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Tag: MINISTER OF POWER

  • FG laying foundation for stable power – Adelabu

    FG laying foundation for stable power – Adelabu

    The federal government is laying a solid foundation for a stable, reliable, and effective power supply for Nigeria and is willing to partner with international agencies and reputable organisations to achieve the objectives.

    This was disclosed by the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, who hosted the World Bank delegation in his office in Abuja early in the week.

    This was contained in a press statement his Special Adviser, Strategic Communications and Media Relations, Mr. Bolaji Tunji, issued on Wednesday.

    According to the minister, the issue of the power sector is of the utmost concern to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and he has given total support to all efforts at making the sector work.

    The Minister blamed the neglect of the sector by the past administrations for the rot and the degeneration that the sector is going through. He noted that there has been significant improvement since President Tinubu assumed office.

    Adelabu commended the support that the sector has received from the World Bank and other partners and implore them to continue in that spirit to ensure that the investment of the current administration succeeds.

    The Minister acknowledged the support of the Bretton Woods institutions for its support.

    “I want to thank you for the support, for the interest you have shown in the development of Nigeria’s power sector.  It’s been of immense value to us.  And I can imagine, without the World Bank, how the sector would have looked. So we appreciate what you are doing for us.

    “We’ve seen your transmission support, we’ve seen your distribution support, and we have seen your support in renewable energy, almost in every facet, even in generation. 

    He expressed the commitment of the Federal Government to the issue of power and reiterated the fact that the power sector is the vehicle that drives all the other sectors of the economy.

    “One thing that this administration has brought to the table is the seriousness, the determination, the commitment to make sure that the power sector is transformed. That’s why it’s good to have a practical businessman, a practical finance person, and a politician at the helm of affairs, like President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. 

    “He fully understands what it takes for the transformation of a country.  And he believes that energy is the foundation to transform all other sectors.  There’s very little you can achieve in your agriculture sector, in your transportation sector, in your defence, education, and health, without a stable and efficient electricity supply. That is why the President is focusing on this, and he is supporting whatever we need to do to make sure that we transform this sector. He is ready to give us that support.

    Adelabu acknowledged that past efforts to transform the sector did not amount to anything.

    “We actually have a past that we are not proud of. Over the years, we have only been paying lip service to transforming the power sector. We have not worked on the talk. Previous administrations have kept on doing the same thing all the time, and you cannot get different results for that, which is why we have decided to do things differently this time.  In all the segments across the sector, we must run away from the past.

    The Minister lamented the neglect of power infrastructure, which has contributed to the present problems in the sector.

    “How will you explain the kind of infrastructure that we put together for our transmission network across the country?  Thousands of kilometres of power line, thousands of power transformers, hundreds of thousands of distribution transformers that we have not maintained over time, and expect them to keep sustaining our energy supply. It is not possible. How do we allow our people to vandalise infrastructure and expect stable electricity?  So, how do you have a sector with over 12 million customers, and our meter is not more than six million, and we expect to have a stable industry? No, it’s not possible.  So, what has happened with past governments?

    Read Also: Makinde, Adelabu, Olubadan others, for DAILY POST staff’s book launch

    “In 1984, when the military was in power here, we achieved 2000 megawatts. Between 1984 and 2023, it took us 40 years to add 2000 megawatts. Now we have an average of 5,800 megawatts of generation within one and a half years since we came to the office. What I’m saying is that if the past administrations have been adding things like this, we would not be where we are today. And that is why I said that President Tinubu is laying the kind of foundation that we need for our country to grow”.

    “We entered into a Siemens contract in 2019. We never lifted a finger until 2023, when this government came on board. So you can now imagine since this President came in, and now look at the mileage we have achieved. Even in this Siemens project, the pilot phase is almost completed, and that is in less than two years, when in four years we didn’t do anything”, Adelabu said while expressing optimism that the future is bright for the sector.

