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Tag: POWER

  • Cross River gets 20 megawatts power equipment

    Cross River gets 20 megawatts power equipment

    The Cross River State government, at the weekend, took delivery of the equipment for a 20-megawatt plant.

    Governor Ben Ayade received the equipment with some government officials.

    Ayade told reporters that the delivery showed that the Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) he had been signing were coming into action.

    He said:“This is one outcome of the trips in my first year in office when we were still trying to do agenda setting for the government. It will generate 20 megawatts of embedded power for Cross River State. I am happy to announce to you today that we are taking delivery of 20-megawatt equipment for embedded power generation for the city of Calabar.”

    The governor assured residents of Calabar that electricity tariff would be affordable to all.

    The governor, who also announced that five containers-laden with equipment will arrive soon, highlighted how the project would  enhance security in Calabar.

    “The street lights are gong to be connected to this grid, and we are going to pick up the diesel engines from the streets and then link the street lights to this plant so that Calabar South up to Anantigha, Atimbo and all areas, including 8 Miles, Nassarawa, will be lit up,” he said.

    He said the equipment was “specially designed for economy and for uninterrupted power supply. So what will happen ultimately is that Cross River State and Calabar in particular will have uninterrupted power supply, which means perhaps Calabar will be the first state capital to have uninterrupted power supply in the country.

    “We are beginning to convert the many MoUs we signed to action, all the MOUs are taking the breath of life. I can guarantee the people of Calabar that in three months from today we would have finished the installation and Cross River State will enjoy steady supply of electricity.”

  • EFCC decries NBA president’s call for removal of agency’s power prosecution

    EFCC decries NBA president’s call for removal of agency’s power prosecution

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday faulted the suggestion by Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) President Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) that the anti-graft agency be stripped of prosecutorial powers.

    It said Mahmoud’s suggestion appeared perfectly in sync with a cleverly disguised campaign by powerful forces that are uncomfortable with the reinvigorated anti-graft campaign of the EFCC.

    The agency noted that the NBA president was the federal attorney-general’s counsel in the trial of ex-Delta State Governor James Ibori at the Federal High Court in Asaba – a case which EFCC lost in questionable circumstances.

    It said the same ingredients from that case were used to fetch Ibori a 13-year jail term in the United Kingdom.

    The EFCC, which gave its position in a statement by its Head of Media and Publicity, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, said the recommendation of the NBA president was self-serving.

    It said the suggestion was in line with a larger plot to emasculate the agency.

    The statement said: “As the Acting Chairman, Ibrahim Magu, has repeatedly stated in his public pronouncements, the agency is open to suggestions that will improve its operations, as it cannot pretend to have a monopoly of ideas on how to fight corruption.

    “Nevertheless, the commission views with concern, the call by the NBA president that the EFCC be stripped of its prosecutorial powers. According to him, “we need to define its mandate more narrowly and more clearly… I strongly recommend that the EFCC be limited to investigation… while prosecution should be handled by an independent resource prosecution agency”.

    “The commission’s discomfort over this seeming innocuous proposition stem from the fact Mahmoud was silent on the reason for his position.

    “More importantly, the commission cannot comprehend how the redefinition of EFCC’s mandate in narrow terms, ultimately whittling it down, fits into the clamour by Nigerians and the vision of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration for a vibrant and courageous anti-corruption agency.

    “Instead, Mahmoud’s suggestion appears perfectly in sync with a cleverly disguised campaign by powerful forces that are uncomfortable with the reinvigorated anti-graft campaign of the EFCC and are hell-bent on emasculating the agency by stripping it of powers to prosecute with the tame excuse that an agency that investigates cannot also prosecute.

    “The question Nigerians must ask the Mahmoud-led NBA is what is wrong with EFCC prosecution? Mahmoud is in a position to answer this question. He was the federal attorney-general’s counsel in the trial of ex-Delta State governor, James Ibori, at the Federal High Court, Asaba, a case which EFCC lost in questionable circumstances.

    “But the same ingredients from that case were used to fetch Ibori a 13-year jail term in London.  Mahmoud is also the commission’s counsel in the appeal against the infamous perpetual injunction from arrest and prosecution by former Rivers State Governor, Peter Odili, which is still pending before the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, many years after it was filed.

