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Tag: Electricity

  • Increase access to electricity crucial to Nigeria devt – Nebo

    Increase access to electricity crucial to Nigeria devt – Nebo

    The Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, on Tuesday said increase access to electricity was crucial and fundamental to economic and social development of Nigeria.

    Nebo made this known at the “1st African International Conference/Workshop on Application of Nanotechnology to Energy, Health and Environment’’, at the University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka.

    Represented by Mr Albert Okorogu, his Senior Special Assistant to Access to Power and Renewable Energy, Nebo said about 30 million households in Nigeria had no access to electricity.

    Nebo quoting the United Nations said about 600 million people of Sub-Sahara Africa lacked access to electricity.

    “In Nigeria, 30 million households have no access to electricity. This is the reason why the Federal Ministry of Power is rolling out comprehensive roadmap on access to power.

    “This roadmap will systematically connect households through grid and off-grid solutions,’’ he said.

    Nebo said that President Goodluck Jonathan had in January inaugurated “Operation Light Up Rural Nigeria Initiatives’’, as part of efforts to ensure that all households had access to electricity.

    “The pilot programme will provide energy-efficient lighting to homes, streets and community centres and villages with up-to-dates solar technologies.

    “There is plan to replicate this pilot project across the 36 states of the federation,’’ he said.

    He said that solar system made from nanoparticles had been used to produce steam, purify water and disinfected dental device.

    According to him, the exploitation of nanotechnology in Nigeria will provide sustainable solutions to our environment, social responsibility,overall wellbeing as well as increase access to electricity.

    The minister commended the organisers of the conference, noting that nontechnology had helped in nanofabrication of energy storage devices to energy generation technologies which had resulted in energy efficiency.

    In his remarks, the Vice Chancellor of UNN, Prof. Bartho Okolo, expressed optimism that the conference would proffer solutions to some of the challenges facing the sector.

    “I am optimistic that the conference will come out with solutions to fast tracking technological development in the country,’’ Okolo said.

    Earlier, the Head of Department of Physics and Astronomy in the University, Prof. Rose Osuji, expressed appreciation to local and international partners for their efforts to ensure that the conference was a success.

    Osuji said that economies of developed countries had strong base in nanotechnologies, and stressed the need for Nigeria to embrace the technology.

    “There is need to put in place strong political will, relevant national policies and sustained funding for research and development in this country.

    “I commend our local and international partners, who in their various contributions, made this conference to be a reality and success,’’ Osuji said.

  • Community get electricity after 10 years

    Electricity will be restored in Eke Awka modern market, before month end 10 years after it was tossed the Chairman of Awka-South Local Government Area of Anambra State, Prince Azubuike Iloh has said.

    Iloh who stated this during his ongoing tour of markets in the council area, said arrangements have been concluded to restore electricity in the market on or before the end of February.

    The council chief equally said his intentions for the market include the construction of toilets, bathrooms, crèche for infants, adequate water supply for sanitary purposes as well as address infrastructural decays in the market.

    Chairman of market 3 axis of Eke-Awka market Mr.Christopher Eze confirmed that in the last 10 years there was nothing like electricity supply to the market and they took to alternative sources as last resort. He said they spent more than N2000 to power their generating sets on a daily basis for many years now.

    Eze noted that the state governor Mr.Peter Obi had installed a transformer in the market but it is yet to function stressing that they have made several appeal to those in-charge of power distribution but their pleas fell on deaf ears.

    Coordinator of Eke-Awka market, Mr.Christian Obi stated that he has spent 30, 000 naira every month just to power his gent set because according to him due to cluster of shops in the market there was need for ventilation and that health implication that resulted from heat whenever there was no electricity was devastating.Obi maintained that most worrisome was the fact that there have been incessant fire outbreaks in the market due to the fact that most of the gen set were placed on top of the buildings.

    He called on government to intervene as the situation has taken a serious toll on their business.

  • ‘Nigeria requires 50,000mw to grow economy’

    Nigeria requires over 50,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity to be economically viable, the Chief Executive Officer, General Electric(GE) Nigeria, Lazarus Angbazo, has said.

