The Nation Newspaper

Tag: generation

  • Power generation drops to 2,000Mw

    Power generation in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) on Tuesday  dropped to about 2,000 Mega Watts (Mw) from a peak generation of 4,300MW early in the week.

    The decline followed a partial system collapse at the Shiroro Power Station, The Nation learnt .

    It was also gathered  that due to the collapse, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) reduced the allocation to the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) from 450MW to 245MW yesterday .

    However, the situation yesterday worsened to the extent that  allocation to the Abuja Disco stood at about  181.77Mw.

    A source said there was a partial system’s collapse on Tuesday at Shiroro, which brought down generation to about 2000MW from the 4300 peak that was attained earlier in the week.

    This brought down AEDC’s allocation on Wednesday to about 245MW from its normal baseline of about 450MW.

    “At about 7.34am today, (yesterday the allocation rose to about 327MW, but caved

    in again at 9.48am to 181.77MW. The situation deteriorated to 131.77MW as at 1.25pm,” a source said

  • Power generation increases to 4200Mw

    The System Operations Transition Company of Nigeria (TCN) yesterday said power generation increased to 4200 Megawatts (MW) on Tuesday.

    Assistan. General Manager (Public Affairs),  Clement Ezeolisah, in a statement explained that power had dipped to 3,755Mw due to a ruptured gas  pipeline that supplies gas to the power generating stations.

    He noted that the electricity market had “experienced a drop to an average of 3,755Mw last week following scheduled maintenance programme on the gas pipelines supplying gas to the generating stations.”

    Meanwhile, the Federal Ministry of Power in its power statistics of February 27, said power generation was 3,659.74Mw.

    According to Ezeolisah, the TCN sent out 3,594.71Mw to the electricity distribution companies leaving 65.03Mw that it could not evacuate.

    The statistic added that the highest peak power so far generated in the market was the  5,074.7 Mw of February 2, this year.

  • Onuoha-Bourdex to Kalu: Let’s show good examples to younger generation

    Barely three weeks to the rerun poll ordered by the Court of Appeal, Owerri Division; for Abia North Senatorial District, Chief (Dr.) David Onuoha-Bourdex, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), candidate in the election, has urged his Progressive People’s Alliance (PPA), counterpart and former governor of Abia State, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu, to exercise caution in his methods.

    Onuoha-Bourdex stated that the fact that “evidence abound in Abia North Senatorial District that I am the candidate to beat in the forthcoming rerun,” should not warrant that “these devious methods should be employed to deny me victory again.”

    In a letter dated February 5, 2016 and addressed to Kalu, Onuoha-Bourdex urged him to “desist from practices that could cause confusion, undermine transparency or precipitate crisis in the senatorial zone.”

    He informed the former governor that the idea of superimposing APGA logo on his campaign posters was in bad taste, pointing out that not only would the unwholesome practice confuse voters but give the impression that he (Kalu) is running on two platforms of APGA and PPA.

    While urging the PPA candidate to exercise caution and show less desperation for the senatorial election, Onuoha-Bourdex reminded Kalu that “as leaders we should endeavour to leave good examples for the younger generation.”

    Further, the APGA candidate warned that the era of winning elections by hook or crook is gone, pointing out that “we have to remember that these young ones are watching us and do only those things that would encourage them to toe the path of moral rectitude, honesty and good conscience.”

    “Abia North Senatorial District and Abia State in general deserve a new lease of life devoid of politics of brinkmanship, thuggery, subterfuge and unethical practices. After seventeen years of democracy, our state should be encouraged to mature into full adulthood and weaned from the childish pranks of yesteryears,” he said.

  • TCN records 5, 074.7Mw peak generation

    TCN records 5, 074.7Mw peak generation

    The System Operator, Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) yesterday said it achieved a  new record peak generation of 5074.7megawatts (Mw).

    In a statement endorsed by Assistant General Manager, Public Affairs, Clement Ezeolisah, it said it also recorded the highest maximum daily energy wheeled nationwide of 109,372Mw February 2.