    “It is too much of a strange coincidence that the suggestion to strip the EFCC of its prosecutorial powers is being floated a few months after the commission, in unprecedented fashion, arraigned some senior lawyers for corruption.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, the commission has recorded more convictions in the last one year than all the states and federal ministries of justices combined.

    “Against this background, the campaign appears to be self-serving, intended to create a cabal of untouchables, which can be investigated but may never be prosecuted.

    “The EFCC, however, wishes to reassure Nigerians that there will be no sacred cows in the renewed fight against corruption in Nigeria.”

    Notwithstanding, the EFCC said it was a good omen that the NBA president has pledged to fight judicial corruption.

    It added: “The 56th Annual General Conference of the Nigeria Bar Association came to an end August 26, in Port Harcourt, with the bar making pronouncements on major issues of national importance.

    ” One of the new commitments as articulated by the new president, Mr. Abubakar Mahmoud, is to reinvent the association by reclaiming its moral high ground through a campaign for ethical rectitude by members of the bar.”

  • Power outage disrupts flights at Lagos airport

    •FAAN apologises to airlines, passengers

    Flight operations at the international wing of the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, was at the weekend disrupted by power outage.

    Last  night, the primary source of power was yet to be restored, forcing the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN) to run the facility on independent generators.

    Consequently, airlines found it difficult to initiate on time departures at the airport.

    The outage, a source hinted, has caused damage to the air-bridges used by airlines to disembark passengers.

    This has affected the operation of international airlines as they resorted to disembarking passengers at the ramp.

    The source hinted that when power temporarily  restored, it caused damage to the facility, thereby rendering it unserviceable.

    FAAN’s spokesman Yakubu Dati confirmed the incident.

    He said: “There was a power outage from PHCN and the airport was on our independent power supply.

    “However, when power was restored, the surge adversely affected the k16 transformer that serves the Air-bridges and rendered them unserviceable. This adversely affected operations of departing flights. The heavy rainfall further delayed attempts by engineers to effect repairs immediately.

    “FAAN wishes to apologise to passengers, airlines and the public for the inconvenience caused by this development as efforts are being made to find a lasting solution.”

  • Electricity workers, others protest poor power services

    Electricity workers, others protest poor power services

    Members of civil society, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and workers under the umbrella organisation, National Union of Electricity Employees have protested the shortfall in administration and services of the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) in Aba, the commercial nerve of Abia State.

    Consumers of electricity in Aba and its environs have been crying out over the arbitrary increase of electricity bills, irregular power supply and estimated bills. Some EEDC staff said they are understaffed, necessitating the engagement of casual workers.

    The protesters displayed placards, some of which read, “EEDC should provide electricity supply for its customers; EEDC should provide customers with pre-paid meters; Stop arbitrary sack of workers; NUEE say No to casualisation; NUEE say No to EEDC High-handedness; Stop giving customers estimated bills”.

    Some of the protesters including Mr. Ossy Abangwu, chairman, National Union of Electricity Employee (NUEE) in the state, and a national officer of the union, Mr. Tony Ndubuisi told our reporter on the EEDC premises that they were protesting what they described as “anti-labour policies and inhuman workers treatment policy of the EEDC.”

    Ndubuisi said, “In addition to the anti-labour policies of EEDC and inhuman treatment working conditions in which the workers have been subjected to, which includes arbitrary sack of workers as if we are not working or as if we are in slave labour and we say no.

    “This is not how people should work in their own country, there should be dignity in labour. People should be punished or sacked when they commit an offence that warrants sack, the country has labour laws and the labour laws of Nigeria should be followed by the EEDC; that is our point. The National Union of Electricity Employees is saying that they should follow and obey the labour laws of the country.”

    Continuing, Ndubuisi who accused the management of the EEDC of failing to use professionals, said “We say no to load rejections…EEDC refuses to pick loads and when you refuse to do so you suffer the masses, we say no to it. When there is load, the electrical facility will be busy which will also need manpower and this will create employment to the unemployed. We are telling the EEDC to pick loads so that their workers will  have work to do.”

