The Nation Newspaper

Tag: power firm

  • Power firm donates smart meters

    An energy distribution firm,  PAKTIM, has donated free smart meters to distribution companies (DisCos).

    Its Director, Prince Larry Adesida said the company is committed to the growth of the energy sector by providing advanced solutions to tackle the challenges.

    “Given Nigeria’s unique terrain where many of the rural settlements have dwellers who are often times, financially incapable of purchasing and installing these smart meters, PAKTIM has resolved – as one of the tenets of its corporate social responsibility – to provide up to ten percent of electricity meters procured by the DisCos on a pro bono basis,” he said.

    He said prior to the launch of Meter Asset Provider (MAP) Scheme by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the firm had been solving   the challenges that various DisCos had in purchasing electricity meters on a “cash-and-carry,” basis.

    Adesida said with that development, the country is set to witness advances in the energy sector. According to him,  for over a decade, PAKTIM has consistently played immense role in ensuring the sector is at par with modern international standard.

    He said the company has worked with the DisCos, offering them vendor financing which meant greater, more positive cash flow for the DisCos in providing the services that Nigerians dearly require.’

    Adesina appealed to the Federal Government to implement a process that prosecutes any person found guilty of using smart meters and energy illegally.

  • Ex-NDPHC boss to float power firm

    The former Managing Director, Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), Mr. James Olotu has disclosed that in partnership with the best brains in the power sector, he is floating a company counting on the team’s longstanding intelligent base, human relationship, energy, power and trust.

    He told a select journalists in Abuja that he is the chairman of the firm, which is known as Innovest Solution Limited, that will be providing solutions to Nigeria’s issues.

    Asked to state the capital base of the company, Olotu said that “You don’t really need much money except to have the intelligent base and the human relationship, energy and power and the trust which you have invested in for so many years.”

    He revealed that the firm is already discussing with a state governor that wants to build a 500mw plant, deep sea port, a fertiliser plant, etc.

    According to him, since the firm and the state government do not have the money, it has manpower in different fields  and could approach international investors to inject their funds into the project base on confidence.

  • Power firm employees pledge improved service

    Employees of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) have pledged support to the new management of the firm, appointed last week by the government, to deliver on power projects.

    General Manager, Communication and public Relations, Mr Yakubu Lawal who confirmed this in a statement at the weekend, said workers never protested the appointment of a new chief executive.

    “The dissolved Executive Directors were appointed in 2015 while the former Managing Director spent 10 years as Chief Executive Officer of NDPHC,” Lawal said

    To give fillip to its plan to improve electricity supply the Federal Government last week dissolved the Executive Management of NDPHC and appointed an acting Managing Director.

    At a town hall meeting to welcome Mr.Chiedu Ugbo, as the new MD, they pledged their total support for the effective delivery of NIPP projects thereby boosting power supply stability in the country.

    The workers also believed that NIPP has played a vital role in the power infrastructure development across the country and assured the new managing director that they are ready to raise the bar so that all on-going NIPP projects will be delivered within the schedule and look forward to kick start the phase II projects of the company.

    Acting Executive Directors and Senior Managers who spoke on behalf of the workers told the new Managing Director that NDPHC relates like a family and urged him to sustain the family ties in the company.

    “We are like family, these young men and women are ready to work with you and support you,”

    Mr. Ugbo requested them to cooperate with him to sustain and increase the momentum of project delivery for the benefit of all Nigerians. “I know that it may be difficult to adjust to this change considering the fact that everybody is used to previous management but we have work to do and need everyone’s cooperation to deliver projects to Nigerians’ Ugbo said.

  • Power firm plans 750mw for next month

    Power firm plans 750mw for next month

    A power firm –the Transcorp Power Limited – yesterday pledged to generate 750mw of electricity by December 31 to boost supply in the country.

    Also yesterday, the Ministry of Power announced that power supply increased to 4,043.15 megawatts (MW) last Thursday.

    The ministry said the electricity market recorded 1,161.59MW increase in transmission within eight days from the November 18 statistics.

    In the period under review, the ministry’s website noted that the energy generation in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) was   4,124.26MW.

    This indicated that the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) could not evacuate 81.11 MW.

    The market hit a peak power generation of 4,716MW from the 4,073.4MW of November 18 power statistics, resulting in a rise of 642.6MW in the period under review.

    The TCN, last week, announced the achievement of a new record peak generation of 4,883.9MW and the highest maximum daily energy delivery of 106,288.48MWH.

    The new peak generation was achieved at 21.15hours on Monday, November 23.

    The Managing Director, System Operation/Market Operation, TCN, Dipak Sarma, attributed the achievement to the improvement in the supply of gas to the power generating stations and enhanced cooperation among the operators.

    However, the record remained a far cry from the 6,000MW installed generation and 5,500MW transmission capacity of the power sector.

    “We have increased power generation by more than 525 per cent in the two years since we acquired Ughelli Power Plant, which makes ours the fastest growing among privatised power assets in the country. We are aggressively pursuing our generation recovery capacity programme and are on course to deliver 760MW by December 2015, said Adeoye Fadeyibi, CEO of Transcorp Power.