    The new peak generation of 5074.7Mw was attained at 9.30pm February 2. While the previous peak generation was 4883.9Mw achieved on November 23 last year, the previous highest maximum daily energy wheeled nationwide was 107,142.32MwH recorded on January 26.

    The Managing Director, System Operation/Market Operation, TCN, Dipak Sarma attributed the twin peak achievements to the enhanced cooperation among all the power sector stakeholders and concerted efforts by system operators at the National Control Centre and other stations to ensure that all generated power is wheeled to the distribution companies and that there is no stranded power.

  • Building the ‘cheetah generation’

    Building the ‘cheetah generation’

    For four days, youths from some higher institutions gathered at the Engineering Theatre Hall of the Ikorodu Campus of the Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH) to answer The call of entrepreneurship. The programme was organised by African Liberty Organisation for Development (ALOD) and the United States-based Language of Liberty Institute.  JENNIFER UMEH (Federal Polytechnic, Offa) and TOYIN ALI (University of Ilorin) report.

    AN entrepreneur and youth development expert, Sarah Kawala, has  described entrepreneurship as the solution to poverty in Africa.

    Kawala said African youths must be part of the “cheetah generation”, a term she used to describe young’ people who do not wait for the government to do things for them.  If Africa must develop, she said, its youths must shoulder the responsibility for the continent’s salvation.

    Kawala, a Kenyan, spoke at Liberty and Entrepreneurship Camp jointly organised by African Liberty Organisation for Development (ALOD) and the United States-based Language of Liberty Institute (LLI). The four-day event with the theme: The call of entrepreneurship, was held at the Engineering Theatre of the Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH).

    One hundred students from some higher institutions attended the camp to learn the principles of free society, liberty and entrepreneurship. The objective of the event was to chart a course for peace, liberty and prosperity.

    The programme was supported  by Network for a free Society and  Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty.

    The ALOD Executive Director, Adedayo Thomas, blamed Africa’s woes on the leaders’ addiction to socialism, saying the philosophy closed doors of economic prosperity on the continent. He said the practice of centralised authority and payment of social entitlements would take Africa to nowhere, noting: “Our political institutions in Africa don’t respond well to changes. It is unfortunate that many of us trust the government, whereas it is robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

    Thomas said principles of free society and liberty had brought prosperity and mutual respect to countries that put them into practice, adding that if people value their fellow humans, the society would achieve peace and development.

    He told the participants not to look up to the government for their survival, but to see their salvation in their creativity.

    Speaking on Theorising capitalism: An analysis of opportunities, Mr Ibrahim Anoba, a lecturer at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), said African countries must pull down obstructions at their borders, which were raised against free trade. This, he said, will bring about economic prosperity.

    He said: “When people have freedom to trade, values would be created and mutual respect would be earned.”

    Anoba added that closed borders would engender closed opportunities for the young entrepreneurs to create wealth, wondering why there are trade borders when trade itself is peaceful.

    He added: “It is time African governments removed barriers against economic activities and allow people to trade freely.”

    Wale Ajetumobi, Editor of CAMPUSLIFE of The Nation, who spoke on Liberty, media and the best value, advised the participants to develop their latent skills. As budding entreapreneurs, he said the participants must understand the market and calculate risks involved. He charged the participants to engage social media positively and become entrepreneurs who earn living using their mobile phones.

    He said: “It is very difficult to achieve prosperity without creating a structure to leverage your efforts. With the right structure in place, every action you take will lead to big reward in physical prosperity.”

    Other speakers at the event included proponents of libertarianism, such as Dayo Pelumi, Alamu Olamilekan, Adebola Bakare and Segun Sotola.

    After the session, participants were divided into groups to engage themselves on what they learned from each speaker and come up with entrepreneurial ideas.

    A participant, Olamide Akinro, a graduate of University of Ibadan, said: “The camp is a good platform to help youths discover the potential. It helps to awaken the giant in us, open our eyes to some problem we encounter daily and how we can proffer solution to them. I have been prepared for better tomorrow and how to be a change agent in the society.”

