Tag: Energy

  • Ondo partners US firm on solar energy

    In its quest to boost power generation in some communities, the Ondo state government in partnership with an international consulting firm, Community Social Enterprises Limited (CESEL) launched the pilot implementation of Solar Micro-grid systems in Araromi Seaside, Ilaje Local Government Area of the state at the weekend.

    The launch of the microgrid system is as a result of the grant awarded to CESEL by the U.S Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) for a feasibility study supporting the rollout of photovoltaic microgrids across Nigeria for rural and quasi-urban communities that lack reliable access to electricity.

    In a statement by the Ondo State Investment and Development Promotion Agency (ONDIPA), CESEL selected 10 communities in the State to carry out the feasibility studies and have been actively working in these communities to maximise their solar energy potentials.

    The initiative will make available stable and dependable power supply to the selected communities at a lower cost than petrol run generators and would operate on a “pay as you go structure” with production and consumption monitored on a real-time basis.

    Justifying the need for the partnership, the Principal Consultant of CESEL, Dr. Patrick Tolani said the Araromi Seaside, Ilaje will serve as the inaugural community for the project due to its economic potentials.

    “My decision to partner with Ondo state and expand the microgrid project is as a result of the genuine intent of Arakunrin Akeredolu to make positive impact on the state especially with the creation of ONDIPA. They reached out to me initially about my project when I wasn’t even interested in interfacing with the government,’’ he said.

    Dr. Tolani further emphasised that “The speed, effectiveness and transparency in ONDIPA gave me confidence and the assurances given by the Governor sealed the deal. It was through the agency I was able to connect with the relevant authorities to develop and expand the scope of my work in the state. ONDIPA should be emulated across other states in the country.”

    Responding, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of ONDIPA, Mr. Boye Oyewumi described the project as one of the goals of the Arakurin Akerodolu led government to make Ondo State an investment Hub and to have a direct and immediate impact on the economic growth and sustainability of rural communities in the state.

    Notable personalities present at Araromi to witness the project inauguration include the Special Adviser to the Governor on public utilities, Mr Tunji Light Ariyomo, the Chairman, Ondo State Oil Producing Area Development Commission (OSOPADEC), Mr Gbenga Edema who also hails from the community and many other government officials.

  • Forte Oil expands business into solar energy

    Forte Oil expands business into solar energy

    An integrated indigenous oil firm, Forte Oil Plc, has expanded operation into the renewable energy with the inauguration of its solar energy solution tagged ‘Green Energy’ solution.

    Speaking during the launch, its Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Mr. Akin Akinfemiwa, said: “We are foremost integrated energy provider with footprints across the value chain of the energy sector including upstream, downstream and power generation. Today, that we are launching our solar system, we always look for formidable partners to bring our vision to fruition.

    “We sat with our partners and created bespoke solutions and achieved sustainable, reliable and cost-effective solar solutc ion. The solution is mobile, cost effective and devoid of service charge.”

    He said it is very efficient and is targeted at medium income group that rely on generators to provide power.  “We will design an array of energy solution,” he said.

    Forte Oil’s Group Chief Financial Officer (GCFO), Mr. Julius Omodayo-Owotuga, said: “The solar energy solution comes with four panels, four 100 amps, 12 volts batteries with free installations. It will cost N700,000 per unit and wholesalers will be entitled to discounts depending on the number of units purchased.”

    He further said the product has a year warranty while the panels have 20-25 years lifespan.

    The Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Olawale Oluwo, said: “The partnership and introduction of the energy solutions came at a time when Lagos State Government is targeting 3000 megawatts (MW) of power dedicated to Lagos State alone, which will be off-grid and independent of Niger Delta gas. It is complementary to what we are doing and we will give it the necessary support.

    “We will key into the solar energy solution by Forte Oil which is very vital to our programme and now that Forte Oil has put its brand to solar, we are now sure that we have a reliable partner in solar energy.”

  • Shell unveils next stage of clean energy initiatives campaign

    Shell unveils next stage of clean energy initiatives campaign

    •Collaborates with bio-bean, coffee-drinkers to power London buses

    Shell has unveiled the next  “makethefuture” campaign targeted at discovering more innovations that will help to enhance the provision of more clean energy while securing global energy security.

    The campaign with a unique music video called ‘On Top of the World’, showcased various clean energy initiatives.