  • Fashola: we can’t cover every road in Nigeria

    Despite its involvement in over 500 roads, the Federal Government has said it is impossible to cover every nook and cranny of the country.

    While Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola reiterated the Federal Government ’s readiness to increase road construction in 2019, he regretted that prevailing realities were major hindrance.

    Fashola spoke in Abuja yesterday at the 2018/2019 budget meeting with House of Representatives’ Committee on Works, where he noted that his ministry would not be able to provide road infrastructure for every part of the country.

    Committee Chairman, Toby Okechukwu (PDP, Enugu) said the ministry needed to pay more attention to fixing  the nation’s roads for socio-ecomomc reasons.

    In his response, Fashola said expanding the nation’s road infrastructure was a major focus of his ministry, which led to the Tax  Credit Initiative for private companies.

    He said President Muhammadu Buhari recently signed Tax  Credit Initiative into an Executive Order.

    “If you look at the list of road projects under management, it is over 500.

    ‘’We can’t reach everybody at the same time, but I assure you, it will get to every part of the country; one after the other, he said.

    “Though the ministry is ready to redouble effort on road construction …funding has been the major impediment, Fashola added.

    ‘’No matter how passionate, how desirous we feel about doing much more, we must subscribe ourselves to the reality.

    ‘’The national budgetary plans are set out by the Budget Ministry, and we see it in the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), which is also submitted to parliament.

    ‘’This stipulates how much we can spend, how much we expect to receive unless we want to have unworkable budget by appropriating higher than what our fiscal realities dictate.”

    Read also: Fashola to implement national infrastructure maintenance programme

    He said private sector participation in funding road infrastructure provision was critical but the government had been able to find a way through it.

    Noting that the initiative would boost government budgetary spending on roads,  the minister said: “The idea is to advance their taxes to government for infrastructure and use it to build roads. Mr President recently signed an Executive Order to support that.

    ‘’And that leads to what we are saying about raising capital. The opportunities for more capital from stock market, private sector into our road funding is not closed.

    ‘’But I want to say also that we must moderate expenditure and reality of those companies.”

    On the Road Fund Bill, Fashola urged caution, noting that “the only issue I have with the bill is that we must be careful about applying percentages from fundraising initiatives; it may potentially create problem in future.

    “We will love to see Nigeria launch, maybe N10 trillion infrastructure bond once and for all, with legislative approval, or even more.

    “We can then draw down on that fund, go to the Capital Market year after year to issue bond to support rail, power, roads, bridges, airports, etc. Once we have consensus about our national infrastructure.’’

  • FG begins audit of construction sites to enforce Executive Order 5 – Fashola

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, on Thursday, said the Federal Government has begun auditing of construction sites to ensure enforcement of the Executive Order 5.

    Fashola made the disclosure at the second edition of the annual BRF GABFEST organised by some youths to honour him in Lagos.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that in February 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari had approved Executive Order 5, mandating Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to give preference to local engineering companies in the award of contracts in the country.

    The order is to grant priority to local companies on projects to the tune of 7.5 per cent, except in the absence of local engineers that could not execute the projects before international expertise could be engaged.

    According to him, a council for the enforcement of the order which seeks the prosperity of Nigerians has been set up.

    “The president has issued an executive order called Executive Order number 5.

    “”What the order seeks to achieve essentially is that anytime our economy produces opportunities, we must ensure that if Nigerians are able to do that job, we give them preference.

    “And it does not matter whether the loan is coming from China or India or from Kaura Namoda .

    ” The truth is that loan is a contract to borrow money which we will pay back;it is not a contract to sign away our sovereignty,’’ he said.

    He said the council for the enforcement of the Executive Order 5 had him, (Fashola) as a member and Ogbonaya Onu, the Minister for Science and Technology as the Chairman.

    “Some of the quick things we decided to do first is that, in my own department, we are going to audit all our construction sites.

    “On all our construction sites, we started audit and we want to find out how many ECOWAS citizens are working here.