    Angbazo, who spoke at a Power Investors Conference in Lagos, said the volume of electricity production in the United States and Britain is huge, hence their ability to develop economically.

    “Texas alone generates over 34,000 megawatts of electricity-nearly eight times than the whole of Nigeria. The city of New York with a population of eight million consumes about 40,000 mega watts, far higher than what Nigeria is currently generating, adding that there is hope of improved power supply, given the on-going privatisation in the sector.

    ‘’ As primitive as the present situation appears, nearly everyone can now see light at the end of the tunnel due to a combination of factors. Fundamentally, a well-thought out power sector reform is being implemented by the Nigerian government. Our confidence is buoyed by the fact that the right steps are being taken in the right direction.

    “As you are aware, the power sector is capital intensive and the financial and technical resources required to rescue Nigeria from dismal and unacceptable condition are clearly beyond the government’s capabilities. This is why we believe that government has done the right thing by implementing full-scale privatisation, ’’ he added.

    According to him, the greater dividends accruable from government’s reform efforts will exert overwhelming results in the overall economy by the time it is completed.

    ‘’ Just close your eyes for a second and imagine what would happen to the Nigerian economy if we are generating between 40,000 or 50,000 megawatts of power. Imagine the impacts on the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), job creation, per capital income, inflation, the cost of doing business and so on,” he noted.

    It will be recalled that the global infrastructure giant recently signed a financing agreement with Standard Bank, Africa’s leading financial institution in a partnership that seeks to provide affordable access in the continent.

    The partnership will target 10 priority countries such as Nigeria, Angola, Tanzania, South Africa and Ghana. Others are Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda, Ethiopia and South Sudan. Financing activity will centre on project finance, equipment finance, trade finance and advisory. The programme will be open to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) and non- recourse infrastructure projects, industrial and manufacturers, natural resource companies, food and agricultural processors and other burrowers.

  • GE Africa: Rivers villages get electricity for the first time

    GE Africa: Rivers villages get electricity for the first time

    Green Village Electricity Project (GVE-P), one of the winners of the inaugural GE Africa-USADF Power Africa Off-Grid Energy Challenge has completed the pilot phase of its off-grid community electrification project in Egbeke community in Rivers State.

    The project according to a press statement currently produces about 6 KW of solar powered electricity, which it distributes to over 140 homes in the community where  the residents are getting  access to electricity for the first time.

    Chairman of Egbeke Community Development Association, Sir Roland Eberechi commended GE Africa for supporting GVE-P in bringing electricity to the community.

    He affirmed that Egbeke and its surrounding communities comprising of nine villages have never had access to electricity prior to the GVE-Project which he described as a novel idea putting the community on the map of Rivers State.

    “Honestly, there’s nothing to show that we were part of Rivers State until this project. We have never had electricity here before now. But with this project, GE has put us on Rivers State’s map. That’s why we continue to thank the young man who conceived this project (Ifeanyi Orajaka) and General Electric that has supported his dreams to this far. We thank them for putting Egbeke Etchee on Rivers map,” he said.

    Sir Eberechi explained that the project has touched lives in the community adding that the community is now the envy of its neighbours.

    “We are proud to have this project in our community. It has added dignity and honour to our existence. We are now the envy of neighbouring communities. We are gradually moving on to take our place as community in Rivers State,” he said.

    He stated that the entire community appreciated the project and is grateful to all who contributed in bringing it to fruition. However, as with every novel ideas and initiatives, he added that the GVE Project has come with its own challenges.

    “As I said, it’s the first time my community is witnessing something like this. So, we are all excited. But as with every new initiative, everyone is eager to have a taste. Unfortunately, what we have at this pilot phase of the project cannot go round all the villages. This is generating a lot of problem.”

    According to him, “What is being generated now could only serve two villages. It is just natural that areas not covered for now are bound to react. You need to see what happened the day they brought the equipments for installation. The whole community was elated and participated in setting it up. You can imagine the frustration of many after the installation; the project could only cover two of the nine villages for now.”