    Abangwu corroborating Ndubuisi added “There are cases of sack even as I am speaking. Lists are being compiled on a daily basis and people are losing their job everyday. Someone can be sacked without any reason even by mere gossip which is very wrong to sack workers based on mere gossip or allegation. It is also not every misconduct that should attract sack. These are what we are saying no to, because we don’t have to work and be treated like slaves in our own country. We are protesting so that the management will change this attitude because it looks as if we are working under threat and fear.

    “We are also protesting the absence of pre-paid meters by EEDC; the federal government has said that the distribution companies should give customers pre-paid meters so that you only collect money for services you render. But it has been recorded that when you are going about, EEDC is also going out to collect money from people for services they do not render, using a system that everybody has discredited called estimated billing and crazy billing, and this is why workers are sacked often.

  • Cross River signs pact on power, ITM with Dubai firm

    Cross River signs pact on power, ITM with Dubai firm

    Cross River Governor Ben Ayade has signed a pact with a Dubai based firm, Skipper Seil, to provide 100kva solar lighting generating system.

    He also signed another agreement for a 26 megawatts gas power turbine at the Tinapa Business and Leisure Resorts.

    As part of the agreement, there will be a training of trainers at the Institute of Technology and Management in Ugep.

    At the agreement signing ceremony held at the Governor’s office in Calabar,  President of the firm, Mr. Jitender Sachdeva, gave the assurance that his firm would commence construction in two months.

    “We will work very hard, fine tune all the activities and try to be on ground after the PPA in December. I want to assure you that the plant in Tinapa for 26 megawatts will give a boost to electricity and will be completed in 18 months,” Sachdeva said

    He said his firm chose to invest in the state due to the investment friendly policies of the Ayade-led administration and because “the state is peaceful and safe”.

    On the Institute of Technology and Management, Ugep, the President, Skipper Seil group, said “in addition to our Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR), we have sent our team for the study of the technical Institute here in the state, and I can, with pride, say we are going to associate with your state in education as the Institute is now fully geared to start.”

    Sachdeva expressed confidence in Ayade’s zeal and doggedness. He described him as “one of the few governors in Nigeria today who are paying salaries on time,” adding that “your projects are moving, your garment factory has been completed and I see you getting energy all the time even in the night and morning.”

    Ayade said the 100kvm solar power intervention will serve as a grid for industrial zones across the 18 local governments in the state.

    According to him, “solar power is a new way to go, because it is one way of reducing carbon emission to the atmosphere. It also creates new job opportunities for young people who are now interested in going into solar energy.”

    The governor also hinted that discussions were at advanced stage for the immediate communities where the power plants will be located to enjoy power supply from the plants.

    On the intervention on education by the Dubai-based firm, Ayade said: “My original dream was to build a builder’s academy. I will like to see the superhighway and seaport being constructed by a team of Cross Riverians who have been trained by our skill school.

    “It is our strong hope that Skipper Seil will provide the Indian technology which today is indisputable anymore,” adding that “truly, truly, ITM will take a true breath of full technical capacity while upgrading it to a polytechnic to allow it have some federal interventions and sustain its philosophy to provide skilled hands-on training.”

  • National grid power deficit hovers around 13,843Mw

    Consumers connected to the national grid require additional output of 13,843 megawatt (Mw) of electricity to  meet their needs a report from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has shown.

    According to TCN’s report for August 12-15, average daily output was 13,843Mw national peak demand forecast was well above 17,000Mw with output remaining below 4,000Mw.

    The report showed that within the four days, power generation averaged 3,877Mw while the national peak demand forecast was 17,720Mw reflecting a shortfall of 13,843Mw. Power generation to the national grid, according to the report, has been above 3,000Mw since last month when attacks on gas pipelines by the Niger Delta militants started reducing.

    It stated that peak generation on August 12 was 3,866.9Mw. On August 13 and 14, peak generations were 3,733.4Mw and 3,686.3Mw, while othe following day, it was 3,921.4Mw, an average of 3877Mw.