    “If you are an ECOWAS citizen, you do not need a visa but you need a work permit.

    “We heard that Ghana supposedly deported some of our people, it is a right that every country has, if you violate their immigration laws.

    “It is a right we have never exercised and we are going to exercise it now,’’ he said.

    The minister urged foreigners with legitimate papers who want to work in Nigeria to follow the regulation in line with global practices.

    He explained that his ministry had also begun enforcement and sanctions on erring contractors who defy the Executive Order 5.

    “These are the policies about jobs and employment that are in place by the President Buhari led government,’’ he said.

    Fashola also emphasised the importance of maintenance in infrastructure and projects.

    “Maintenance is a critical income generation and major employer of labour.

    “Over 70 per cent goes into maintenance and operation in the building industry while designs employ about six per cent of capacity, with construction and governance accounting for only 15 and two per cent respectively.”

    Fashola said a facility management system had been proposed to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to ensure maintenance of the nation’s assets.

    He said that it included assessment of prisons, federal hospitals, courts, secondary schools and other public buildings.

    According to him, the maintenance framework will create mass employment opportunities in roads, rail, housings and other sectors

    “We once thought that maintenance was a culture but it is not a culture but an economy,’’ he said. (NAN)

  • 2019 budget: Special FEC session to hold Friday 

    Another Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting was on Wednesday fixed for Friday to deliberate on the 2019 Budget proposal.

    This was disclosed by the Special Adviser on Media and publicity, Femi Adesina at the end of FEC meeting chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Read Also:NASS joint committee meets again over INEC 2019 budget

    He was with the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and the Minister of Sports, Solomon Dalung.

    According to him, the meeting was necessary to quickly look at the proposal before forwarding it to the National Assembly for consideration.

     

    Details Later…

     

  • Stakeholders again oppose signing ACFTA

    …It’s time to act now – Osinbajo

     

    Some business stakeholders on Monday insisted that it was still too early for Nigeria to sign the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA).

    They bared their minds during the 8th Presidential Quarterly Business Forum held at the old Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja.

    President Muhammadu Buhari had last week disclosed that he will soon sign the agreement on behalf of Nigeria.

    While accepting that the agreement will be good for Nigeria in the long run, the stakeholders maintained that many things still need to be put in place in the country before Nigeria can sign the agreement.

    Read Also:Nigeria to sign ACFTA agreement in Rwanda

    Among the infrastructures they want in place, include good interstate roads, power, access to ports, efficient rail transportation in the country.

    If care is not taken, they warned that Nigeria will eventually become a dumping ground.

    Speaking at the interactive session, the Chairman of NEPAD Business Group and former President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chief Mrs. Nike Akande said Nigeria is not ready for the agreement until Nigeria’s goods and services are competitive enough.

    She pointed out that the government cannot do it alone, otherwise the country will become a dumping ground.

    According to her, good infrastructure is key to promoting trade and investment.

    Also speaking, the Vice President of the North-West Zone of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Engineer Ibrahim Usman, said “We are not against signing the agreement, but if we don’t get this right, we will be in trouble.

    “We agree that the agreement is for services and not goods. If things are still work in progress, why the hurry?” he queried

    He also urged the government to urgently conduct three studies including export market survey, study on national economic industrial product survey and study of liberalization on manufacturing in the country as a whole.

    The Director-General of the National Office of Trade Negotiations, Chiedu Osakwe also noted that there are longstanding issues in the Nigerian economy that must be addressed first.

    Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, pointed out that this is the time for Nigeria to act on the agreement.

    According to him, Nigeria cannot afford to take the back seat on the issue.

    Stressing that some of the fears expressed are not out of place, he said “While the engine is running, we are not going to wait. I think this is the time to go ahead and do something about it.”

    The Vice President said that the current administration has invested massively on infrastructures in the country.

    The Minister of Trade and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah, said that the agreement is a ticket to play.