    Nigerian music icon and multiple award nominee, Yemi Alade, joined other international stars at the launch.

    Aside Alade, ‘On Top of the World’ features four other global recording artists – including Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson and British songstress Pixie Lott – and uses cutting-edge custom animation to help each star demonstrate the impact of clean energy projects supported by Shell around the world, including Nigeria, Brazil, China, the United States, Kenya, India, Germany and the United Kingdom (UK).

    The video showcases both ‘bright energy ideas’ created by entrepreneurs supported by #makethefuture campaign, and some projects funded by Shell and its partners to create more and cleaner energy solutions, including Insolar: which provides solar energy access to low income communities in Brazil,     GravityLight: which creates sustainable and cleaner electricity for families and children in Kenya;  Shell Natural Gas: which enables cleaner cooking with natural gas, saving families invaluable time in India; Shell Foundation Clean Cookstoves: which brings clean cook stoves to families and creating healthier homes in China; and  Shell Hydrogen: which creates additional cleaner transport choices for the future in the US, Germany and the UK.

    According to Shell, campaign is the latest in the #makethefuture global energy relay, that began in last year with the launch of the ‘Best Day of My Life’ music video, which topped viral video charts and became one of the most viewed online videos of the year.

    Alade, Oscar-winner Jennifer Hudson, British songstress Pixie Lott, and Brazilian chart-topper Luan Santana reunite, and are joined by Indian talent Monali Thakur to cover the Imagine Dragons’ hit ‘On Top of the World’.

    General Manager, External Relations, Shell Nigeria, Igo Weli, said: “This array of award-winning music stars, including our multiple award nominee Yemi Alade, is to draw many people into the conversation around access to more and cleaner energy. Leveraging the power of music underscores the universal importance of the energy relay and the need for collaboration among business, communities, entrepreneurs, influencers and citizens.”

    Alade said: “Music offers a good platform to draw attention to the energy needs of the world and the potential of new clean energy solutions. This is, particularly, true in Nigeria where we are working hard to provide the energy the nation badly needs to develop. I’m happy to be part of this energy relay to encourage people to look at the innovative side of life. This is what the #makethefuture campaign seeks to achieve in the energy space.”

    Alade, who won the 2015 MTV African Music Award Best Female Artist, joined Shell-organised 50 Night tour of Kenya in October last year to celebrate the benefits and installation of GravityLight in some Kenyan communities after she united with Jennifer Hudson and four other leading recording artists in Rio, Brazil on Best Day of My Life music video for #makethefuture.

    Also, Shell and bio-bean are helping to power some of London’s buses using a biofuel made partly from waste coffee grounds, a development that has triggered renewed challenge to Nigerian beneficiaries of Shell’s LiveWIRE programme to join in the innovative search for bright energy ideas.

    This latest Shell-bio-bean collaboration is part of Shell’s #makethefuture energy relay, which supports entrepreneurs turning bright energy innovations into a positive impact for com-munities around the world.

    Managing Director, The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mr. Osagie Okunbor, said he was excited about emerging energy ideas through innovations and collabo-rations supported by Shell’s LiveWIRE programme, and sees the potential of smart energy ideas being developed in Nigeria.

    “By continuing the conversation on providing a wider, more sustainable mix of energy resources for the world’s growing population, Shell is provoking thoughts on tomorrow’s solution, and I see the potential for a replication of the bio-bean technology in Nigeria where more than 275 million cups of coffee are consumed in a year,” he said. “It is an indication that by rethinking our approach to waste, we can create smarter cities and a brighter future for our country.”

    The bio-bean inventor, Arthur Kay, is a recipient of Shell’s LiveWIRE Innovation Award, which supports young entre-preneurs with pioneering ideas to create a brighter energy future. He described the bio-bean technology as “the fuel of choice for households looking for a high-performance, sustainable way to heat their homes – and now, with the support of Shell, bio-bean and Argent Energy have created thousands of litres of coffee-derived B20 biodiesel which will help power London buses for the first time.”

    In its 14-year history in Nigeria, Shell’s LiveWIRE has produced  entrepreneurs who benefited from business training and start-up grants, making them employers of labour.Three of the past bene-ficiaries were recently nominated for this year’s Shell group Top 10 Innovators award where two of them — Precious Adeho, owner of Emobella Engineering Nig Ltd, and Atalor Ngozi Deborah of De-rahbs Energy Services won in the merit category.