  • Plight of an untethered generation

    SIR: There appears to be a vacuum in the recording of history in Nigeria. At its heart, history is the story of individuals who have by their actions or inactions at specific time periods shaped the narrative of the human existence of a people within a specified geographical space. Thus history is not about circumstances, but about the individuals and the actions taken by them which invariably brought about the circumstances being experienced or reported.

    It is mind boggling that the heady days of the June 12 crisis of a little over 20 years ago, has by and large been forgotten and most youths have no clue about what went on then, talk less about the person of MKO Abiola , and his centrality to the issue. Stretch back to the days of pre-independent Nigeria and mention the names of the founding fathers and the youth’s only link with them is the portraits of some of them on our currency.

    The disconnect between the vast majority of Nigerian youths and our national icons is not only unfortunate, but is largely responsible for the untethered ambition and relentless pursuit of material gain by the youths, who have no knowledge of the noble lives of our heroes past to serve as a moral compass. The only history available to them is the one that glorifies the lifestyle of degenerate celebrities gleaned from social media.

    The most unfortunate aspect of it all, is the fact that our youths are acutely conversant with the “Kardashians” of this world to the exclusion of every thing else. While the average “ western youth” not only knows about the “Kardashians” but is also acutely aware of the contributions of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln to the emergence of the USA as a word power. This is because their society has evolved formal and informal ways of inculcating the spirit of patriotism in them, through the exemplary lives of their national icons. The fact that the American tradition of celebrating “Thanksgiving” has more or less eclipsed the pomp of the celebration of Christmas in the US is eloquent testimony of how highly successive generations of Americans have esteemed the heroism of the early settlers in America. Not only is the History of America taught in schools, stories of their heroes past are subliminally infused into their youths through a variety of means, like TV, movies, monuments etc.

    In Nigeria, not only have we not institutionalized the teaching of Nigerian History, but we have gone several steps backwards by eliminating the teaching of history from our primary and secondary schools. In our various vernaculars, we have wise sayings that underscore the imperative of inculcating a sense of history in every generation, how we have departed from this truism to embrace collective amnesia beats me hollow. It would seem as if we have no icons to draw inspiration from, when in fact we have hundreds if not thousands of worthy persons to be proud of. Men like, Hebert Macaulay, Samuel Ajayi Crowther, Mbonu Ojike, Sam Opara, Aminu Kano , Ahmadu Bello and women like Queen Amina, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Margaret Ekpo etc.

    This year will be a good place to begin the “History Appreciation” initiative, I am proposing. The year will mark the 50th year of the two military coups that have more or less defined the fortunes of Nigeria to date. Indeed, the events of 1966 and the actions of the principal characters of that era are to this date still reverberating in our national psyche. That era witnessed the heroic examples of people like Adekunle Fajuyi, who gave up his life in the defence of an honoured guest. Without a doubt, that was perhaps the greatest example of loyalty ever displayed by a Nigerian. This story needs to be retold to the present generation of young Nigerians, so as to engender a spirit of loyalty and patriotism, which is sorely lacking in our youth.

    The government and for that matter everyone else ought to heed this clarion call to bring back history telling to our educational institutions, as well as to forge informal ways of acquainting the youth with the nobility of our heroes past.

    • Patrick Doyle,

    Lagos.

  • Factors limiting power generation and transmission

    SIR: Of the three components of Nigeria’s electricity matrix – generation, transmission and distribution, the government seems to have been smart enough to hold on to the transmission component, with  the advantage of ascertaining the total quantity of power available at every point in time. It shows how much has been generated and the aggregates as well as how much has been consumed.

    However, the expected quantum leap has failed to materialize substantially, more than two years after the unbundling and privatization in the sector.

    At this point, every concerned citizen and patriot should be asking questions such as: Why have we covered so little mileage? Why have we generated disproportionately low megawatts per thousand dollars compared to other economies? Why have we failed to surpass the 6,500 megawatts landmark which some claim was the figure being generated way back 40 years ago?

