The Nation Newspaper

Tag: power generation

  • DISCO to diversify into solar, wind power generation

    •Apologises to customers

    Kano State Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) said yesterday that it would diversify into other sources of power generation.

    It described the present situation as frustrating and pathetic, saying power outage was caused by vandals, who damaged gas pipelines and other facilities used for power generation.

    Addressing reporters at KEDCO headquarters in Kano, the Managing Director, Dr. Jamil Isyaku Gwamna, said the company entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with investors to work out alternative sources of power generation.

    Gwawna, represented by the Chief Technical Officer, David Omoloye, said the company was ready to generate power through solar energy and wind power, adding that these two sources, when put into use, would ease the challenges faced in power generation.

    He decried vandalism of gas pipelines and other facilities, saying it crippled power generation and distribution, thereby affecting socio-economic activities.

    Gwawna said: “It’s a serious situation. I implore our customers to have confidence in us and show understanding in this trying period.

    “We have been receiving only 50 megawatts in the last few weeks and it has compounded the problem. This is against the 5,000 megawatts we received before vandals damaged the gas pipelines.

    “They plunged us into this mess. We are trying our best to get other sources of power supply to improve electricity. We apologise to our customers to bear with us.

    “Kano State government is also making efforts to generate 1,000 megawatts from solar energy. It is partnering foreign investors to actualise this.”

     

  • Erratic power supply: Kano DISCO apologises to customers

    Kano State Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) monday declared its intention to diversify into other sources of power generation, describing the current situation as frustrating and pathetic as a result of the activities of vandals who have been destroying gas pipelines and other facilities of power generation.

    Speaking to reporters at KEDCO headquarters in Kano, the Managing Director, Dr. Jamil Isyaku Gwamna said that already, the company has entered into Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with investors to work out alternative sources of power generation.

    Gwawna who spoke through the Chief Technical Officer of KEDCO, Engr. David Omoloye, said that the company is ready to generate power through solar energy and wind power, adding that these two sources of energy when put in use in a couple of years will ease the current challenges faced in the course of power generation.

    The KEDCO boss, however, expressed bitterness over the issue of vandalization which is said has virtually crippled power generation and distribution across the country, thereby, affecting socio-economic activities negatively.

    According to him, “it is a serious situation which is presently beyond us; and I want I want our customers to have confident in us and show understanding in this trying period. It not our making those customers does not get adequate power supply.

    “Presently, we have been receiving only 50 megawatts in the past weeks which have made the situation pathetic. This is against 5000 megawatts that we receive before the current challenges caused by vandals.

    “It is the vandals that plunge us into this mess and that are why we are trying our best to see that we can get into other sources of power supply to augment the current situation. We deeply apologize to our customers and that is why the company is looking for other alternatives for renewable energy which our investors have already indicated interest.

    “You are also aware that Kano state government on its own is making efforts to generate 1000 megawatts from solar energy. You know that already, the government is in partnership with foreign investors to actualize this. So, in less than no time, things will improve.”

     

  • FG to diversify electricity generation using Nuclear energy

    FG to diversify electricity generation using Nuclear energy

    The Federal Government says it will diversify the nation’s electricity generation using nuclear energy.

    This is contained in a statement issued on Thursday by Mr Timothy Oyedeji, Director Press, Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, and sent to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

    According to the statement, the Minister of Power Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, challenged experts to domesticate issues on Nuclear Energy in the industry.

    The statement reiterated federal government’s commitment in diversifying its energy mix beyond traditional sources of gas, oil and Hydro to include nuclear and other renewable sources like solar, biomass and wind.

    It stated that the minister said this when he received the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mr Yukiya Amano, in his office.

    It said that Fashola challenged Atomic Energy experts to do more in the area of public enlightenment as many Nigerians had limited knowledge about the use of nuclear technology for power.

    “You must begin to break down the seeming complex issues around nuclear power into simple terms and language that our people can understand.

    “We must try to demystify issues around nuclear power in Nigeria,” the statement quoted Fashola as saying.

    It stated that Nigeria cannot afford to be left behind in the acquisition of appropriate nuclear technologies.

    The statement also said the comprehensive nuclear law was with the parliament and would be enacted soon.

    It assured that government would do all within its power to strengthen the capacity of the regulatory regime.