    He also disclosed that there would be more engagements on the agreement with the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and other stakeholders.

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, who noted that the government started at the point of recession, said that the government is focused and has momentum.

    The government, he said, is supporting business in Nigeria to do what it does best.

    Whether the agreement is signed or not, he pointed out that Nigeria is already doing international trade with so much goods and services already leaving the shores of Nigeria on a daily basis.

    Stressing that if other smaller countries with less infrastructures and resources are ready and have signed the agreement, he raised a poser if Nigeria wants to play in the Olympics or Paralympics.

    According to him, the present administration is making headway in critical infrastructural developments in the country.

    Stressing that power in the country has been improved, he said that the conversation has changed from lack of power to how to distribute the excess generation.

    According to him, only 14 private sectors in Nigeria have indicated interest to take advantage of getting their power directly from the Gencos.

    On road projects, he said “There is no state in Nigeria where the government is not building at least one major road or the other.”

    The roads, he said are leading to international borders around the country.

     

  • End estimated billing now, Fashola tells DISCOs

    …as Minister commissions transformers in Kaduna, Zaria

     

     

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola on Monday told Power Distribution Companies (DISCOs) to work towards ending the estimated billing system, which he said is subjective and prone to abuse.

    To this end, the Minister urged the electricity distribution companies to access the Federal Government N37 billion fund under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) to achieve an end to the estimated billing regime.

    Fashola made the call at the 28th edition of the Monthly Power Sector Operators meeting hosted by the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KAEDCO) in Kaduna.

    According to him, the Executive arm of Government, had responded by taking advantage of the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) Regulations to deploy a fund of N37bn towards supplying meters through private sector.

    “Let me be clear that every DISCO is affected, and every DISCO needs to respond by providing meters quickly and seeking to end estimated billing, which is subjective, discretionary, and prone to abuse.

    “I therefore urge all DISCOs who have not taken benefit of this opportunity to quickly do so, or make their own funding arrangements to contract their own meter providers to supply and install meters.

    “On the Legislative side of Government, there is a clear intention to intervene by Legislation. The Executive and Legislative response show that Government is committed to addressing this issue of meters,” he said.

    Fashola said, meter supply had become the big issue of the moment that consumers want the stakeholders to resolve, adding that, “as a government, we hear them loudly and clearly, and as service providers, we hope that you can hear them too.

    “As power supply continues to increase in Generation, Transmission and Distribution, the demand for meters will increase because more power supply and consumption will likely result in increased bills.

    “Estimated billings in this circumstance will become a major cause of distrust and conflict between consumers and DISCOs and meters are the easiest way to build the bridge of trust,” he said.

    Read Also:Fashola: Estimated billings fueling conflict consumer, DisCos conflict

    He also urged the Operators, GENCOs, Transmission Company and DISCOs, who are the points of public interface on the need to pay more attention to service delivery, repairs, and maintenance of equipment.

    “My focus in this meeting will not be different. We are beginning a different weather season that will see more rainfall, thunderstorms, lightening and windstorms. All of these will affect regular supply one way or another. Trees will fall and disrupt lines, poles and lines may be damaged, and service will be disrupted.

    “In all these situations, we must prepare our staff to anticipate, plan, and respond. Most importantly, we must inform the public about the problems and what we are doing to restore service whenever there are disruptions.

    “As a consumer myself, nothing gives me more comfort than when my service provider shares information about service disruptions. It tells me quickly that at least somebody knows that there is a problem, and gives me hope that something is being done about it,” said the Minister.

    The Minister who had earlier commissioned three power substations with 60MVA Transformer that added to the Zaria 132 KV substation to increase the transformer capacity from 140 MVA to 200 MVA however expressed the Federal Government’s commitment for better service delivery by improving infrastructure.

    He said the transformers will improve service to customers of Kaduna DISCO in places like Zaria City, Sabon Gari, Samaru, Giwa, Yakawada, Tudun Wada and Markafi among others.