    Sir Eberechi appealed to GE and other well meaning organisations to further assist the community and GVE-P to move on to the next phase to expand the project to cover the entire community.

    General Electric (GE) teamed up with the U.S. Africa Development Foundation (USADF) to launch the Power Africa Off-Grid Energy competition last year to encourage and assist African companies who are taking up the challenge to address the needs of marginalized African communities not reached by the national grid. The innovative power infrastructure development challenge provides a grant of up to $ 100,000 to each of the winners to support their initiatives.

    GE Africa, a subsidiary of General Electric, Inc., delivers innovative technology solutions for regional challenges to help its customers support growth throughout the continent.  GE Energy is providing a host of advanced solutions in water, oil & gas, and energy delivery technologies, with a focus on innovative localized energy solutions.

  • How to improve electricity supply, by NLPGA

    How to improve electricity supply, by NLPGA

    Nigeria needs about 2.5billion cubic feet per day of gas (bcf/d) to improve electricity generation, the Nigeria Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (NLPGA) has said.

    According to a report titled: “Importance of Liquefied Petroleum Gas to Economic Development,” the group said the nation will achieve sufficient power supply if gas is made available to the power stations.

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), earlier in a report, said the country required over 2.5 bcf/d, to triple power generation from 4,000 megawatts (Mw) to 12,000 Mw.

    The report said the development became necessary because natural gas had been designated the preferred fuel for power in the country.

    It said the country was being positioned as the hub of gas-based industries such as fertilisers, petrochemicals and methanol. It added that gas-based industries will be leveraged to catalyse numerous downstream manufacturing industries that will also be anchored on natural gas as fuel.

    The strategic objective of natural gas, the report noted, is to stimulate economic growth and employment opportunities for Nigeria’s 160million population leveraging its abundant gas reserves.

    The President, International Association of Energy Economics (IAEA), Prof Adeola Akinnisiju said 80 per cent of the power plants in the country are gas-based, while the others are hydro.

    He said it is imperative that the country’s power sector access enough gas for the turbines to increase energy production.

    He said the inability to fire the turbines with enough gas would pose threat to the realisation of the reform agenda that is anchored on improvement in power supply through a private sector driven initiative.

    He said the energy potentials is high in the country, adding that there would be a spill-over effect of improved electricity supply on other sectors of the economy.

    He said: “There is need to fire the turbines with sufficient gas for growth. The daily requirements of turbines are high, coupled with the fact that their operations are diverse and multi-faceted.

    “Since the sector depends on gas-powered plants, compromising the gas usage of the plants would not augur well for the country. Abundant opportunities exist in oil and gas industries and they can only be harnessed to grow the country though concerted efforts of the stakeholders.”

    He said the country boasts of 187trillion gas reserves, adding that the reserves could help in bringing huge export earnings like oil.

  • Gas price increase’ll jerk electricity tariff

    Gas price increase’ll jerk electricity tariff

    Electricity consumers may pay higher tariff if the Federal Government raises the price of domestic gas by 50 per cent, the President, Liquefied Natural Gas Association of Nigeria, Dapo Adeshina has said.

    He said this may have ripple effects on stakeholders in the energy sector.

    “The planned increase in the cost of gas would lead to a corresponding increase in the cost of tariff by the power distribution companies. The power generation companies would buy gas from the International Oil Companies (IOCs) at a higher price and in return pass the cost to the power generation firms.The firms would transfer the cost to the power distribution firms, which would further pass it to the consumers via increase in the tariff,’’ he said.

    He said the development is going to benefit IOCs because it would increase their revenue greatly. “IOCs, such as Texaco, Chevron, Shell, and Exxon Mobil, as gas producers, will generate more revenues as a result of the gas price increase. Fifty per cent increase in gas price is not a small thing. However, we, as consumers, are going to bear the cost by paying higher tariffs,’’ he added.

    However, he increse, he said, would boost more investments throrugh gas utilisation, arguing that the development would not affect the price of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) known as cooking gas.