    According to the statement, all procurement activities for the first nuclear power plant with generation capacity of 1,200MW of power to the National Grid by 2025 would be done as scheduled.

    The statement listed Geregu in Ajaokuta local government area of Kogi, and Itu local government area of Akwa-Ibom as the two sites selected by the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC).

    It added that these projects would be financed through Public-Private Participation (PPP) policy for infrastructural development in the country with target to increase it to 4,800MW by the year 2035.

    It stated that Amano expressed satisfaction with NAEC and its team of experts for the research works and human capacity building efforts in this specialised field.

    It added that Amano urged the NAEC to leave no stone unturned in letting Nigerians know that nuclear energy was for peace purposes.

    The statement also quoted the IAEA director-general as saying that “Nigeria’s nuclear energy was for developmental purposes in areas such as engineering, medicine, environmental protection, security, agriculture and food security.”

    The statement said that Amano informed the minister that the IAEA regarded Nigeria as an important partner.

    It stated that IAEA wanted to transfer nuclear technology that would not be adverse to Nigeria.
    It added that IAEA as a responsible international agency wanted Nigeria to use nuclear power for peace and development.

    It said that Dr Erepamo Osaisai, the Director-General of NAEC, stated that Nigeria had made remarkable progress in development and strengthening of activities in diverse and specialised areas of nuclear energy.

    The statement listed energy planning, peaceful use of nuclear for industrial, education, research works, medicine and power generation as areas Nigeria had made progress in.

    According to the statement, the NAEC DG pledged that the commission will continue to drive efforts in areas of technical know-how, manpower and capacity building for overall development of nuclear technologies in Nigeria.

     

  • Power generation ‘ll increase to 2,000Mw, says Fashola

    Power generation ‘ll increase to 2,000Mw, says Fashola

    Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, has expressed optimism that given the various plans undertaken by the government in the sector, power generation would increase with additional 2000megawatts (Mw) by the last quarter of this year.

    He spoke during the Ministry’s budget defence before the Senate Committee on Power and Mines adding that a lot has changed in the management of the sector in recent times.

    Distribution of Power is no longer government business, but has been taken over by private firms.  Also government has privatised power generation which has steered towards the full privatisation of the sector with transmission aspect being managed by Manitoba International of Canada, he explained.

    Assistant Director (Press), Power Ministry, Etore E. Thomas, in a statement quoted Fashola as saying that  the 2016 budget focuses more on  transmission, completion of ongoing projects, refurbishing power plants and tackling gas supply issues.

  • Power generation to increase by 2,000 MW – Fashola

    Power generation to increase by 2,000 MW – Fashola

    Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, has expressed optimism that given the various plans under taken by the present administration in the sector, power generation would increase with additional 2000MW by the last quarter of 2016.

    He stated this at the Ministry’s budget defence before the Senate Committee on Power and Mines adding that a lot have changed in the management of power in the country, in recent times.

    Distribution of Power is no longer government business, but has been taken over by private Companies.  Also government has privatized power generation which has steered towards the full privatization of the sector with transmission aspect being managed by Manitoba International of Canada.

    The ministry’s Assistant Director (Press), Etore E. Thomas, who made this disclosure in a statement Tuesday quoted him as saying that the 2016 budget focuses more on the transmission, completion of on-going projects, refurbishing power plants and tackling gas supply issues.

    If all these, are well addressed, the expected projection would boost electricity generation in the country.

    The Minister further stated that the Ministry plans to take its role as a Policy maker more seriously while the Agencies will be tasked more on implementation and execution of government’s agenda for the sector.

    Speaking earlier, Chairman of the Committee, Senator James Manager, charged the Ministry to think out of the box, if it is to achieve its goals of taking Nigeria’s Power Sector to the next level.

    He stated that Nigerians should reap from the sacrifices incurred in increase in tariff by enjoying uninterrupted power supply.

  • Fashola unfolds 13-point agenda to revive power sector

    Fashola unfolds 13-point agenda to revive power sector

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, on Monday unfolded a 13-point agenda to drive efforts towards enhancing power supply in the country.

    Fashola said in Abuja during his maiden meeting with power generation, distribution and transmission companies, and other stakeholders that the agenda was drawn up to ensure effective monitoring of the sector.

    The minister said the agenda involves continuous public engagement on tariff collection, debts, power generation, maintenance, ancillary services, dispatch orders and discipline.