    The Minister also inaugurated the Power House 132/33KV Transmission Sub-station in Kakuri, Kaduna city, where the 2 X 60 MVA Transformers that had been upgraded from 190 MVA to 240 MVA as well as commissioned the 150MVA, 330/132KV transformer at the Mando Station.

    He said the upgraded sub-stations would improve service of Kaduna DISCO to customers in places like Kaduna Township, Rigasa, Kakuri, Rigachukwu, Chikun, Sabon Tasha, among other communities.

    He said upgrade projects were going on in more than 280 injection stations and sub-stations as being carried by the TCN and the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) across the country.

  • FEC okays $995 million, N15.45 billion for roads projects 

    …Approves 21 million Euros for tug boats

     

    The Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday approved $995 million and N15.45 billion for two roads projects in the country.

    Briefing State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola said that N15.45 billion was approved for 58.9 kilometer Magami – Kwajani – Ningi road connecting Bauchi and Kano states.

    He also said that $995 million was approved by FEC for the phase 2 of Abuja – Keffi – Akwanga – Lafia – Makurdi road

    Read Also:FEC approves N61bn for road projects, others

    The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi disclosed that 21 million Euros was approved for the purchase of two tug boats for towage purposes in the Nigerian waters.

    He said that approval was also given for dredging of water in Barrow, where vessels are meant to turn, at the cost of N703 million.

    Water Resources Minister, Suleiman Adamu disclosed that the Council approved N719 million for constituency project on the Lower Benue River Basin Development.

    According to him, it involves construction of 80 meter five span bridge in Karo, Nasarawa State, with completion period of two years.

    He said that FEC also approved another constituency project, which is the construction of half dam and irrigation scheme in Kwarangwa in Bauchi State at a cost of N1.36 billion.

    Details Later…

     

  • New NERC chairman vows to review tariff

    …FG to evacuate stranded 2000mw this year

     

    The tariff issue that has held the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) down since 2015 would soon be resolved as the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) chairman, Prof. James Momoh Thursday vowed to review it.

    Speaking with reporters after the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola inaugurated him in Abuja, he said the commission has no choice other than looking into the computation of the tariff.

    As the reporters put it to him that the tariff has remained a major issue in the electricity market asking what would he do about it, he swiftly said that “the tariff is not a challenge you cannot solve. It happened; you learnt something about it last week. You don’t have to relearn the same lesson today.

    “You should be able to ask question what are we going to do tomorrow to avoid the problem. There is what you call Data Science in the new thinking of the world, where we collect data, you learn from the information and you predict the future. So if we don’t do that we are wasting our time. Because you know it is going to rain tomorrow so you get your umbrella. You don’t wait until it rains before you go by umbrella.

    Asked whether his response suggests if there is going to be some progress in the clearance of the tariff issue that has lingered over the years, the new NERC boss said that “We have no choice we have to look at what computes a tariff. Tariff is not a guesswork. There is a calculation you do to get there.”

    Momoh promised to bring the experience that he has garnered over the years to bear in the commission, stressing that he believes in team work and addressing quick wins.

    He pointed out that some of the quick wins should be what the commission could do in terms of estimated metering and how to ensure that it gets enough data to convince customers to pay for the power they use.

    He also pledged to bring the best practices to the industry in the bid to ensure that NESI is a quality and reliable power supplier.

    There is also the need to ensure that there is innovation in the industry, he said, stressing that “if we remain the same, and we remain static, and we are not solving real problem, we will just be doing fire brigade promise. The GenCos will always tell you there is a blackout without knowing why.

    “You are going to ask question why. I know why, because I know the Mathematics behind it, I know the Physics behind it. I know also the Economics behind it. If we are able to teach people to know why things go wrong, perhaps, we learn from our mistakes.”

    Momoh, who said the industry should anticipate problems, insisted that “we look back, we use lessons of yesterday to solve tomorrow’s problem.”

