The Nation Newspaper

Tag: POWER

  • ‘Power will stabilise by 2018’

    Power supply will stabilise by the end 2018 when the electricity firms must have fully implemented their five- year turnaround business plan, the Group Managing Director, Aiteo Power, Dr Ransome Owan has said.

    He said power firms took over the unbundled assets from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) on November 1, 2013, and as a result of this, have not spent two years generating and distributing  electricity in. Nigeria.

    Owan said: “Let us give power companies 60 months from today to execute their business turnaround programmes, and I believe that power would stabilise before the expiration of that 60 months, which by implication marks the end of their five- year turnaround plan.”

    He was optimistic that the power situation would normalise by the end 2018 in view of the efforts being made by the Federal Government to remove the problems hindering generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in the country.

    He said electricity consumers in the country would enjoy soon, noting that they have been in darkness for sometime due to power outage. “I’ m optimistic that power would improve in the next three to five years. The government and the private sector operators have come to realise that power is key to economic development, and are working towards achieving stable power supply.

    Owan said when power normalises, the economy would improve and by extension the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would improve. This according him, would bring growth to operators at both the formal and informal sectors of the economy.

    He stated that people should try and pay for the electricity they consume because it costs a lot of money to provide power, adding that electricity costs money to produce

    He stressed the need to match resources with long-term plans because it is imperative for the growth of the sector, and noted there is a disconnect between what was expected in terms of gas supply and power generation and distribution.

  • The power of definitions

    The power of definitions

    The international news network Al Jazeera sparked off a debate the other day about what to call the tens of thousands of persons from Africa, the Middle East and Asia flocking to Europe in a wave the continent has not seen since World War II, most of them enduring misery and suffering on a Biblical scale:  Are they primarily refugees, or just migrants?

    An opinion writer for the UK Guardian sought to widen the debate still:  Why not just call the multitudes what they are basically:  people?

    At first blush, this debate may seem academic, a semantic excursion at best, and unhelpfully diversionary to boot.  But it is nothing of the sort.  Definitions matter.  As the sociologist Ruth Benedict noted long ago, if we define a situation as real, it is real in its consequences.

    By whatever name you call them, those arriving in such large numbers in the European Union – some 100, 000 in July alone— constitute a daunting challenge to its member-nations grappling with serious social and economic problems of their own. But how you characterise them will influence, if not determine, how they are perceived or received.

    Call them refugees, and they could in good measure be received with empathy and fellow-feeling.  Call them migrants, and they could face the visceral hostility of those who regard the “other” as the source of all problems, as elements who must be kept away at all cost.

    Not surprisingly, Germany has been more welcoming to the beleaguered persons pouring into Europe, seeing them principally as refugees fleeing from war and persecution in their homelands. Forty percent of them are likely to find accommodation in Germany, as against eight per cent France and four per cent in the United Kingdom where they are viewed principally as migrants seeking better economic opportunities at the expense of the nationals.

    Poland and Slovakia will accept only Christians; no “Islamists” please, and no “jihadists.”  In Hungary, vigilantes actually took up arms to chase away asylum-seekers who manage to navigate the120 km-long barbed-wire fence it has erected to keep them away.

    The news media are the principal purveyors of the frames through which we select and interpret and organise what we see and experience, and by that fact the purveyors of our definitions of “reality”. Through the use of selection, emphasis, exclusion and elaboration, the media suggest, and large sections of the attentive audience come to accept, what the issue is.

    That is why countries pay particular attention to, and often seek to influence, the way they are profiled by the international news media.

    Defining the situation is a task not to be taken lightly, and Al Jazeera is right to examine its own role in performing that function. In this, it is following the BBC which long ago decided to drop the term “terrorist” from its news reporting on the Israeli -Palestinian conflict, if not from its entire reporting, and to employ less evocative terms, such as “militants” or “insurgents.”

    To the Israelis, the Palestinians are invariably “terrorists,” a definition echoed by the largely sympathetic Western news media.  There is no redeeming grace to that term, no patience with and no sympathy for any cause espoused by any person stamped with that label.