    The company’s chairman Tony Elumelu, added: “As one of the leading power generating companies in Nigeria, our focus remains on aggressively increasing our output and expanding our capacity to generate at least 25 per cent of Nigeria’s power.

    Transcorps Power Limited emerged from the merger of Transcorp Ughelli Power Ltd and Ughelli Power Plc.

    The merger was designed to harmonise the management and operations of Transcorp’s power business for greater efficiency. Greater operational efficiency will undoubtedly lead to higher output in terms of power generation and increased shareholder value. Ughelli Power Plant, the company’s power generating asset, is the nation’s largest fossil-fuel generating plant.

     

  • ‘FAAN not indebted to power firm’

    The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) said yesterday that it is not indebted to the Ikeja Distribution Company (IKEDC) for power supplied to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport,  Lagos.

    The General Manager, Corporate Communications, FAAN, Yakubu Dati  who made this known yesterday,  said FAAN will continue to carry out its obligation to the power distribution company to enable it serve its teeming clients at the airport,

    He said information making the round that the power company is planning to cut supply of electricity to the airport is part of the blackmail plot by some debtors who are reluctant to pay what they owed the authority.

    Dati urged users of the airport and other stakeholders, to discountenance any information suggesting that there would be power outage at the Lagos Airport on account of the alleged debts.

    He said FAAN has over the years maintained good relationship with the power and distribution company for regular supply of power to the airport.

    ”There is no  planned black- out at the airport. FAAN is not owing Ikeja Distribution Company. People who are  spreading such rumour are embarking on cheap blackmail. They are going under the radar to pull FAAN down,” Dati said.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    As service providers , we pay for the services rendered to us by the power company .This blackmail is coming from debtor contractors , which want to distract FAAN .”

    Meanwhile, FAAN has reiterated its call to debtors to pay up what they owe the authority else their names would be published in the newspapers.

    Dati said some of the debtors have started reaching out to the debt recovery unit of FAAN for reconciliation of what they owe .

    He said :” The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) wishes to notify all its debtors, including airlines, concessionaires and other service providers, at all Nigerian airports, that the Authority will soon publish a list of such debtors in major Nigerian newspapers as a prelude to other measures designed to help the Authority recover all its outstanding debts.

    All affected customers of the Authority are hereby advised to approach the Authority’s Debt Recovery Department at its headquarters or Airport Managers across the country with relevant documents for reconciliation of accounts with the Authority.

    The Authority is constrained to take this measure because the level of indebtedness to the Authority may soon begin to take a toll on its services which should not be allowed to happen, in the overall interest of safety and security at airports.

    The Authority has also observed, rather sadly, that most of its customers deliberately refuse to pay their charges/fees long after FAAN has rendered them statutory services.”

     

  • Power firm worried over harassment of staff

    The Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) has decried the spate of harassment and violent attacks on its members of staff on official duty in some communities in Lagos.

    The company’s Assistant General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr. Godwin Idemudia said the company will not tolerate any molestation, harassment or violent attacks perpetrated by anybody or group of people against its staff while performing their legitimate duties.

    He said some individuals and communities are in the habit of attacking EKEDC staff to evade payment of electricity bill or disconnection for non-payment. He cited  a retired Army officer in  Lagos, who attempted to shoot one of the company’s staff that was in his house to ascertain whether the house had paid its electricity for the month.

    According to him, the case has been lodged with the police and investigations have started, adding that the company would pursue the case to a logical conclusion through diligent prosecution of the perpetrator in court. He urged members of the public who have complaints on the conducts of any staff of the company to report to the business district or company’s headquarters instead of taking the law into their hands.

    He explained that the company is doing everything to ensure that the customer is treated with utmost respect and esteem, but will not hold back from protecting the rights of its staff to perform their legitimate duties unhindered and unimpeded as guaranteed by law.

  • Vigeo pays $96.75m for power firm

    Vigeo pays $96.75m for power firm

    Vigeo Power Limited yesterday concluded the payment for the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC). It paid $96.75million to the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).

    The company had earlier paid $32.25million – representing 25 per cent of the $129million bid price for the BEDC, covering Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti States.

    Chairman of the company, Mr Gbolade Osibodu, confirmed the payment. He said his company is taking over the power firm.

    He assured that the staff would be given a chance to prove themselves in line with the company’s vision.

    On how prepared the firm is to take possession, he said: “We have been around for 11 years now. As a turnaround management, we are well positioned to help drive the process taking into account the people and technology to ensure that we provide adequate services.”

    The BPE also confirmed the payment.

    Vigeo Power Ltd is one of the consortia that emerge as core investors in the Federal Government’s privatisation programme in the power sector, having clinched BEDC in the open and internationally-acclaimed competitive bid process held in 2012.

    Vigeo Holdings Limited is the consortium lead and equity member, with Global Utilities Management Company Limited (GUMCO) as local technical partner and equity member, African Finance Corporation (AFC) as equity member and TATA Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) as the foreign technical partner. TATA Power Delhi Distribution Limited (TPDDL) will provide technical service for BEDC on the wire side while GUMCO provides technical service on the commercial side. PWC of India is the transaction advisers.

    Vigeo Holdings is a multi business group with interest in major sectors of the Nigerian economy.