    Other areas include gas requirement and constraints, transmission constraints, 33KV load off take, imbalances-locations of excess, overload safety, service quality, new captive and embedded generation, franchising and other issues relevant to the growth of the sector.

    According to Fashola, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved that all stakeholders in the sector should hold monthly meetings on issues concerning the industry.

    He said that the meeting would be rotated among the various GENCOs, DISCOs, TCN and other stakeholders across the country.

    Fashola said that all decisions reached in such meetings would be binding on all the stakeholders.

    In this respect, the minister stated that the various companies and stakeholders would each be represented by a management member with authority to take decision on behalf of their companies.

    He explained that in order to minimise the cost of hosting the meetings, the companies were advised to jointly pull up resources required to hold the meetings.

    The minister further said the meetings would also involve lawyers, engineers, planners and other stakeholders, adding that the ministry would issue a communiqué at the end of each meeting on steps taken to address challenges in the sector.

     

  • U.S. to assist Nigeria in power sector – Envoy

    U.S. to assist Nigeria in power sector – Envoy

    Mr James Entwistle, the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria says his country will assist Nigeria to increase its power generation.

    Entwistle spoke on Tuesday in Abuja when he visited the Minister of Science and Technology, Ogbonannya Onu, in his office.

    He said that the U.S. would assist the country through “Power Africa Programme“ to increase power generation, distribution and transmission.

    “We are looking for stronger role by private sector in the power industries to support Nigeria for better generation, transmission and distribution.

    “We will encourage large private power companies to come and invest in Nigeria because we see the private sector as a solution to many of the energy challenges in Africa,’’ he said.

    The ambassador said that the U.S. was also set to collaborate with the ministry to assist in other areas to promote science, technology and innovation toward national development.

    Onu expressed gratitude to the envoy for the visit and assured him of his ministry’s readiness to partner with the U.S. government.

    “USA is a largest economy in the world which is driven by pronounced innovation.

    “We want partnership that will advance the science sector to diversify the economy,“ he said.

  • Power generation to hit 6,000mw by December – NERC

    Power generation to hit 6,000mw by December – NERC

    The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has said that it will step up the current 5000 megawatts of electricity generation to 6000 mw by December.

    The NERC Chairman, Dr Sam Amadi, made this statement at a two-day workshop organised for stakeholders in the sector to chat a way forward in Abuja on Tuesday.

    Amadi said the workshop was to ensure that generation and transmission companies improved on their services by providing adequate power to Nigerians.

    He said the essence of the workshop was to ensure that stakeholders in the industry reinforced their technical capacity on the grid in order to accommodate more energy.

    The chairman said the workshop was to brainstorm with stakeholders by showing them the template designed by NERC to enable them deliver effectively and on time.

    According to him, the main problem of electricity in Nigeria today is scarcity of supply.

    “We saw in June, how generation capacity went as low as 2000mw, but later went up to 4.700mw.

    “We set a bench mark of at least 5000mw but today we are at 5000 mw or more hoping to reach 6000mw before December,’’ he said.

    He said distribution, transmission and generation companies were faced with challenges, hence the need for the commission to organise the workshop to find ways of surmounting these problems.

    Amadi said performance management and poor project management were major factors affecting the energy industry.

    He gave another challenge facing the sector as miss-procurement, whereby officials procured equipment or awarded contracts that were not delivered.

    Amadi said poor budgeting had also posed a major challenge in the power sector.

    “ For instance, if TCN proposed a budget of N50 billion but government approved N30 billion and releases only N10 billion it will stall the implementation of projects in the sector.

    “There is nowhere in the world where projects can be completed with this type of budget provision,’’ he said.

  • Why govt can’t improve power generation

    Why govt can’t improve power generation

    Lack of  appropriate gas pricing regime is stalling efforts by the Federal Government to improve electricity generation and supply, the Chief Executive Officer, Sahara Group, owners of Ikeja Electric and Egbin Power Plant, Mr Kola Adesina, has said.

    He  said natural gas, which is a feedstock in the sector, is yet to command the right price, despite the decision of the Federal Government to review the price of the product upwardly, and make it more accessible to thermal plants that rely on it to generate 70 per cent of the electricity required in the country.

    He said Nigerians, especially power firms’operators, do not price gas well because they do not see it as an economic product, adding that the issue is affecting electricity generation and supply.

