evacuate 70.55Mw

    Of the 3,175.95megawatts (Mw) of electricity the Electricity Generation Companies (Gencos) produced, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) could only wheel  3,104.50Mw to the Electricity Distribution Companies (Discos), leaving 70.55Mw stranded in transmission, it was learnt yesterday.

    The Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo said  the TCN has capacity to wheel  5,500Mw of electricity.

    The Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), according to the Ministry of Power, which made this known on its website as record of the market as at April 19, hit a peak power generation of 3,496.2Mw last Sunday

    In its penultimate statistics of April 12, the Ministry said energy sent out to the Discos was 2,988.72Mw, which showed that power supply increased by 11.578Mw in the period under review.

    Power generation that was 3,060.37Mw on April 12 rose by 115.58Mw in the current statistics while peak energy generation that was 3,263.6Mw increased by 232.6Mw to a peak of 3,496.2Mw.

    Nebo described stranded energy as technical losses, which according to him, are inevitable.

    His words:  “The problem is losses along the line. That is actually the reason we have transformers, we have substations and so on. It goes through electro circuitry that makes it easier for power that was coming in that was losing amperage and voltage to be ramped up again as it passes through the sub-station  to the lines, gets to the transformers and the smaller transformers and the smaller lines and so on.

  • The thrill of water, electricity in Ebonyi

    The thrill of water, electricity in Ebonyi

    A water works and an independent power scheme have brought some excitement among expectant Ebonyi State residents, OGOCHUKWU ANIOKE reports

    Two things are helping to redeem Ebonyi State: water and electricity, and the people love it. At creation, virtually all everyone could see was vast arable land and very few infrastructures.  It was not a pleasant profile. In 2003 when he came into office, Governor Martin Elechi clearly had his work cut out.

    He began to build roads and bridges, the latter, called unity bridges, numbering as many as 35. They opened up the hinterlands.

    Good job, but the people still suffered for lack of healthy water to drink. And what about electric power supply? That was another sore point.

    Two gigantic water projects at Oferekpe in Ikwo Local Government Area and Ukawu in Onicha Local Government Area have proved redemptive. So will the 2700 megawatts Ebonyi Independent Power Project (EIPP) also in Ikwo Local Government Area of the state. The water project has taken off. The power scheme, executed in collaboration with an American firm, has been launched, the Minister of Power, President Goodluck Jonathan performing the groundbreaking ceremony.

    The water scheme has an installed capacity of 100 million liters a day, making both projects two of the largest of such schemes in West Africa.

    Speaking during the groundbreaking ceremony, the President commended Governor Elechi for the courage and tenacity to embark on such gigantic projects.

    President Jonathan, through Prof Nebo, attributed the project to the privatization of the power sector by his administration.

    He said, “For a governor especially of Ebonyi State to conceive an idea as huge as 2700 megawatts of electricity in a country that is barely delivering 4500 megawatts, it has to be by divine inspiration; it is highly commendable. The largest power plant is 1320 megawatts and this is double of that”.

    “When a few people are talking of 40 or 50 megawatts and announcing it to the whole world, the governor sat down and dreamt of over 2000 megawatts and very quietly is getting it started without making noise”.

    “One of the key objectives of President Jonathan’s administration is delivery of power to Nigerians and he started by making sure that the power sector reform was completed”.

    “It took a lot of boldness, courage, dexterity of purpose, single mindedness, commitment for President Jonathan to make sure that the privatisation exercise in the power sector was carried to a logical conclusion”

    “Many Presidents before him balked at the idea, afraid of the possible consequences, but he knew that one way to release power to Nigerians is by giving power delivery in the hands of the private sector who are best equipped to deliver this power to the people”.

    He expressed optimism that both projects when completed will help to bring uncommon industrialisation and development to the people of the state.

    The state governor, Martin Elechi earlier thanked the President for opening the door for states and private sector to be players in the sector.

    ‘The journey began in August 2010 when the president unbundled the power sector by disaggregating what was then a monolithic octopus that was finding it difficult to meet the needs of the country and brought in the private sector as major key players”

    “Thus far we have reconditioned the water plants we met when we came on board in 2007. They were running below 25 percent of installed capacity but today they are running at 100 percent of installed capacity totaling 60 million liters per day”.

    “Today the President commissioned the 100 million liter per day capacity Oferekpe water scheme making it 160 million per day while work is still progressing on the second 100 million liter capacity at Ukawu”

    The state commissioner for Public Utilities, Engr Ben Okah said the state has fulfilled its own obligation by providing the land and other logistics necessary for takeoff.

    He noted that the power plant is a partnership with an American Company and the state government which will see the state getting 20 percent while the foreign company gets 80 percent.