    The TCN also said the nation has an installed transmission capacity of 11,165.40Mw while the functional facilities, if optimally, utilised can supply 7,139.60Mw. The shortfall may be due to several constraints, including facility breakdown.

    Also contrary to allegations of poor capacity levelled against the transmission firm, including inability to wheel more than 5,000Mw to electricity distribution companies (Discos), TCN said its transmission capability was 7,000Mw while the network operational capability was 5,500Mw.

    The  Research and Advocacy, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) Executive Director, the umbrella body of the electricity distribution companies in Nigeria, Mr. Sunday Olurotimi Oduntan, said the estimated national peak demand forecast of about 17,000Mw by the TCN was only a fraction of the national demand as the huge energy-consuming firms are not connected to the grid.

    Oduntan said it was difficult to determine national consumption as most of the big consumers are off-grid.

    “The actual national energy demand may be difficult to determine because many organisations, industrial concerns and rural communities, such as the Redeemed Christian Church  of God and Winners Chapel headquarters as well as Dangote Industries Limited, among many others, are not connected to the grid.

    “There is huge power deficit in Nigeria but going by the number of customers captured on the grid, 20,000Mw would be able to give the stable electricity supply expected by Nigerians. However, it is a herculean undertaking to generate the 20,000Mw that I feel will enable industrial firms to comfortably connect to the national grid,” he said.

  • ‘APC ‘ll retain power in Edo’

    ‘APC ‘ll retain power in Edo’

    Edo State Information Commissioner Prince Kasim Afegbua, in this interview with OSAGIE OTABOR, explains why it will be difficult for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to regain control in Edo State during the September 10 governorship election.

    What are the issues that will shape the September 10 governorship poll?

    Is there really a contest? I want to believe that the Edo electorates are conversant with the achievements of the present administration and because of their sophistication, their sense of mobilisation and conscientisation, they will be able to make informed choice between the political parties vying for the position of the number one citizen. The reason I asked if there was a contest is because the APC has done well in this state; we have altered the narrative of bad governance, of a collapsed state economy, of a decadent infrastructural reality that we met. These are narratives that have become very positive, very endearing, very enviable and very admirable to the consternation of critics and naysayers. We may not have answered all the questions of under-development, all the challenges confronting us as a state, because we met Edo State at ground zero. We have taken it to a level that has now become admirable to even bookmakers and opinion molders. You cannot visit Edo State and say the state remains the same as we met it. We have really impacted positively in the life of the people. The election is going to be a contest of ideas between reality juxtaposing previous reality of the PDP era. This was an era when the state was christened civil service state; it from a non-buoyant state to an era where we have improved on the internally-generated revenue (IGR). It is going to be a straight and easy fight, because people can see with their eyes what we have done and we can begin to name them. I don’t know what the PDP will be campaigning with. We have a lot to tell the Edo people; we have a lot to tell to them that they should sustain the continuity of the APC in the governance process in Edo.

    What makes the APC so confident that the PDP can be written-off?

    It is better to over-estimate your opponents, so that you prepare well for the election, than to under-rate your opponents. Election is all about putting forward to the people what you think you will do to improve on their well-being and representative leadership. This is such that people will find an individual who embody their collective interest (of the majority) and will be able to pursue their aspirations, so that they can pursue their own legitimate enterprises without exhibition. The APC has met all the criteria of a performing government, representative governance and service delivery governance. We have improved on our IGR, we have introduced accountability, probity in governance. We have looked at areas called critical sectors that will have direct and indirect impact on the peoples’ daily lives. If you see relics of the PDP’s mis-governance in the state, especially in the educational and the health sector, you will weep. Thank God we have a government and a party that is peopled by progressive-minded individuals and altered the narrative. Today, we can sing hosanna and thank God that the APC government came to jump-start the state’s economy. We will not lose sleep over this election. We will meet in the field and our people know how to use the thumb to speak on Election Day and ensure victory for us.

    Will the personalities of the contestants impact on the election?