    “Natural gas and LPG are not the same thing. While the latter has more comprehensive functions and capacities, the former is not. So, there is no way the increase in natural gas price would affect the price of LPG,’’ he said.

     

     

  • Anxiety mounts over increase in fixed electricity charge

    Fears over possible increase in monthly electricity fixed charges have gripped consumers as 2014 draws near. Though the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has prevailed on the power companies not to hike tariffs until power improves, the fears have persisted.

    A top official of one of the distribution firms, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the companies are making efforts to revisit the issue. The sources said it has become imperative for the distribution companies (DISCOs) to increase the fixed charges and other tariffs. He said fixed charges have been increased over a period of time, arguing that the issue is not new.

    The sources said: ‘’ Under the Multi- Year Tariff Order (MYTO) fixed monthly charge has increased from N75 per month in 2011 to N500 in 2012 and N750/metred customers in 2013. The fixed charge would definitely increase to N1,000 to enable the companies generate more revenues for operation. We are planning to meet NERC on the issue early next year. We hope to get favourable response from the Commission.’’

    A lawyer, Mrs Ponle Olurotimi, said the fear about the increase in fixed charge heightened following a meeting the power firms had with NERC.

    She said tarriff is high, adding that people are paying for the energy they do not consume. She said it is illogical for the power firms to increase tarriffs in the face of incessant power failure.

    ‘’From previous events, it is obvious that fixed charge would increase next year. That would further compound the woes of the consumers. Consumers can only be compensated for any short, or long-term increase in tarriffs when there is regular power supply. Once the GENCOs and DISCOs have been able to improve power supply, there would be little or no resistance to increases in fixed charge for metered consumers monthly,‘’ she added.

    The Managing Director, Addax Photomania Nigeria Limited, Dauda Adesiyan said any attmept to increase tarriffs would further improverish Nigerians, stressing that consumers are groaning under heavy bills. He urged the government not to add to their problems.

    The Secretary, NERC, Ada Ozomenan, said fixed charge is N750, adding that consumers are expected to pay whether they use the light or not. She said the charge is fixed and in line with the regulatory directives, adding that there is nothing anybody can do to stop it.

    On the agitation of Power Holding Comapny of Nigeria’s (PHCN) successor companies for increased fixed charge, among other tariffs, she said the Commission has met with the chief executives of the companies and told them that it would be suicide if they should increase the tarriffs.

     

  • Govt lifts rural areas with a bouquet of projects

    Govt lifts rural areas with a bouquet of projects

    Even the Shoko ancestors rejoiced with the living, as electricity was switched on by Commissioner for Rural Development Mr. Cornelius Ojelabi, for the Badagry rural community last Tuesday.

    Represented by two Sangbeto masquerades, (one decked in raffia and the other in polyester material); the ancestors danced and danced, gyrating to drumbeats that evoke their awesome divinity, trumping the ground, as their spirit joined the living in praising the government for bringing modernity closer home.

    For decades, the Shoko people, in Badagry West Local Government Area of Lagos State had bore in silence the pain of using bush lamps at night. Though the community was a shouting distance from Kankon, where the state government sited one of its model secondary schools, it was shorn of all basic social amenities.

    But that has changed. Handing over the project to the people, in the presence of other notable personalities among who were the Special Adviser to the Governor on Rural Development, Mr. Babatunde Hunpe, the Secretary to Badagry West Local Government Mr. Abraham Mautin and the Chairman Community Development Advisory Council (CDAC), Prince Gabriel Awomodu, the Commissioner for Rural Development described the electrification as “a demonstration of Governor Babatunde Fashola’s commitment to ensuring that the rural communities also enjoy the dividends of democracy.”

    Continuing, he said: “This is one project that I would have loved my colleagues in the executive council to come and hand over, because some of them believe we do not have any rural areas in Lagos State. That notwithstanding, I envisage that this project would bring about rapid development as several cottage businesses would spring up from here. We should encourage our youths to get involved in agriculture. Even if they planted cassava, soon we could start garri processing factory here, we could even start exporting. With electricity, people have no need migrating to the urban areas in search of jobs, let them stay back and create jobs as the era of the white collar jobs has gone. By staying back, you are promoting a livable environment.”