    Its effect is to strip individuals or groups identified as “terrorists”of their humanity and to render whatever is done them not merely acceptable but just.

    But framing is an indispensable element in the contest for influence and preferment in the policy debate. Sparing no effort, no expenditure, each side seeks to come up with a frame that will dominate the debate and ultimately shape its outcome.

    Take as an example the September 11, 2011, attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon, masterminded by Osama bin Ladin and executed in the main by his fellow Saudi nationals.  Few disputed the attacks as acts of terror, and few questioned the American response – a war on terror.

    But that soon morphed into an invasion of Iraq, which had absolutely nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks, framed as an expedition to oust Saddam Hussein, rid Iraq of its frightful arsenal of “weapons  of mass destruction”and plant the seeds of American democracy – genetically engineered, to be sure —  in the barren sands of the Middle East.

    That frame, kept alive by relentless propaganda, dominated the debate and won enthusiastic support in America and even abroad, notably from former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who would be undone by the misadventure.

    The term “weapons of mass destruction” was a key element in the framing.  It was designed to conjure up weapons so novel that the English language had not yet found names for them, or so frightfully destructive that their names were unmentionable.

    Iraq had no such weapons.  It had nothing resembling the nuclear, thermo-nuclear, chemical and biological weapons that those who invaded and occupied it have in super abundance. Today, Iraq lies in ruins.  Millions of Iraqis, combatants and non-combatants alike were killed, and much of the country’s population has forcibly dispersed.  Several thousand American and several hundred British soldiers in the occupation force lost their lives.

    Definitions matter. And as the case of Iraq shows powerfully, they can have tragic consequences.

    Back home, former President Goodluck Jonathan, remembered now more for the culture of grand larceny that thrived during his tenure than for the “transformation” he claimed to have wrought, even tried his hand at framing the debate on probity in public life.

    Chafing at those who were forever talking glibly about the lack of public accountability, he said the issue was not corruption but stealing and that the one must never be mistaken for the other.As usual, his point was not entirely clear.  Was he saying that stealing was a lesser, more acceptable, crime than corruption?

    There were those who thought he was only creating a distinction without a difference.  I thought he was advocating plain speaking; a thief is a thief in the exact sense that a spade is a spade and not a device for excavation.

    Too bad Dr Jonathan did not avail us of his seminal thoughts on the difference between mere stealing and outright looting, the term that has come to dominate the discourse on the conduct of a good many of the men and women who served with him.

    What cannot now be disputed is that a great deal of what Dr Jonathan preferred to call stealing went on unchecked during hiswatch.   Each passing day brings forth staggering new allegations of stealing that make the revelations of the previous day seem like amateur pilfering.

  • Power supply now 4,029.83MW

    Power supply now 4,029.83MW

    Energy Sent out by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) last Sunday hit 4,029.83MW, The Nation learnt Monday.

    According to the Federal Ministry of Power in its Power Statistics of Sunday 30th August, power supply leaped by 32.02MW from the last statistics of August 25.

    Of the total energy generated in period under review, the company recorded 87.9MW spinning reserve or stranded energy which the it could not wheel  to the electricity distribution companies.

    The ministry made this disclosure on its website Monday, adding that the peak power generation that was 4,810.7MW on August 25 dipped to 4,516.5MW on Sunday.

    It also noted that Energy Generation rose to 4,117.73MW from the last record of 4,080.86MW.
    Highest peak power generation in the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) was the 4,810.7 MW of August 25.

    There has been significant increase in the electricity supply to customers, which most consumers have described as the usual ploy of electricity distribution companies when they are preparing to dispatch their monthly bills.

    The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had recently decided that the Discos’ fixed charge should now be proportional to energy charge, although The Nation could not confirm whether the adjustment was effected in the August bill or whether it would commence in September.