    There is no doubt about that, but our candidate will be deriving inspiration from a government that he has been part of. He was part of those who stayed several hours in political and governance laboratory to come up with programmes and policies that have been able to take Edo to the level that it is now. This level is so appreciated by the people that he has become very admirable and enviable. Ize-Iyamu was part and parcel of us before he jumped ship to the PDP. People say he is a politician. He is a politician and he is running under a party that has been known to be under-performing or a platform that want to take us several years backward. It is like choosing between two different scenarios: a vehicle heading for paradise and another for hell. Without prompting the people will join the vehicle the one heading for paradise. The APC vehicle is one that has taken Edo to this level of wonderful performance, while the PDP vehicle took us to hell that we experimented for 10 years. Now that we have been able to rescue ourselves from the grip of political chickenary, political manipulation, political godfatherism, political gangsterrism, I don’t think the people will like to travel that road again. We have come to a level where we now appreciate the state on the basis of quality and not quantity, on the basis on what the party can deliver, on the basis of an individual that can make a difference. We may not have provided answers to all the questions that have confronted us, but we are man enough to tell ourselves that we have created a platform; built a foundation that succeeding governments of the APC can impact on.

    What is Obaseki offering the people?

    He spoke at his flag-off and said he is going to provide 200,000 jobs. Cynics and critics are already wondering how he will do that. It is because they are thinking backward. In the contemporary terms, when you say jobs, he is not saying he is going to recruit 200,000 to be in Edo civil service. As we speak, over 3000 persons are working at the site of Edo University, Iyamho and they are earning money. That is sharing of capital, because we are paying for jobs and services rendered. When we were building the new Central Hospital, over 1000 persons are working at the site. The Chinese marble company has about 6000 staff drawn from Edo State. The iron rod manufacturing company has about 450. BUA Cement has 10,000 jobs. By the time you put all these together, you discover that we have created a platform for people to earn a living. When we were constructing all the roads in Edo, different persons were employed in all the areas. There are several platforms to appreciate governance. Anybody taking over from Oshiomhole under the APC will be having very big shoes to wear. The shoes will be minimised to a point that will be able to leverage on the economic blueprint that we have out in place, which we are tailoring to meet with developmental challenges confronting the state. I have not mentioned Presco Oil, which we have given additional land and they have expanded. There is Okomu Oil; we also gave them land. There are a number of platforms to create jobs. We have so much to do and as an APC government with a progressive mind, whatever we say, we will do.

    Oshiomhole has been described as a clannish governor that sited all projects, including the new hospital, in his village…

    That is a university teaching hospital. You want the teaching hospital to be sited outside the domain of the university when you have surplus land there. Do you want the man to leave his roads without constructing them? I will be proud to develop the road network of my village in Okpella. I will be proud to make them smooth and put street lights. That may be the motivation for joining politics. Charity begins at home. After serving, he is going to go back home. Politics begins from the ward level. He needs to be alive among his people to be able to derive inspiration to do other places. That kind of propaganda is not sellable. A university in the governor’s village should not bother anybody’s mind. The late Prof. Ambrose Alli sited a university at Ekpoma and heaven did not fall. Why didn’t they say they should uproot Ambrose Alli University at Ekpoma and locate it elsewhere? What we should concern ourselves with is the development such institutions will bring to the state. There are many factors to consider when you want to site institutions. In Iyamho, you might not buy land. In other places, you might spend so much money to acquire land.

    They say he did nothing to boost industrialisation…

    We took off from the point of zero. Secondly, we said our attention will be to recover the state from its decadent past to something that will wear the face of modernity, so that we can naturally attract investors to Edo State and we have achieved our aim. The aim is building economic infrastructure, opening up roads to the rural areas where agricultural produce can be taken to urban areas where demand are high and building road network such that it will encourage people to site factory. Managers of the ceramic factory said they came because of what the governor is doing, especially in the area of security. The only agony we faced was that the PDP vandalised the road linking us to the north. They played politics with the Benin-Auchi-Lokoja expressway, while attempting to tell Edo people that they were doing federal roads in the state.