    He said government was handing over the project to the community so that the people can take ownership of the project and maintain them.

    He, therefore, urged the CDA chairman, Alhaji Kolade Ogungbe to ensure adequate security of the project as government would not respond to any community that allows any of its facilities especially the armoured cables to be stolen.

    The head of Department of the Electrical Unit, Mr. Abiola Olowa, described the project, which spanned three kilometres of feeder pillars, and a 500 KVA transformer, as one that was conceived by the ministry under this year’s budget and executed by direct labour.

    Before hitting Shoko, Ojelabi had led the entourage to Ijegun, where his ministry rehabilitated and expanded a micro water scheme for the people of Olorunsogo/Ijegun communities in Igando/Ikotun LCDA.

    The project engineer, Adisa Yinusa, said the water scheme had been vandalised and for several decades, the people of the area had been living without potable water. He added that besides rehabilitating the two old boreholes, the government constructed two new ones to further increase the capacity of the project to 10,000 litres, adding that before the end of first quarter next year, the project would be extended to adjourning communities.

    Handing over the project to the community at a ceremony that had the representative of the Onijegun of Ijegun, Chief Balogun in attendance, the CDA Chairman Mr. Adeola Adegbite, thanked the government for the water project, adding that the residents had agreed to levy themselves some amount monthly for the maintenance of the facility.

    “The CDA has set up a committee to ensure that the project would not become moribund again. Every house would be levied beginning from January for the purpose of maintaining this project,” Adegbite said.

    Ojelabi, who praised the CDA for being proactive in already mapping out strategies for maintaining the facility, assured that government would maintain the project for two years, during which it would ensure that all other neighbouring communities are connected to the water scheme before handing over to the host community.

    He said the issue of water is germaine to the state government and no efforts would be spared in ensuring that as many parts of the state as possible are covered by the state’s water corporation for the purpose of ensuring that safe and potable water is made available to all and sundry.

    He, therefore, urged the people to continue to support the government in its efforts to ensure the improvement in the quality of life of the people.

    Handing over the project to the people, Mr. Omotayo Fakolujo, who represented the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr. Ben Akabueze, said the tour to Ijegun has afforded him the opportunity of knowing that some rural communities really exist and that some could even be as close as Ijegun. He assured that he would ensure the people’s request for assistance on the state of the 1.2 kilometre long Ijagemo-Afurugbin road and Orilaku road which is the only access to the project as well as the primary healthcare centre get the attention of the commissioner. He assured that though the projects were not captured in the next fiscal allocation as government is irrevocably committed to completing all existing construction projects, the roads could at least be graded and made passable before the next round of rain.

    The project train shortly thereafter headed for Igbanko, near Imeke, in Olorunda LCDA, where the council Chairman Mr. Amida Abdul, led other eminent personalities and management team of the council in giving a rousing welcome to the Rural Development Commissioner and his team, who were in the area to hand over the Igbanko rural electrification project over to the community.

    Speaking at the ceremony, one of the ministry’s engineer, Mr. Amzat, said the project which consists of 132 high tension poles and 50 low tension poles fed by a 33 KVA transformer took the department about four months to complete.

    The CDA chairman Evang. E.O.Ogunyemi, thanked the state government for remembering the Igbanko community in its rural electrification programme. He said: “This is the first time in the last 30 years that this community would be feeling the impact of government directly. The closest community to us here, Imeke, is over 100 kilometres and and we go as far to Imeke to

    charge our phones. We are grateful that at least we can do so many basic things in the confines of our community.”

    He assured the government that the entire community would guard the project jealously and not let anything tamper with it.

    Ojelabi who expressed happiness for seeing the inauguration of the project, urged the people to continue to support the government in all its activities. He said the ongoing residents’ registration exercise is another initiative that would enable the government have accurate statistics of the number of people in the area and which would enable proper planning. He, therefore, canvassed the people to rally behind the council chairman and register anytime the project was brought to the area.