    Earlier Fashola said that observers would admit that power supply has increased since 2015, submitting that “without a doubt, we have increased generation to 7000mw, increasing the transmission to over 7,000mw, and increasing the distribution from 2,690 to average of 4,900 or 5,000.”

    He announced that the electricity market has a capacity of 2,000mw that has been stranded, which the ministry is working to distribute before this year is over.

    According to him, the NESI has a new stock of 459MW underway from Azura that has notified him on the completion of its plant and its readiness to commence operation.

    Momoh said that the sector is expecting another 240Mw from Afam and another 215MW from Kaduna. Besides, he noted that the market is also expecting power from Kashimbilla, “but the distribution end is where our challenge lies.”

    The minister revealed that the mini grid regulation has started yielding results, and the ministry is already seeing the impacts in the market.

    He said that this year, markets like Suru in Lagos, Sabon Gari market in in Kano, Ariria market in Aba, and some other markets are going to be energized.

    Fashola noted that since the completion of the privatization of the sector, the size of the ministry has shrunk from the previous staff strength of the 50,000 to less than 1,000.

  • Fashola, Ajimobi, UI VC make case for renewable energy

    Fashola, Ajimobi, UI VC make case for renewable energy

    Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Raji Fashola has warned that for renewable energy to develop in the Country and particularly in the country, the government must give similar priority to renewable energy as conventional power plants to maintain a balanced energy ix in the short, medium and long-term.

    Pointing out that renewable energy are the fastest power plants that can be deployed as the technologies required are compatible with what he described as the nations decentralized, stand-alone ideal for local, rural communities, the former governor of Lagos state stressed that efforts, however, must be intensified at improving the transmission grid.

    The Minister spoke while giving a keynote address at the Renewable Energy Conference, organized by the Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law (CPEEL), University of Ibadan with the theme: “Developing Renewable Energy in Africa: The Interplay of Technology, Economics and Law.”

    The 2day CPEEL-ANSOLE annual international conference which attracted experts, scholars, students and participants from different African countries held at the Premier Hotel, Mokola Hill, Ibadan.

    Speaking through the Acting Director, Renewable and Rural Power Access Development, Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Faruk Yabo, Fashola noted that “the huge energy deficit and the negative environmental impact of using fossil fuel for energy generation, as well as the falling costs of renewable energy technologies like solar power, are driving the current energy transition towards renewable energy as being witnessed across the world, including here in Africa.”

    He lamented that despite Africans trillions standard cubic feet (SCFs) of natural gas reserves, billions of barrels of crude oil reserves, billions of tonnes of coal and even greater abundance of renewable energy resources, “nearly 1.5 billion people estimated to lack electricity supply the world over, half lived in Africa” with Nigeria alone estimated to have 90 million people living without electricity supply.

    As parts of the implementation of the power sector recovery programme, the Minister said that the “Federal government is implementing off-grid renewable energy solutions such as rural mini-grids, standalone home solutions, IPP for Federal Universities, Teaching Hospitals and large-scale solar PV projects such as the Jigawa solar city.

    He said, “In 2018 we are making efforts to complete and commission the following renewable energy projects: 10 MW Katsina wind farm, 30MW Gurara Hydro Power, 29MW Dadin Kowa Hydropower and 40MW Kashimbila HydroPower, 700MW Zungeru Hydro Power and the 14 Solar IPP are expected to come on stream soon.”

    In a short remark before declaring the conference opening, Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi noted that “the good Lord has blessed us with abundant diverse natural resources that are continuously replenished continuously. But we need the policy to encourage investors in developing the technology for Africa and to also embolden financials to allocate huge funds to renewable energy development in Africa.

    “The outlook of us as policymakers, researchers and investors is a strategic partnership that will result to increase in the contribution of renewable energy generation in Nigeria and Africa as a whole, in a way that will make it attractive, accessible and affordable to the general public.”