    Nigeria has also benefited from innovations and inventions from Shell’s LiveWIRE with the building of Africa’s first human and solar powered football pitch at the Federal College of Education (Technical), Akoka, Lagos, unveiled in 2015 in collaboration with global music star, Akon. The pitch uses Pavegen tiles invented by young British entrepreneur and Shell LiveWIRE beneficiary, Laurence Kemball-Cook, to convert power from footsteps into renewable that lights the pitch at night.

    Over the years, SPDC has supported students from Nigeria’s universities to participate in the global Shell Eco-Marathon, a global competition that sees students design ultra-efficient cars, and challenges them to see which can travel furthest on one litre of fuel.

  • Germany’s €32.9m renewable energy projects fund coming

    The German Development Bank, and the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI ) has announced a new instrument to support renewable energy projects that targets small- and mid-scale (up to 50 Mw) green power renewable energy projects in sub-Saharan Africa.

    The facility  according to reports, is designed to provide a viable solution to one of the biggest challenges facing independent power producers (IPPs) operating in Africa, specifically the requirement to provide project lenders with a liquidity guarantee.

    The German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through KfW will provide funding of up to 32.9 million Euro to the facility, which aims to enable small-and mid-scale renewable energy projects in Africa to reach financial close by addressing liquidity requirements that lenders frequently require in order to fund such projects.

    The report further stated that the launch of the new facility is happening at an opportune moment when emerging markets are seeing record investments in the renewable energy sector.  It stated that the International Energy Agency (IEA) expects sub-Saharan Africa’s renewables capacity to grow by 73 per cent (24.4GW) over the period 2017-22.

  • Residents protest high energy bills

    Residents of Olorunda in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital, yesterday protested what they called “crazy, unacceptable and outrageous electricity bills” from Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC).

    The protesters marched round the neighbourhood and converged on the health centre where community leaders addressed them.

    It was the second time in a month residents were protesting on the issue.

    They urged BEDC to supply prepaid meters, warning officials not to collect money from them again.

    President of Olorunda Pastor Gbenga Ilesanmi said residents spent about N21 million to provide a transformer, electric poles, wires and workmanship for “electricity in our community, with BEDC not providing anything”.

    Ilesanmi said: “We are tired and frustrated by the high bills without the supply of electricity. The bills range from N3,000 to N11,000. We say no to direct billing system.

    “We have resolved not to pay any other bill until prepaid meters are supplied to the community.”

    Chairman of the community’s Electricity Task Force, Mr. Pius Ayodele, said residents provided electricity equipment through self-help.

    He decried the huge electricity bills BEDC was giving its customers.

    Ayodele said: “What we are passing through is no longer palatable. We procured everything we needed in the 12 zones in the community.’’

  • ‘NOCs should transform into national energy firms’

    National Oil Companies (NOCs) across Africa have an enormous opportunity to secure a more sustainable future by transforming into National Energy Companies (NECs) escaping the economic trap of a lower oil prices and embracing the disruptive forces unleashed by climate change and a low carbon world, an analysis by PwC titled: The New Nation Builders: Creating the African National Oil Company (NOC) of the Future, has shown.

    The report obtained at the weekend said a new era of lower oil prices was challenging business models that have long relied largely on exploration and production of hydrocarbons, particularly ‘black gold’ oil.

    “This is likely to prompt African countries that have for decades depended on their NOC as a key source of revenue to rethink the “nation-building” role that their NOCs have played,” PwC said.

    The firm said, in turn, the sustainability of NOCs would depend on their ability to transform into NECs, responding to the demands placed on them by consumers, governments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to respond to climate change and a new energy future.

    “Globally, the energy sector is experiencing significant change and upheaval. Whether it is in oil & gas or utilities, we are witnessing tectonic shifts in strategies, business models and ways of working,” PwC Africa Advisory Oil & Gas Leader Chris Bredenhann said.

    “Whether we are talking about fledgling NOCs with limited hydrocarbon resources or established NOCs sitting on large reserves, all of these companies will need to work out how to seize the opportunities emerging from this disruption,” he added.

    The analysis looked at the challenges of disruption facing African NOCs, what it means for them and how they should position themselves for a sustainable future.