    He added that the registration exercise would also assist his ministry to defend its intervention proposals before either the state executive council or the law makers, who hitherto have a wrong impression about the population of rural dwellers in the state.

    Apologising for the absence of his colleague in the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure Mr. Obafemi Amzat who was to have handed over the project to the people, Ojelabi said, though Amzat is presently defending his ministry’s budget before the House of Assembly, he would have at least ensured that the Deputy Governor Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire make the trip and perform the handing over ceremony, if he knew the roads would have been made passable.

    Branching at Oto-Awori LCDA, just as the dusk was settling in, Ojelabi again delivered another people-centred project – a footbridge, to the rural coastal people of Etegbin-Ese-Ofin.

    Ojelabi who was regarded as a home boy, having his roots in this LCDA, said the project was dear to his heart, as he, by the project, has permanently solved the age-long crisis facing these Island dwellers who had to cross from Ese-Ofin to Etegbin via a wooden bridge before the new concrete bridge was constructed by the government.

    He said the new bridge has gone into history as the first concrete footbridge to be constructed anywhere in the state and has won the admiration of the governor who according to him, has adopted it as a reference to be copied anywhere in the state.

    Thanking the people for the forbearing and patience with the government, Ojelabi said with the footbridge, cases of people falling into the river as a result of rotten woods on the now discarded wooden bridge, has become a thing of the past, even as he urged residents of the two riverside communities to take ownership of the project and ensure its regular maintenance to prevent degeneration.

    He equally secured the commitment of the Oto-Awori LCDA Chairman Mr. Bolaji Kayode Roberts, who was at the ceremony to provide one sweeper to ensure the cleanliness of the bridge.

    The Head of the Civil Engineering Unit of the Ministry, Dehinde Oduyemi said the 240-metre long bridge has a two-metre width and took about 52 piles on over five metres of drilling. He said his men carried out a number of soil test to come out with the requirements which he said would stand for as long as the people could assure its adequate maintenance.

    Robert had in his welcome speech, praised the government for bringing the footbridge which he said might look insignificant to others to the people of the area.

    “This project as insignificant as it looks would reduce mishap that has become a daily occurrence along this area and I see it as the beginning of rapid development of our area. Ese Ofin has been neglected for a very long time due to inaccessibility and I thank God that that has been addressed with this project; this would undoubtedly open a new vista of government’s presence in this rural area. I would also encourage the people to put this bridge to good use as this would encourage the government to do more,” the council chief said.

    Undoubtedly, Ojelabi was very proud of his ministry’s intervention in these four local government areas.

    Fielding questions shortly after the exercise, the commissioner said he was always driven by the passion to change the lives of the downtrodden that live in these rural areas and was always uneasy anytime anyone argues that there were no rural areas in the state.

    “This ministry has exposed quite a number of rural areas, places that you would wonder how we managed to get there. For some, their major problem is road, for others it is electricity, or Primary Health Care Centre, or even school. There are so many forgotten communities on some of these islands that we have provided electricity, water and so on. We are committed to changing the face of the rural dwellers in Lagos State and making sure that they equally enjoy the same facilities like their kith and kin in urban areas because this is the only way to keep them where they are and prevent further rural-urban migration,” Ojelabi stated.

  • Electricity market now to take off in March

    Electricity market now to take off in March

    TO ensure that it serves its purpose, the take-off of the Transitional Electricity Market (TEM) has been shifted from January to March next year.

    The postponement, the Nigerian Bank Electricity Trading (NBET), which will over see TEM, said was to ensure that certain things were put in place.

    These include the coming on stream of the generation companies (GENCOs and distribution companies (DISCOs).

    TEM is where energy was sold and bought based on agreements among stakeholders. In the market, NBET will purchases electricity from the GENCOs/Independent Power Projects (IPPs) through Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) and sell to the DISCOs through Vesting Contracts (VCs).

    The market allows DISCOs and GENCOs to enter into agreement on how to buy electricity without going through NBET.