  • Power, corruption and anxieties

    I start today  on the premise  or saying that power  corrupts and absolute power  corrupts absolutely. To  dilate on this matter I will  look at the life and times of three personalities  in the news recently  and the high expectations and anxieties hanging  on their actions and inactions given their offices and ambitions in their  environment. The first  is our  President Muhammadu  Buhari, his fight against  corruption  and the  public fury over the fact that most  of the appointments he has announced so far  have been lopsided in favor of  the Northern  part  of the nation.

    The  second  personality is  Donald  Trump, American  real estate  billionaire  and for now the   leading  candidate of the Republican  Party  for the 2016 presidential  elections in the US. The  third  is the EFCC  Chairman  Lamorde who is being tried for diversion  of seized money by Nigeria’s  Senate  whose leader  and his wife are good  customers  of the EFCC  on allegations of corruption.

    The  three gentlemen  are very  powerful  individuals and attention is being drawn to  their use  and misuse  of power  by their  actions or  inactions in the last  few days.  Let  me say  clearly  here that  in any democracy such as Nigeria, the largest  black  nation in the  world, and the US  the   leading global  champion  of democracy, the  quest  for equal  opportunities  and  protection  for  all  citizens, fairness  and justice should be the yard stick  to  measure  human progress  and development. It  is in the light  of these values  that I shall   look  at  the relationship of these  three leaders with  the use  of power  or the quest  for it in their  various  stations in life.

    Starting with  our President  I  think he  should  expect  the brouhaha that the announcement    of   appointments has generated  in the nation especially  the South West. This is because  it was in the Southwest  that the egg that hatched a famous presidential 2015  elections  victory  was  hatched  and there is  no need to mention any name. For  now the people  of the Southwest  are  stunned  and in  a quandary.  It  is not as if they  are the only  people in the South  of  Nigeria. But  the last  election results showed  clearly that the  South East  and South  South did  not vote for the new  president.  So expectations are not high there on appointments as in the  South  west  where there is  palpable  grief  and disappointment  on the domination of the North  on the appointments so far. Which  simply  means that the  President should do   a rethink  and redress the imbalance  in the next list  of presidential  appointments. That  is the only way  to prevent the South East  from celebrating what they  see as the emasculation  of the Southwest by the  North and that really will  be  their  way of making merry  with the embarrassment  of the South west which  is what the present  lopsidedness in announced appointments is all about.

    Undoubtedly  the President is experienced enough  as a former  Head of State  and  Commander In  Chief to know that  those  who have sour  grapes  over  his election  are  going to make mischief out of the appointments as they are and revive the fear of the Born To Rule  syndrome associated with  a once dominant North  in our recent political  history. Surely  that must be in the past now and the president’s  subsequent  appointments must reflect Nigeria’s  federal character.  A  redress in the geopolitical   in balance of the present  appointments is needed  urgently to reflect  equity  and justice and reward those  in the President’s  political  camp  who put their lives  on the line to secure  his election and  give  him the huge powers now at his disposal.

    With  regard to Donald  Trump his quest  for the presidency  of the US  was treated  with levity  and contempt before obviously because of  his controversial public  image and  outspokenness. Now most  Americans as  well as their political  leaders are laughing  with the other end of  their  mouths as Donald Trump is slowly  but  surely emerging as the popular choice  among Republican Party  members  and most ordinary Americans. Trump  is handling the campaigns masterfully  and is oratorically  sounder than the rest  of the Republican Party  candidates  and I am  not  too  sure that  he will  not   beat  the  famous Bush  name. Just  like  Barak  Obama emerged from the blues  a few years  back to beat Hilary Clinton and clinch the Democratic  Party  ticket before  going on to become the first   elected  black US president in history.

    Donald  Trump is  lucky he is  contesting  in the US where he is assured  that people  will respect  his immense wealth and know  that he  will  not use his good  offices when  elected  to loot the public  wealth and common wealth. Which  really  is a common  nagging problem in Nigeria when quite  rich people  go  on to  loot  the state treasury on getting  elected  to public  office. A situation that has made  really  honest and wealthy  Nigerians  to stay away  from politics  so  that their  clean money will  not be dirtied  by stolen public  money which some have made indistinguishable  from hard  earned money by their greed  and avarice.