    I have based on research, articulated the following issues: First, it takes far too long to get approval/licenses to build power generating plants in Nigeria, sometimes even more than two years. No serious minded investor is willing to tie down funds for this length of time.

    Secondly, it takes far too long to construct approved power projects, sometimes up to four years, partly due to community issues and partly due to cumbersome procurement and logistics procedures.

    Third, the process of procuring fuel to power the plants, especially gas is often disjointed and constitutes a separate project with unique challenges.

    And finally, providing transmission facilities through the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) is a herculean task, subject to the full dose of Nigerian bureaucracy.

    These issues are the common denominators preventing Nigerians from enjoying full benefits from investment in the power sector.

    The above scenario provides a glimpse into the myriad of issues beguiling Nigeria’s power industry.

    Rather than issue licenses to companies to generate power, government should completely deregulate the process by changing the rules to allow the TCN set long-term purchase contracts, guaranteeing a preset take-on price per megawatt generated by any private enterprise.

    The process should prescribe the minimum standard of operation that will allow such companies operate safely, competitively and in an environmentally friendly manner.

    This, for instance, will enable platforms such as the NIPP canvass and link up investors and technical partners in turning out modular power generating facilities across the country on a continual basis.

    Intending investors and proprietors should identify multiple locations suitable for their proposed projects and make prospective communities bid to host the projects based on clearly stated benefits. The winning community will naturally be made to provide guarantees that will ensure smooth construction and operation during the bid process. This will eliminate most of the bottlenecks usually encountered by the operators during construction which causes serious delays and project scope creep resulting in cost escalations.

    The government should carry out a sincere and thorough national transmission needs assessment and identify Original Equipment Manufacturers, Repairs and Spares Providers, conduct bid processes to pre-select preferred equipment suppliers and maintenance service providers. Thereafter, contracts for the upgrade and maintenance of the existing transmission infrastructure and additions would be awarded as needed. The upgrades and additions will be coordinated by the technical department of the TCN. This department must be audited “three times daily”.

    • Dan Aibangbe,

    Lagos.  

  • This generation is in trouble

    This generation is in trouble

    Money is a very powerful thing, it builds empires and breaks down kingdoms, it allows for dreams to come true and it takes others away, it makes some people happy and others completely miserable. Today the pursuit of money is almost directly linked to the pursuit of happiness, many will argue that money = happiness.

    However, this is inherently problematic as this mindset leads many people to stray down a path that doesn’t best suit them. When people choose their careers, they are sometimes blinded by money and so choose to follow the paper trail. Although money is great and can buy us all the things that will temporarily make us happy, no amount of money can buy time. Time is our most valuable asset and it is something, that while on this earth, we should spend most wisely. You shouldn’t feel like you’re mindlessly wasting your life away

    This generation is particularly in trouble because jobs are scarce and many of us will be stuck doing jobs we hate just because we need money. Although this may be the right move for our careers now, this shouldn’t be something we do for the rest of our lives. it is best we search for something we are passionate about. Here are the 10 reasons why you should follow your passion and not the money.

    Working for money may seem like good enough motivation for one to keep at their career

    Every morning Monday through Friday you go to work 9 to 5 sitting their punching away the hours stressing about the work at hand. This is not a way to enjoy your life. Working for 8 hours a day 5 times a week at something that makes you miserable is not the way you live life to the fullest.

    Many people who choose careers that don’t make them happy will tell you that they would all do it differently if they had the chance. You only have one life, so don’t waste it working somewhere you hate just because of the money.

    You’re more passionate about the work you are doing

    There is nothing worse than having to wake up every morning during the week to mindlessly go do work you don’t even care about. However, this is never really an issue when you are passionate about the work you do. If you are not forced to work somewhere because of monetary constraint, you truly enjoy what you do and you never really work a day in your life.