    The country is set to operate an interim market rule which will be preceded by TEM, after a declaration from the Minister of Power, Prof Chinedu Nebo.

    NBET’s Head, Power Procurement and Power Contracts,Yesufu Alonge told The Nation that stakeholders are to register with the market operator for easy administration, meet their contract obligations and pay administrative charges to the service providers as when due, among others.

    Longe said the arrangement would help in providing efficient, transparent and non-discriminatory services to the participants needed to sustain the growth of the market.

    He said: ‘’At present, the market is in the pre-transitional stage, progressing towards the TEM. This can only be achieved after the required conditions have been met and the Minister of Power has been advised by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to declare its commencement. With TEM in place in 2014, a platform where energy will be sold and bought would have been created for the sector’s growth.’’

    He said NBET was required to perform its roles as the buyer and seller of electricity to foster growth, adding that parties involved in the purchase and sale of electricity are required to meet their own obligations.

    “NBET is obliged to make payment to the power generation companies after buying electricity from them. Also, the power distribution companies must meet their own obligations of providing power to the consumers. It is not a one-way thing. Each of the parties is compelled to fulfill its own side of the transaction, ‘’ he said.

    According to him, NBET has been capitalised with N50 billion to meet its operational needs. The money, Longe said, would be deployed in meeting NBET’s obligations whenever there is a delay in payment from the DISCOs.

    Also, the Chairman, Presidential Task Force on Power, Becks Dagogo Jack, said the desire of stakeholders is to have a virile electricity market.

    Jack said NERC is coming with an interim market rules, adding that operators would test and adjust them to ensure perfection when operational. The government, Jack said, is committed to providing a strong and enduring power sector reforms for growth.

    The Secretary of NERC, Mrs Ada Ozemenan, explained at the StageWorld Power Conference in Lagos, that NERC, GENCOs, DISCOs and other operators have discussed about the responsibilities that would come with the operations of the Transitional Electricity Market in 2014, saying the responsibilities are enormous, but they would help in determining the direction which the sector is taking in the next few years.

    According to her, the issue of providing efficient electricity market is of huge importance to NERC, NBET and the Ministry of Power.

    The Federal Government had in 2005 initiated reforms of the power sector. However, it was not until 2010 when the government came out with a blueprint on the reforms. This has resulted in the privitisation of the sector, unbundling of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria(PHCN), the opening of bids for investors, the selection of companies that won the bids, and the handing over of PHCN’s assets to the investors.

  • Severance pay: Electricity workers vow to scuttle PHCN’s handover

    The Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC) has said it would scuttle any attempt by the Federal Government and the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) to handover Power Holding Company of Nigeria’s (PHCN) facilities to any investor next week, if all labour issues were not settled in line with the agreement reached with the workers.

    SSAEAC, in a statement by its President, Comrade Bede Opara, urged the government to act fast, else no one should blame the unions for any action taken.

    The statement reads in part: “We state here that in our meeting with the Chairman, Implementation Committee, Permanent Secretary, Federal Minister of Power, two weeks ago, it was agreed that the payment of terminal benefits of PHCN staff entitlements would be concluded in two weeks.

    “However, we note that up to this moment, only a handful of payments have been made and what we heard or read in the newspapers is that the government intends to hand over the PHCN infrastructure to the investors on November 1, 2013.”

    According to him, this will negate and violate the understanding and agreement reached with the unions, adding that the workers would resist any move until all payments were concluded.

    He said: “In Benin, 50 per cent of the workers are not paid yet and in Jos 55 per cent are not paid yet while in Sapele, 77 per cent of the workers are not paid.

    “From available records, 60 per cent of the workers in Egbin are not paid, 60 per cent of workers in Ughelli are not paid, 67 per cent of the workers in Afam are not paid and 100 per cent of the workers in Kaduna, Abuja and Jebba are yet to collect their payment.

    “Also, none of the workers in transmission has been paid while their RSA entitlements not paid to anyone.”

    He said the government had made workers believe that the money needed was available while the leadership of labour also got the assurance of the Accountant-General of the Federation that money was available to be paid the workers.