    “The state pipe producing company will produce pipes for the transportation of the gas required to power the plants”, he said.

    The Chief Executive Officer of EIPP, Mr Terry Muland said he was not surprised that the state governor will have the courage to take on such gigantic project.

    “He has built similar projects including the just commissioned water scheme, the International University and the road and bridges”, he added.

  • Electricity Tariffs reduction as Greek gift

    IR: President Goodluck Jonathan’s desperation knows no bounds. How can a government reduce electricity tariffs for private companies’ services or is it a lie that the electricity sector has been privatised? What an election gimmick!

    Recently NERC told Nigerians that electricity tariffs would be increased

    from June 2015 because of the free fall of the naira that is not commensurate with the current economic reality. What informed this deceitful move from the federal government?

    It is an indisputable truth that Nigerians all over the nation are crying out and complaining bitterly about high tariff for a nonexistent service through the supply of power by these private electricity distribution companies despite the purported trillions of naira expended by the government, which has rather turned Nigeria into one huge ball of darkness.

    One is aware that because of the clamour for change, this government

    in misreading the mood of the nation came up with fake palliatives including reduction in the pump price per litre of petrol from N97 to N87. But the reality of the situation is that except in Lagos and Abuja, in most other states, the pump price per litre of petrol is above N100 and for some weeks now, fuel queues resurfaced again; so who is fooling who?

    Nigerians should not, as the general elections draw nearer, fall for Greek gift because they don’t last long.

     

    • Nel-jumi,
  • Fashola to provide 24-hour electricity in schools

    Fashola to provide 24-hour electricity in schools

    Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), has unveiled plans to provide uninterrupted power supply to every public school in the state.

    The governor spoke last Thursday at the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Awards Breakfast Meeting to honour individuals and corporate organizations that contribute to the “Support Our Schools” initiative at City Hall, Lagos Island.

    He said the plans, which are already underway in some schools, would be achieved by providing alternative means of power supply, such as solar panels.

    Fashola said the first phase of the project entails distribution of 172 solar panels to power the schools during the day and even night for boarding schools.

    His words: “We now want to ensure that every school, secondary and primary in Lagos, has regular, uninterrupted electricity supply.  We are putting solar panel powers in 172 schools in the first round.”

    He said the project has commenced already in about 20 schools, including the Government Secondary School, Iperu, Alimosho, which was inaugurated recently.

    Listing other plans, the governor said his administration has issued 600 maintenance contracts worth N2-4 million per year for the schools that would include repainting of structures, repairs of classroom furniture and other maintenance activities.  He said some of the contract was awarded to students of the government technical colleges upon graduation.

    “If you train people to acquire certain skills, you must develop the end gain from where they would proceed. So we have thought about that and as a graduate, they will become our maintenance contractors,” he noted.

    At the event, Fashola presented 424 awards to corporate bodies and individuals for their contributions to the development of education in the state, attesting to the positive effects of philanthropic on the lives of the children.

    Of the corporate bodies awarded, 17 organisations, including Seatana Energy’s, Access Bank Plc, Oando Foundation, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc and Budhrani Charitable Trust made category A.  Thirty-four organisations were in Category B, 112 in Category C and 261 in category D.

    Responding to the award, Tokunboh Durosaro, Director, Oando Foundation said it would spur the organization to do much more.

    “We are truly honoured to receive this award. At Oando Foundation, we recognise that investing in public primary schools has long term benefits and a multiplier effect. This is why we will continue to do our best to provide conducive learning environments and create access to quality education for children of school age in Lagos State and Nigeria at large,” she said.

     

  • Give us regular electricity in Bembo area of Apata

    PEOPLE living in the Bembo area of Apata, Ibadan, Oyo State have been in darkness for some months.

    The situation was irregular power supply before. Now, it is total darkness.

    I am, therefore, appealing to Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company to give us a new transformer and rectify all electrical faults disturbing the distribution of electricity in the area.

    This is a matter to be treated with seriousness because the situation has paralysed normal life whose resultant effect is sorrow for our people.

     

    Moses Elijah,

    Apata, Ibadan, Oyo State

  • Electricity bill: Residents insist no payment

    Electricity bill: Residents insist no payment

    Residents of Papa Ashafa and Alagba Community Development Association (CDA) in Agege, Lagos, last Saturday stick to their words that they will not pay electricity bills to Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) until the distribution company improves the condition of service.

    At a meeting with the IKEDC’s officials, the aggrieved residents came out in hundreds to lodge their complaints before the officials. These include “outright cancellation of power shedding, bills amnesty, stoppage of crazy billing, immediate circulation of pre-paid meters, poor maintenance of transformers and electric cables, nonchalant attitude of officials to the residents, among others.