    “Not only do African NOCs have to navigate this disruption and tackle the challenges of uncertainty, as do their international oil company (IOC) counterparts, but given their sovereign importance as nation builders, they must also identify the future pathways to evolve,” Bredenhann said.

    PwC was emphatic that African countries that have for decades depended on their NOC as a key source of revenue will need to rethink business models and strategies to avoid being captive to a single energy source and to allow them to rebalance budgets.

    The firm however said in most cases, the new low oil price environment is likely to force many governments to consider what the most appropriate mandate should be for an NOC, adding that some projects may not continue as originally planned due to the lower oil price environment.

  • Watch it…someone is sucking your energy!… (2)

    I had no doubt as I wrote the column of last week on the stealing of psychic energy among men that it would be trailed by as many enquiries as one would expect from a column on erectile dysfunction (ED) or the BIG VD. The column of last week was titled…WATCH IT…SOMEONE IS SUCKING YOUR ENERGY! It was about how to recognise if any illness you suffer from is caused by your loss of vital energy to someone you are relating with, husband or wife, friend or boss or subordinate, child or parent, who, consciously or not, may be sucking you dry of energy and leaving you devitalised, fatigued, sick and/or diseased.

    This is knowledge long known to people of old, who employed it to protect themselves against energy-thieving neighbours, but has been lost and buried in the sands of time from which, in our time, it is now being unearthed like many other grains of knowledge, from the ruins of Peruvian monasteries. In WATCH IT…SOMEONE IS SUCKING YOUR ENERGY, it was shown that the Sons of the Incas founded one of the most prosperous civilisations around Peru in Southern America. The empire comprised about 10million people in a vast land mass, which covered today’s PERU, BOLIVIA, CHILE, ECUADOR, ARGENTINA. The empire had no currency, no business-class, no shops, no markets, no companies, yet it was about the most prosperous country on earth. It paid more attention to agriculture, housing and architecture, and to massive construction of roads than to any other question, including, perhaps, defence, which was probably why 170 rag tag Spanish bandits, hunting for gold and silver, could sack this sprawling empire and leave the final destruction, through an epidemic, to European invaders.

    JAMES REDFIELD takes us through his Epic book, CELESTINE PROPHESY, to the scavengers for knowledge in the ruins of Peruvian monasteries where nine MANUSCRIPTS are believed hidden in which are written for posterity secret knowledge for our Age. One of these Manuscripts mentions the four human dramas or methods by which, corrosively, human beings steal energy from one another to cause health and other forms of impoverishment. (It is suggested that the first part of this column be read in www.olufemikusa.com for a good grasp of this one).

    SOME of my friends, who have James Redfield’s book, CELESTINE PROPHESY, have dusted it up in their libraries since the mention of it last week in this column. Comments have come from other people, who wish to learn more about the Sons of the Incas and the other grains of knowledge hidden in their NINE MANUSCRIPTS which, like their silver and gold, have been entombed in the bowels of the Earth until such time as high guardians would deem it appropriate that the time is ripe to release them to a deserving civilisation.

    I know joy, for at least two reasons, in returning this week to the Sons of the Incas. First, a large number of humanity who profess Islam as a religion has just celebrated Eld-el-kabir. Even if you do not believe in the concept of that event, the fact that it is an opportunity for the adherents to turn away momentarily from worldly events provides a platform on which to discuss transcendental questions.

    Secondly, for me and an increasingly growing circle of Truth seekers unfettered by religion and its dogmas, the month of September is one of those three special months in the Gregorian Calendar year when great events happen in the Universe, which are of immense profit as support for the efforts of man to achieve spiritual ascent or reassurance from the World of Matter. This month, as in every September, there is an outpouring of power or energy to womanhood throughout Creation, including the earth, its outpost, to help the woman, who opens herself to it, to fulfil the high task which her Creator places in her hands. This high task is not Motherhood or marriage, as many women have been misled to assume. It is to keep alive in humanity the flame of the longing for its home, Paradise. It is because womanhood has failed in this regard that everything, everywhere is upside down because humanity hardly now knows about its home, let alone longs for it, and is, therefore, unable to draw from it such high values and support which, impacted on earthly affairs, would have made the earth a gross material image of Paradise. For Christians, isn’t that what we pray for in THE LORD’S PRAYER when we utter the words…”thy Kingdom come, thy Will be done on earth?”