    He said: “One of the major problems in the sector is ineffective gas pricing regime. People do not see gas as an economic product, and as such, unable to price it well. People only see gas as a socio-political product, hence their inability to price the product well and further use it to provide additional economic activities. The moment gas users such as power firms, petrochemical industries and others see gas as an economic product; they would price it well knowing they use will use it to provide more activities for the economy.

    “The government should come out with an economic model where critical assumptions and frameworks relating to production, sales and pricing of gas are mentioned and made to function. I’m talking about a model in which the component part of any pricing regime is factored. The model should be able to answer these questions: “How much is the price of gas today?  What is the quantity of gas made available to users?  Based on this, gas users would know where, when and the amount they would buy the product for production activities. “

    He said once the right price regime exists in the industry, it would be easier for government to facilitate the growth of the sector.

    Adesina said people that are desirous of change in the sector must be ready to pay the price, adding that through this, the sector would record growth.

    “In the telecommunication sector, some people were desirous of change; they paid the price and the economy is better for it. For instance, anybody that is going to set up a telecom company would find out whether the cost of providing services to people is good or bad, right or wrong. Having done this, he would be able to know what would happen, let’s say, in the next one, two, three or four  years.  Besides, he would be able to know much profit he would make.  What is happening in the telecom should be replicated in the electricity sector,” he added.

    The Federal Government has over the years upwardly reviewed the price of gas from less than a dollar for 1,000 standard cubic feet to $2.50, which the same quantity sells now, all in an effort to ensure that producers make uninterrupted supply to consumers.

  • Promote embedded power generation, Nebo urges NERC

    Promote embedded power generation, Nebo urges NERC

    MINISTER  of power, Prof Chinedu Nebo has directed the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to create incentives, such as tax holidays and cost-reflective tariff, among others, to woo investors to build embedded power generation plants to boost supply.

    He spoke in Lagos after inaugurating the Niger Delta Power Holding Company’s 330/132/33kv transmission substation, 2x300MVA on 330/33kv and 2x60MVA on 132/33kv facilities built under the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP).

    Nebo, who represented Vice President Namadi Sambo, said the adoption of embedded power generation is key to solving the nation’s power problems because it is easier to build embedded power plants and get them connected to the national grid.

    He said the government has put in place a policy that will ensure the implementation of embedded type of power generation.

    He said: “Embedded generation is the fastest way to bring  light to Nigerians. We have policies that give that direction. What we are working on now is to incentivise the investors because it is much easier to and much more proficient to do 10 different 20 megawatts (MW) power stations than to do one 200MW power station.

    “Building a 200MW power station will take you three-to five years but you can deploy these other ones within a year. So embedded generation is the key and NERC has been directed to ensure that whatever needs to be done by the regulatory agency to make sure that people are incentivised to do embedded generation.”

    He continued: “The problem that we have always  is lack of transmission infrastructure. There is so much congestion in the Lagos line, so there is need for expansion, making available much larger transmission capacity so that current and voltage coming into Lagos will always be stable and reliable. One major significant solution is this one transmission substation. It gives relief to Ikeja West substation and makes it easier for power to get around in very good quality and reliable form.”

    He noted that about 6,000 megawatts (MW) of power can be generated if gas is available but the challenge  is the activities of vandals,  adding that the only way to stem vandalism is by digitising the entire gas and oil pipelines, which requires a huge sum of money.

    He added: “The fact is that quite recently, there has been contract for the monitoring of the pipelines but you know that vandalism in my own opinion, especially with regard to gas pipeline is pure sabotage. So, no matter what you do to stop it, people will find ways of making it difficult for the power that is available in Nigeria to be distributed to Nigerians. These are very unpatriotic people. One way and that is extremely expensive and Mr. President is committed to that is by digitising the entire gas and oil pipeline and you can do this by integrating fibrotic cabling throughout. You know we are talking of thousands of kilometres of pipelines and the cost is quite prohibitive. But unless that is done, we will still be at the mercy of these vandals. For instance, we can generate between 5000MW and 6000MW of power if the gas is available. But when the gas pipelines are shut down on a regular basis, there is no way we can get there. We cannot establish if the pipeline vandalism is political or economic but all we know is that it is pure sabotage. But the fact is that some people have been arrested, prosecuted and convicted and yet it continues just like armed robbery.”