    Ajimobi who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Dr. Gbade Ojo charged all the participants to “enlighten policymakers on the significant opportunities in renewable energy, which includes but not limited to energy efficiency, energy security, reduction in environmental pollution especially air pollution and improve public healthcare and one must not forget economic benefits to the users and the government.”

    Vice Chancellor, UI, Prof. Idowu Olayinka said the conference and the theme is very relevant and important at this critical period, given the current energy challenges adding that the “significance is not just for the town but also for the gown as the University spends very considerable amount of money to ensure stable electricity supply that can support research, training and other activities on campus that will impact the nation and the world positively.

    He appeals to the FG through the minister to revisit the pledge of a support to build a 10MW solar plant in collaboration with Germany about two years ago, noting that the project has not made any significant progress since it was launched.

    “I will like to remind the Hon. Minister that about two years ago, the Federal Government made a pledge of support to build a 10MW Solar Plant in collaboration with the German for the University. While other universities have been included in the scheme, the University of Ibadan is yet to record any progress on the plant.

    “I want to use this opportunity to appeal to the Hon. Minister and the Rural Electrification Agency to revisit the project given that the successful completion will further aid research and training activities in the University as we all work very hard to make UI the best among the rest”, the VC appealed.

    Earlier, the director, CPEEL, Prof. Adeola Adenikiju in his welcome address said the objectives of organizing the conference, which was the third in the series was, “to bring together senior policymakers, industry experts and academics to discuss current energy issues that are relevant to the 20 countries in the Gulf of Guinea region; to address energy challenges in a multidisciplinary framework as well as to encourage the sharing of experiences among the countries in the sub-region and from other parts of the world in order to learn best practices from each other.

    Read Also: Fashola: Fed Govt will repair its roads in Ekiti

  • Govt urges enumeration of electricity consumers

    The Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) needs to embark on the enumeration of electricity consumers, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has said.

    He said the electricity market lacks the knowledge of how much, or how many people are utilising the power since some customers bear the burden of paying for stolen energy owing to lack of meters for billing consumption.

    Fashola called for social justice between the consumers and the service providers, urging whistleblowers to assist the NESI with intelligence on energy theft that could lead to the arrest of the thieves.

    The minster who spoke at a workshop for the Civil Societies Organizations (CSOs) on the Power Sector Reform Programme in Abuja, blamed the commercial losses of the Distribution Companies (DisCos) on energy theft.

    “Energy theft is the cause, if you sell the product and you don’t collect the money, that business is in danger. So, in my opinion, we need to know how many people are using the electricity. We don’t know.  So, some people are paying for what others are using and we need meters to achieve justice between consumers and service providers.

    “This is a place we need a lot of whistleblowing, if you know anybody who is stealing energy, call us so we will come and pick the person. So that he will stop being a problem to his community,” Fashola said.

    Some of the CSOs had lamented that the ministry was only considering the commercial losses of the DisCos, yet reticent about customers and communities that have also become investors, providing electricity cables, transformers and other equipment to the companies, who also charge them exorbitant estimated bills.

    Fashola asked the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to respond to the CSOs position.

    Reacting, the Commissioner on Consumer Affairs, Dr. Moses Arigu, said the due process for community to follow to procure equipment as transformers for the DisCos, is to start from informing the DisCo, the Nigerian Electricity Management Service Agency to arrange and ensure the standard of the transformer prior to its procurement.

    He said: “The money is supposed to be refunded. Again, you have to work it out with the DisCo and that is not physical cash, but through energy crediting. So it is not that when we invest why should they send a bill again?

    Fashola said the final consultative forum for the metering regulation was held in Lagos on Monday and Tuesday. The document, according to him, will solve problems of estimated billings.

    The Power Sector Recovery Programme Components aims at the definition of a “tariff adjustment trajectory, so that tariffs cover the revenue requirement of efficient service provision by 2021.