     

    Sons of the Incas

    They believed they were the sons of the Sun and daughters of the Moon and were sun worshippers. They had TWELVE VISIONS of the World. The World is the Universe or Creation and not just the earth. One of their VISIONS, which is of interest to me today, is what we call COINCIDENCE. We believe in coincidences or chance events, such as chance meeting. They do not think so.

    According to James Redfield’s account of COINCIDENCE, as described in the first INSIGHT of the Peruvian Manuscript, this word takes a meaning different from what a standard English Language dictionary tells us it is. The insight says there is nothing like CO-INCIDENCE. What we call coincidences are events arranged by forces mightier than us to lead us aright from the start of our life’s journey to its very end. That means we are on this earth to undertake a journey for a purpose. Every person and every event that would make this journey successful has been pre-arranged and will surface at the right time to link up with the others as though it were a link in a chain. We, ourselves, are the authors of our Journeys. The so-called coincidences are, therefore, merely the tools that help us have a successful journey, if we recognise them and use them aright.

    In this regard, let me share a few experiences…

    • There was someone in whose care I could entrust my life, if it was right to do so. One day, I received a shocker of my life. He called me on the telephone. After we spoke, he supposedly hung up. But he failed to switch off his phone.Over the next five minutes or so, I shivered inside me as I was hearing some of the most uncomplementary things about me he was discussing with other people who were with him. At first I didn’t know what to do. Should I cut the phone at my end and call him later or should I wait until we would meet, or should I send him a text message? I hung the phone and called him back to let him know I heard everything. He fell silent for about one minute and I switched off. When I studied his relationship with me, I discovered that, indeed, for years, he had been an INTERROGATOR…! The phone episode was not a co-incidence. I was to be helped to know him better and to beware of him. And he was guided to expose or to reveal himself. An interrogator is fault-finding person with a mission to destroy, who is never satisfied with anything you do, however, well done you do it within the limits of resources, time and skill, because his mission is not objective evaluation or assessment, but destruction (please see the article WATCH IT…SOMEONE IS SUCKING YOUR ENERGY in www.olufemikusa.com).

    I have lost touch now with one young woman who was a student of my wife when she taught at Lagos State University (LASU). She was a Yoruba moslem girl, who wanted to marry a Christian man from Benin. Her parents forced her to marry a Yoruba moslem man. She thought she was suffering in the marriage, which had produced three children. She began to think seriously about her Christian Benin boyfriend. They had lost contact. But one day, while rushing to catch a bus in Lagos, she and one man collided. He was a mail runner for his company. The letters he was going to dispatch were flying on the road. One of them bore the name and address of the Christian Edo man on the envelope. She begged the mail runner to let her write the address, after apologising for her role in their collision and explaining her predicament. He obliged her. They became friends. She met with her former boyfriend whose marriage, too, was in tatters. He was a Catholic. His Rev. Father said he could have anything to do with her only if she was divorced. At that time, this column featured the concept of the GUARDIAN ANGELS. She came to me to ask if it was her guardian angel, who led her back to her boyfriend and to ask if she could leave her family for him. I told her that must be a personal decision. About two years later, I found she was still married to her husband. My assumption was that it was possible the meeting with her “lost” boyfriend was arranged to let her realise that the cycle of their relationship had closed, and it was better for her to make the best of her new relationship.

    Our prayers are answered through a process of so-called circumstances. If we recognise these events for what they are and employ their services, our prayers get answered. If we do not, we tend to wait for eternity for an answer. If, for example, we are professionals and need money from our business for whatever purpose, our thoughts float away from us into the wide expanse of Creation. There, the beings who are behind the forces of these GUARDIANS make the necessary arrangements for the fulfillment of our dreams. We may be led to go and eat in a restaurant one day. Someone else, too, may be led to come there for a meal. We may be complete strangers. Over my meal, I may suddenly look up and my eyes may meet with those of this man. Our eyes may meet again two or three more times. If I then walk up to him and start a friendly conversation, in the knowledge that those eye contacts were not mere coincidences, something bigger may come out of our meeting, if not then, at a later time. And when I begin to reap bountiful harvests of goodness from that meeting, I may on reflection say it was a co-incidence if I was ignorant of these arrangements. But if I was in conscious activity, I would know we were arranged to meet.