    The iron rod factory is a function of our economic infrastructure. Presco asked for additional land which we gave. Okomu also got land. These are high net-worth companies. The Okpekpe road which has made Okpekpe road race an annual event is part of it. Somebody saw the road and decided to start Okpekpe road race which has now entered the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) calendar. These are the kind of initiatives that drives the economy of any nation and not you as a government setting up industries. The attention of government all over the world is for government to provide the enabling environment that drives businesses. Roads, security and judiciary are key in this respect. Once those are in place, any investor can come and do business. By our intervention, BUA Cement started producing cement. Dangote just flagged off six million metric tonnes cement factory in Okpella.

  • Nigeria’s grid power deficit hovers around 14,622Mw

    Electricity consumers connected to the national grid need additional output of 14,622megawatts (Mw) to meet their requirements, a report from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has revealed.

    The company’s daily operational report showed that between Sunday and Tuesday this week, national peak demand forecast has been above 17,000Mw while output remains slightly above 3,000Mw.

    The report said that the national peak demand forecast was 17,720Mw while generation stood at 3,097.3Mw, reflecting a shortfall of 14,622.7Mw. Generation to the national grid, according to the report, has been about 3,000Mw since July, when attacks on gas pipelines by the Niger Delta militants started reducing.

    The TCN also said the nation has installed transmission capacity of 11,165.40Mw while the functional facilities, if optimally utilised, can supply 7,139.60Mw. The shortfall may be due to several constraints, including facility breakdown.

    Also, contrary to allegations of poor capacity leveled against the TCN, including inability to wheel more than 5,000Mw to power distribution firms, the TCN, as at Monday, said its transmission capability was 7,000Mw while the network operational capability was 5,500Mw.

    The Executive Director, Research and Advocacy, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), the umbrella body of all the electricity distribution companies in Nigeria, Mr. Sunday Olurotimi Oduntan, said the estimated national peak demand forecast of about 17,000Mw by the TCN is only a fraction of the actual national demand as the huge energy-consuming firms are not connected to the grid.

    Oduntan said it was difficult to determine national consumption as most of the big consumers are off-grid. “The actual national energy demand may be difficult to determine because many organisations, industrial concerns and rural communities such as the Redeemed Christian Church and Winners chapel headquarters as well as Dangote Industries Limited, among many others, are not connected to the grid.

    “There huge power deficit in Nigeria, but going by the number of customers, currently captured on the grid, 20,000Mw would be able to give the stable electricity supply expected by Nigerians.  However, It is a herculean task to be able to generate the 20,000Mw that I feel will enable industrial firms to comfortably connect to the national grid,” he said.

  • Discos not to blame for poor power supply

    Recently in Kenya, there was a blackout for four  hours and its  people wondered what   happened.

    Later, the power generating firm KenGen in a statement, blamed  a monkey, which tripped on an equipment in an hydro power  plant for the problem.

    The generation company (GenCo) said though the monkey survived, Kenya lost 183megawatts (Mw)  during the blackout. It apologised to consumers, promising to secure its facilities from  such hazards in future.

    I  can’t help admiring the way  the  firm handled the matter efficiently. Of  course most Nigerians will argue that the power supply in Kenya is not compared with  that of Nigeria because it is erratic here and blackouts are more.

    I agree with them.  This is because  the Kenyan  power firm has been allowed to do its public relations without  any pressure and without  any  ‘monkey’ tricks  or  interference from any  quarters  on the source  of  power  failure.

    In  Nigeria, however,  the way  blackouts  are  explained is different. The  culprits are  the distribution companies (Discos) that deliver electricity to our homes and companies.

    This has been reinforced by the   hostile  attitude of the trade unions in the power sector in that they mobilised consumers against the discos. Take the case of when tariffs were approved for the discos by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commissionwere announced early  this year.

    The unions instigated even  the Senate  to stop  the tariffs hike and  NERC went  to  court  to accuse the Senate of usurping  its  legitimate  function as the regulator  of electricity. The unions  did  not  stop there; they asked workers to go on strike on the new  electricity  tariffs as if it is  the same thing with the fuel price increase to N145 on which  they called out workers on strike recently.

    This  is  despite  that discos don’t  generate or transmit electricity,  but  only  deliver  to  consumers  when it is   is available.