    You can relate more to the work and come up with better ideas

    Being forced to do work is one of the most draining experiences. While there are times at every job where you may feel the work may be draining and dull, you have to realize that not every day is going to be an enjoyable one. There are highs and lows, but when you are passionate about the work you you look past the dull days. Your creative process is also different. You are more inclined to come up with creative ideas when you like what you do.

    Work doesn’t feel like it’s forced upon you

    When you value money over your overall health and your passion, you will find yourself in an endless cycle of misery. Work no longer becomes a career or a journey, but more of a  taxing nuisance on your mind and body that has to get done.

    Every day that you go to work with this mindset you begin to hate your job more and more. While many people feel that they must work hard to retire and have money to enjoy themselves, what’s the point of enjoying yourself in your later years when you spent your life being miserable?

    No matter how much money you make, nothing will help you overcome the feeling of doing something you hate

    Many accountants come into corporate America, put in reckless hours during the week and make a great paycheck on pay day. Many of them have all this money piled up, but they never really get to enjoy the fruits of their labor because their labor takes up most of their lives.

    Many of them hate their jobs because they aren’t really passionate about what they do. Is there a worse feeling than doing something you hate? Eventually this hatred will cause stress and in the long run, it will have lasting effects on your health.

    You are more inclined to work later hours

    When you work somewhere that you are passionate about, putting in later hours isn’t as much of a burden as it is when you don’t like what you are doing. To you, putting in the extra hours doesn’t hurt as much because you don’t feel like you are forced to do it, which makes the experience that much more enjoyable.

    Every industry has a busy season and without a doubt there will come a time when you will need to put in the extra hours. Will it be easier for you to work longer on something you can relate to or something you can’t stand doing?

    You are willing to go above and beyond the call of duty

    Certain obligations at your work will require you to go above and beyond the call of duty. In certain times during the busy seasons, you may be asked to do certain tasks that are not part of your everyday schedule. It is much easier for you to put in the extra work if it’s something you actually care about. Because you are passionate about your job, you will be willing to put in the extra effort to go beyond what is required of you.

    No obstacle will stop you from achieving success

    When you really enjoy what you do, nothing will stop you from getting your work done. Because you are passionate about what you do, you feel unstoppable and nothing can obstruct you from achieving greatness. Your passion ignites your work, and like a rocket, it accelerates you past road blocks that may come about. Any obstacle that comes your way is accepted and fought off with a creative solution.

    Our working careers will consume most of our lives, so we might as well do something we enjoy

    You will spend a majority of your life working and there is no other way around this fac,t unless you are born into a wealthy family or marry rich. For the rest of us who weren’t fortunate enough, we will be spending a good portion of our lives working in order to make ends meet.

    There is no way around this, so we might as well accept the cards we are dealt. Many people go about this the wrong way because they feel like work is something they have to do rather then something they can enjoy. Once you realize that your career should be something you enjoy, then you will lead a more happy and fulfilling life.

    You will get more fulfillment when you finally make it.

    There are few feelings better than achieving a level of success you set out for yourself. Nothing like crossing off your bucket list of goals you set out for yourself to achieve. When you finally reach the pinnacle, it is that much more enjoyable knowing you got there doing something you love. Remember work doesn’t have to be something that you hate doing, stay true to yourself and always do what makes you happy.

     

  • Generation of confused youths

    SIR: When will the goat be strong enough to kill a leopard? This would remain not just a proverb but a rhetorical question because a generation of confused youths has allowed themselves to be mere pawns on the political chess board in our society.

    What I find disheartening is the seeming inexorable rise in demonstrations and protests among the youths, in solidarity with those politicians supposedly tainted with the tar of corruption.

    It is becoming very difficult to fathom the bone of contention of some species of humanity in youth forms, whose stock-in-trade is to barricade the streets and institutions to wail in support of our permissive and profligate politicians, regardless of what the person is being accused of. Could such acts of unflattering servility be passed as fool-hardiness or unquantifiable stupidity?