    In this knowledge one should not fail to give of oneself if anyone asks one for help, for one may have been arranged to offer that help in the ceaseless activity of GIVING and TAKING, a Law of Nature, which guarantees that no-one goes away empty-handed.

     

    What it all boils down to, according to the FIRST INSIGHT of the Peruvian MANUSCRIPTS, is that:

     

    • We are on this earth as unconscious beings
    • We are to become conscious beings through self development
    • The understanding of co-incidence is the first step in this direction
    • We must learn to understand the message in every seeming co-incidence and consciously employ them for our good
    • We begin to become conscious-living human beings when we begin to become conscious of co-incidences, which help us fulfil our potentials and purpose on our journey
    • We begin to feel a sense of unfolding purpose and that, behind this unfolding or unfurling of our lives, a process is operating behind the scene. “The process begins by awakening us and then supporting our guidance to a spiritual connection”.
    • As we continue to mature in this regard, we should not set out any day to work without asking, for example, who would we meet today? What information would arrive that would shape our life direction?

    The first insight leads to the second, an understanding of human trajectory over millennia, including why, at this time, humans have immediate access in the global village to “almost all subjects imaginable” or “the longer now”, as it is called. That means google, internet, whatsapp, operamini, YouTube and the likes of them are not coincidences but tools or bridges to a mightier civilisation. The third insight is about the Universal laws, “which govern the unseen spiritual world” of which we are a part. The fourth, is “the struggle for power (featured in the first part of this column. It reveals the world “as a field of spiritual energy”. The fifth is the “message of mystic”. The sixth is called “cleaning the past”. It teaches us to let go the struggle for power and stealing of energy. The seventh “Engaging the Flow”. When we stop controlling other people, consciously or otherwise, to steal their energy, we can plug directly into the Universal Energy, that is Life. That is when we can “discover our life’s work or Mission and start making a meaningful contribution to the world”.

    In the eight, we learn about how we are helped on in our journey by other people if we, too, help other people. The ninth shows an “emerging culture” in which “we must enhance our attitude of giving as we communicate…we must uplift others by looking past their ego or defence mechanisms to see their spiritual essence”.

    In soundoheart.org, a reader of Celestine Prophesy helps us on:

    “What is coincidence? The first Insight in the Celestine Prophesy tends to capture our attention and fire our imagination because it taps into what mythic reality has always taught that there is a golden key magic, stranger, a meaningful dream or an unexpected clue that appears to guide us effortlessly to the treasure or opportunity that we seek. Psychologist Karl Jung, called it the archetype of magical effects and claimed that it was a Universal trait in humans. Coincidence are the stuff of stories by firelight, and laughing memories at weddings and tales of inordinate success and sublime irony. Life stories are studded by the mysterious by-products of chance meetings, missed trends, books opening to a significant passage, ajar doors, overheard conversations, a meeting of the eyes across a crowded room. Most of the sometime higgledy piggledy nature of employment resumes can be explained by the effects of coincidental jobs opportunity that were not part of a career plan. For example, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, the famous expert on death and dying, describes in women of power (by Laurel King) a turning point in a residency with Dr. Sydeney Margolin: “…one day, while I was putting together polygraph machine, he came in and said he had to go somewhere and I would have to take over his lectures. This was like replacing God! I die a thousand deaths…He said (the lecture) had to be about psychiatric, but I could pick any subject. I went to the library to see if there was anything written on death and dying because I thought the students really needed to know about it.” Perhaps her choice of Subject was unknowingly shaped by her early experience in war relief in Europe from which she still carries the images of those who perished in the death camps. Or perhaps this was a point of Divine intervention. Whatever guided her choice of subject that day, Kubler-Ross initial lecture on death and dying started a chain of events that changed the directions of her life and opened up what turned out to be a life’s mission. The first insight has us start at the beginning at that very point of convergence where life’s mystery stares back at us, outside our logical expectations and experience. Becoming conscious of the reality of coincidence and aware of their message and minding is the first step of evolving consciously and quickly.

    “When was the last time you experienced something out of the ordinary? Perhaps this morning, you were thinking about someone and then got a phone call from that person. How many times have you said “I was just thinking about you? Did you consider why this coincidence might have happened? What follows it? We tend to take for granted many of the subtle, ordinary chance occurences and often it is often only really startling effects that make us shake our heads in wonderment.”