    The residents had on February 23, marched to Dopemu Distribution Centre of the IKEDC to protest  the poor situation of the power supply within the area.

    Youth Alliance for Better Nigeria Coordinator, Moruf Niniola told the IKEDC officials that the residents are fed up with the poor service, noting that they are paying for the electricity which they didn’t consume.

    Niniola said gone are the days residents spent their incomes to buy generators, fuel it and pay for electricity at the end of the month, even at higher billing.

    He urged the officials to quickly proffer solution to the problems, saying that the residents didn’t mind removing all the electricity poles and the cable within the area if that would provide solution to the problems within the maximum of four weeks of their projection.

    A community leader, Chief Afolabi Oniyide, demanded to know the reason for the delayed of the prepaid meters paid for over 7 months ago.

    Oniyide said he paid N12, 000 for the prepaid meters when he discovered non-transparency in the company’s billing.

    He presented documents to back his claim.

    Another resident Olawale Orebayo, described the company’s over-billing as broad-day robbery.

    “There was a time I travelled out of the country for over two months, I could not believe my eyes when I met N28, 000 bill despite that all my home appliances were switched off even the electric cut-out was removed,” he said.

    He wondered why residents should be levied heavily when there was not electricity supply.

    Orebayo said the company is yet to attend to his complaints after several messages and mails concerning the outrageous bill.

    A widow, Mrs Taiwo Adedoyin called for a quick revisit of crazy bills accumulated in her house. She said her tenants have refused to continue paying for the electricity due to the monthly high billing.

    She said the tenants had switch to generating set instead of electricity due to power outage and paying higher amount for electricity bill monthly.

    Mr Nzebude Uzoma told The Nation that the community have spoke in one voice that no house within the area will pay for electricity bill until the authority solve the crisis.

    The Marketing Manager, Dopemu Distribution Company, Mr Victor Amaraegbu, said most of the problems were caused by the country’s low power transmission, but pledged to deliver their message to the company’s higher authority.

    He urged the residents to stop tampering with their metres.

    Tampering with metre, he said, might cause high-speeding.

    He also appealed to them to shun employing local electricians to work on the electricity cables, transformers or connection in case of disconnection.

    These, he said, added to the problems of poor maintenance.

    The Branch Team Leader, Mr Banji Ogunleye said the branch had been doing all it could to ensure the damaged cables within the area are replaced.

  • Give us electricity at Sam Mbakwe Airport

    Give us electricity at Sam Mbakwe Airport

    THERE is a matter disturbing my mind. As it is making me unhappy, many other Nigerians are also being made unhappy.

    I am very much unhappy to say that the Sam Mbakwe International Airport is in total darkness. For many months, there is no electricity supply there.

    Any international airport is important in any country. It is the pride of the country.

    In the light of this, a stop must be put to this darkness by the Minister of Aviation, Osita Chidoka

    I must also say that the airport is running on generator. This is not good because it is a waste of funds that can be used for other beneficial projects.

     

    Chief Livinus Opara,

    Ngor Opara, Imo State.

  • Electricity market records stranded 76.12MW

    Electricity market records stranded 76.12MW

    The Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) has recorded stranded 76.12 Mega Watts (Mw) being the gap between the 3,699.23MW generated energy and the 3,623.11MW, which the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) could evacuate.

    In Power Statistics posted on its website, the Ministry of Power said that the electricity market hit a peak energy generation of 3,866.8 MW on February 23, 2015.

    The TCN, according to the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo in world press conference of February 11 at Abuja, has 5,500 capacity.

    With the commissioning of new National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs) there is now a generation capacity of 5,500mw.

    But the electricity market is yet to attain equilibrium in terms of generation and transmission of power to the electricity distribution companies.

    Nebo had last year promised that the market that failed to meet its target of 5,000MW last year would hit the record January this year upon the completion of some National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP) that their commission was not expected to spill beyond January.

    He said in a ministerial platform of November 24 last year said that “some people are asking about the completion of NIPP. I have mentioned about Alaoji, Gabrian and Omoku. I don’t think they will spill beyond January for achieving 5,000MW because the gas is already available.”

    The evacuation gap in the current statistics is higher than the  73.48MW of February 22, while energy sent out to electricity distribution companies  dipped from 3661.07Mw to 3,623.11MW, resulting in 37.76MW drop in power supply.

    In the 24 hours between the two statistics, the market dropped from a power generation of 3,734.55MW to 3,699.23MW, showing a fall by 35.32MW.

    The 3,874.5MW market’s peak energy generation of February 22 also lowered to 3,866.8 MW on February 22 by a reduction of 7.7MW.