    The one that defies not just logic but also philosophy was the inexcusable manner a generation afflicted by the worst side of corruption, last week Tuesday, barricaded the National Assembly complex and queued desperately like pipeline vandals in support of the embattled Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who is facing trial over 13 count charges, including false and improper declaration of assets to CCB when he was governor of Kwara State— 2003-2011.

    After watching the show of shame, I wept for those faceless and incapacitated youths of my generation who could best be described as “slaves in love with their chains”. They have without any modicum of shame allowed themselves to be used as an object of public ridicule by desperate politicians who are on their way to public odium.

    To those incongruous and venal youths, who have not only sold their conscience but have constituted themselves as crass supporters of impunity— nothing is wrong in such social opprobrium, as long as something will come out of it, no matter how meagre it is.

    Stupidity is when we blame our past leaders for dumping us in this hell-hole we found ourselves but when such persons are called to come answer corruption charges against them, we make an abrupt and complete reversal of attitude, opinion or position in support of the accused persons.

    It is an unmitigated irony that our political class who widened the inequality gap in the country to a large degree and those who are yet to find us a place in our national polity are the ones we have allowed to always toss us around like the devil’s mail-bag.

    To those youths that obstreperously trooped out in support of the embattled Saraki, given their demeanor, it is justifiably stupefied that mentality of wretchedness was at play.  With such mentality, will the goat (which has been existing in the same world with the leopard) ever be strong enough to kill the leopard?

     

    • Joe Onwukeme

    Enugu

     

  • Sahara Power eyes 10,000Mw generation

    Sahara Power eyes 10,000Mw generation

    The Sahara Power Group, a conglomerate in Nigeria’s power sector, said it is working towards generating 10,000megawatts of electricity (Mw) in Africa within the next one decade.

    It promised to achieve it through a combination of expansion projects, offshore acquisitions and investment in renewable energy.

    The Group comprises Egbin Power Plc, Ikeja Electric and First Independent Power Limited.

    Its Managing Director, Kola Adesina, who spoke at the fourth graduation of the graduate skills development programme of the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN), which held in Lagos, said the organisation was hopeful that the 10,000Mw target would be achieved, given “a stable regulatory environment, resolution of all the complexities in the sector and capacity to utilise the increased generation”.

    He said the target was in line with the organisation’s commitment to tackle the power conundrum with a new approach that is being driven by impeccable work ethics in the Group’s entities.

    “Sahara Power Group companies are operating under a new paradigm shift that has seen a resurgence of the values of good governance, integrity, discipline and expertise. The legacy and new staff have embraced this new approach to work, often going the extra mile to learn and do more in the pursuit of creating value. This is a development that has played a key role in the recent increase in power supply across the nation,” he said.

    He continued: “We are  generating about 1,200Mw in Egbin Power Plc, which is responsible for one quarter of total power generation in Nigeria. We are ramping up capacity in Port Harcourt and would also explore opportunities for possible acquisition of power generation assets outside Nigeria. Our main focus for now is Nigeria, where we are laying the foundation for a major transformation in the sector in partnership with KEPCO, the globally renowned power group.”

    Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power, Ambassador Godknows Igali, said power generation had been on the increase in the last three months largely due to improvements in gas supply and repositioning of the generating plants by their new owners.

    “Organisations like Sahara Power clearly tell the story of how important and effective the privatisation in the power sector has been. We recently hit a generation peak of 4,800Mw and the trend is looking good. We are working at ensuring that all the loose ends in the sector are addressed to enable Nigeria experience accelerated socio-economic development that can only be driven by uninterrupted and widespread power supply,” Igali said.

    NAPTIN’s Director-General, Rueben Okeke said the institute had concluded plans to enhance the status and depth of its programmes through a partnership with the University of Lagos.

    Sahara Power sponsored its 100 graduate engineers to the NAPTIN training programme.

    Adesina said the young engineers would form the bedrock of power experts that will extend the frontiers of knowledge in the entire sector to “help improve the quality, cost, effectiveness and sustainability of power supply in the sector”.