     

    Back to the control dramas

    What we all coincidences are actually what bring us into contact with people who impact control dramas upon us, if we, too, are people who are still homogeneous with this level of human existence. When they impact upon us, we are not being punished for our own faults but only to make us see ourselves through them. As Christians, we remember that the Lord Jesus, in fact, admonished us to remove beams from our eyes before we attempt to remove the mote from our neighbour’s eyes. As we ourselves move away from these dramas, we learn or recognise how to help people who are still hold down in the quicksand that this level of existence can be.

  • ‘Energy efficient houses coming’

    The Federal Government said it has concluded plans to embark on massive construction of energy efficient houses across the country as part of efforts to motivate the  workers.

    The houses will be such that  use less power, or minimum energy and provide maximum comfort as well as take into account the need and financial convenience of would-be owners.

    The Minister of State for Works, Power, and Housing II, Alhaji Suleiman Hassan Jara dropped the hint in Gombe  during the Sallah break.

    He said the concept which was discussed at a recent workshop on housing, would be delivered in every state and possibly, every local government area of the country

    “We are talking of delivering houses that are adaptable, that are affordable. It will take into consideration our culture and our climate.

    “We just did a workshop last week, and it’s saying we should do housing that is energy efficient.

    “That means a house that will use less power consumption with better ventilation, so that you needn’t have to use so many ACs, you don’t have to use so many bulbs, but minimum energy, maximum comfort,” he said.

    The minister further explained that government was considering a whole lot of things towards making the houses affordable without compromising quality.

    “So, we are looking at a model, where the cost of the building will come less.

    “We are also looking at it what else constitute the cost of the building; if it is the land, we will see how easy it will be to access land to make housing better for the people.

  • Energy firm to arrest, prosecute thieves

    The Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED) has threatened to arrest and prosecute any person, group or corporate body found to be engaged in energy theft in its network.

    Acting Chief Executive Officer, PHED, Kingsley Achife, talked tough yesterday in Rumuorlumeni, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during a town-hall meeting on customers’ bill of right, according to the company’s Manager, Corporate Communications, John Onyi.

    He decried the constant loss of about 30 per cent of the company’s anticipated revenue to energy theft on a monthly basis, which he described as unacceptable.

    Achife said: “PHED has collaborated with security agencies. A crack team of anti-energy theft squad has been established to work on a daily basis with the Revenue Protection Department (RPD) of the company (PHED).

    “We can assure you that anybody caught in meter tampering, by-pass through diversion of load or hooking directly to power lines shall not go scot free. He or she must face the full weight of the law. We cannot continue to condone energy thieves in our network. It must be stopped.

    “This is an era of energy accountability. For us to sustain the power industry, energy theft must be eradicated. We urge you to join in the war against energy theft and it must be won.”

    PHED’s acting chief executive officer also stated that the spate of energy theft in the company’s coverage area (Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River and Rivers states) was a major source of huge revenue leakage.

    Achife added that with the warning and the setting up of the anti-energy theft crack team, PHED would tackle the ugly energy theft in the system.

  • Energy firm to arrest, prosecute thieves

    The Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED) has threatened to arrest and prosecute any person, group or corporate body found to be engaged in energy theft in its network.

    Acting Chief Executive Officer, PHED, Kingsley Achife, talked tough yesterday in Rumuorlumeni, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, during a town-hall meeting on customers’ bill of right, according to the company’s Manager, Corporate Communications, John Onyi.

    He decried the constant loss of about 30 per cent of the company’s anticipated revenue to energy theft on a monthly basis, which he described as unacceptable.

    Achife said: “PHED has collaborated with security agencies. A crack team of anti-energy theft squad has been established to work on a daily basis with the Revenue Protection Department (RPD) of the company (PHED).

    “We can assure you that anybody caught in meter tampering, by-pass through diversion of load or hooking directly to power lines shall not go scot free. He or she must face the full weight of the law. We cannot continue to condone energy thieves in our network. It must be stopped.

    “This is an era of energy accountability. For us to sustain the power industry, energy theft must be eradicated. We urge you to join in the war against energy theft and it must be won.”

    PHED’s acting chief executive officer also stated that the spate of energy theft in the company’s coverage area (Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River and Rivers states) was a major source of huge revenue leakage.

    Achife added that with the warning and the setting up of the anti-energy theft crack team, PHED would tackle the ugly energy theft in the system.