    Stakeholders in the electricity  industry include the Nigerian  Electricity Bulk  Trading  Company, gencos, discos  and transmission  companies. How come then that the union  leaders are always  pointing fingers at  the  discos when  there is a power  failure?  As  the  Kenyan  example  has  shown, it was  a genco  that explained  what  happened, not a disco.

    In  Nigeria, it  is true that pipeline vandalism  has  reduced  the generation and transmission of electricity  not  to  talk of distribution, which is the responsibility  of the discos.  But,  then,  can  the  discos  distribute  what  they  don’t  have?

    True, the gencos cannot generate power  when they don’t  have the  basic  ingredients to  do so and even  when  sources  of  such  generation  have  been rendered  unproductive  or inactive  by  vandals.  In  Kenya,  the  genco  was  lucky  that it was a  monkey that  cut  power  for hours  only.

    It  is  an army  of vandals  that  are stalling electricity production daily    and  they have  even  metamorphosed into  a virile terrorist group  called  the Avengers  of the Niger  Delta  who  are daring   and taxing  the  federal    might.

    That really is the core  of the matter  and  that  is what the unions should  focus on as the cause of irregular electricity supply.

    Therefore,  the  discos,  which  are  at  the receiving end  of the poor electricity supply chain,  should  not  be blamed  by  the  unions.

     

    • Aliu, an analyst, writes from Kano

  • Blame game in power supply

    Sir: In Kenya recently, there was a blackout across the nation for four hoursand people wondered what had happened, but not for long. The  power generating company   KenGen  issued  a statement  that a monkey  had  accidentally  tripped an equipment  in a  hydro  power  plant  which triggered  the nationwide  blackout. The  generation companyexplained that Kenya lost 183 MW  during  the  blackout and  apologized to  consumers and  promised  to secure its facilities from  future  power  hazards that  can  cause  unexpected  blackouts .

    In Nigeria however, theway blackouts are explainedis completely different. The  regular  culprit  in the  public  mind are  the discos – the distribution companies  that deliver electricity  to  our homes  and companies  and bring in the electricity  bills  for  consumers  to  pay. This has  been reinforced  by the   hostile  attitude  of  the trade unions  in the power  sector in the way  they  mobilized consumers  against  the discos  when  tariffs  for  electricity  approved  for  them  by the regulator, the Nigerian  Electricity  Regulatory  Commission,were announced early  this year. The  unions  went  all  the way to instigate even  the Senate  to stop  the tariff increase after which  NERC  went  to  court  charging the Senate  of usurping  its  function as the regulator  of electricity  sector. The unions did not stop there;they asked workers to go on strike on the new tariffs.

    As  the  Kenyan  example  has  shown, it was  a generating company (Genco)that explained  what  happened  and  not  a distribution company (Disco). It is a  well-known  fact  that  Discos don’t  generate or  transmit electricity  but  only  deliver  to  consumers as and  when  power is available  and  bill  such  consumers  for  electricity  supplied  and  utilized. How   come  then  that  the Nigerian  union  leaders are always  pointing accusing  fingers at  the  discos whenever  there is power  failure?

    In   Nigeria,pipeline vandalisation nationwide has drastically reduced  the generation and  transmission  of electricity  not  to  talk of  distribution of  electricity  which  is the responsibility  of the discos.  But  then  can  the  discos  distribute  what  they  don’t  have ? Definitely not? Similarly, the  gencos  cannot generate  when they don’t  have the  basic  ingredients to  generate  when  sources  of  such  generation  have  been rendered  inactive  by  vandals.  In  Kenya,  the  KenGen  was  lucky  that  it was a  monkey  that  cut  power  for four hours  only. In  Nigeria, it  is  an army  of vandals  that  are stalling electricity production  on a daily  and  consistent  basis and  they have  even  metamorphosed into  a virile  terrorist  group  called  the Avengers  of  the Niger  Delta who  are  daring and tasking the might  of  the  federal government.  That  really  is the core  of the matter  and  that  is what  the unions should  focus on as the cause  of irregular electricity  supply  and  not  the  discos  which  are  at  the receiving end  of the poor  electricity  supply  chain.

     

    • Ibrahim Aliu,

    Kano.