    Lastly  the travails and trials  of  Nigeria’s Anti  Corruption Czar  Lamorde  is to be expected. The  saying is quite true here  that  those  who  live in glass  houses should  not throw stones. Lamorde  should  learn two  things  on the use and misuse  of power on this senate trial. The  first is that media  trial  of suspects and the destruction of reputation  of  suspects before  going to  court is not only unfair, it is unjust  and undemocratic. That  is what the allegation against him has done with his reputation and he has virtually  no sympathizers  as this has  been the modus operation of the EFCC  since its inception  and under his leadership. The  second is that  some crooks  are  bold and shameless  enough  to claim  what they stole  as their  own and are  ready  to  contest the amount in question. A former  governor of Kano State once said he left a  certain  amount in government house  far higher than what the police said  they  found  and that is the same thing happening to the EFCC  boss nowadays.

    Undoubtedly  I  do  not  see Lamorde  getting  away  with the allegations against him at a trial  in a senate which has many of its members on trial by the EFCC  in the media. In  a way  its payback  time for the EFCC  boss  and I do not envy him the grilling  and harsh  questioning awaiting him. I  pray  all  the same that   he  gets  justice in our senate. Otherwise  I  take  consolation in the statement that what is good for the goose  is  sauce  for the gander. Again, long live the Federal  Republic of Nigeria.

  • Ibadan power firm groans under N1.5b debts

    Ibadan power firm groans under N1.5b debts

    THE Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) has decried the debt burden of N1.5 billion monthly owed it by customers in Oyo, Ogun, Osun and Kwara states.

    It also distributes electricity to some parts of Kogi and Ekiti states, where it claimed, electricity users were also indebted to it.

    Many homes within Ibadan city and environs are facing mass disconnection of electricity as a result of the debt.

    Some customers complained of “crazy bills” and “over-bloated bills. Others insisted that they would not pay for what they did not use.

    IBEDC spokesman Mr. Frank Williams, who lamented the refusal of some customers to pay up their debt, said the company had no delight disconnecting electricity, “but at times, disconnection is the last resort”.

    He said it has become increasingly difficult for the company to run its operations due to the huge debt burden, adding that despite the action taken to disconnect electricity, the N1.5 billion debts had continued to widen every month.

    Williams said: “Disconnection is carried out as a last resort after all reasonable means has been exhausted. First of all, we started with a notice to alert electricity consumers that their bills were accruing and that they would get to a level when we would disconnect because every of our customer relations officer has a target to meet.

    “Then, after that, we will apply the maximum action to disconnect. So, disconnection is not rampant, except there is debt and customers are not making effort to offset it. We disconnect when we are pushed to the wall, you know we are a private company.

    “We buy electricity as you do. We buy electricity from another company. So, just as you pay your bill, we pay for electricity every month and every month our debt margin kept widening and accruing. That is why we disconnect”.

    When The Nation visited some parts of the city, including Ore-Meji, Sango, Apata, Omi-Adio,Mokola, and Jericho, many residents related how their homes were disconnected by officials of IBEDC over questionable debt.

    They accused the electricity company of failure to meet its obligation to its customers through constant blackout.

    In a bid to ensure steady power supply to residents of Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti States, the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) said it spent N1 billion on network repairs  and augmentation of other facilities.

    The company, however, condemned the low level of payment for electricity by its customers.

    It described it a major challenge in the power sector, urging customers to pay their bills regularly.

    It also lamented that about 22 to 25 per cent of illegal consumption and 12 to 15 per cent meter infractions were major challenges to successful power supply.

    BEDC’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Mrs. Funke Osibodu, spoke  in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, yesterday at an interactive session with customers and other stakeholders.

    Mrs. Osibodu, who was represented by BEDC’s Chief Corporate Services Officer, Mrs. Kunbi Labiyi, explained that the interactive session was sssto sensitise customers on the planned review of electricity tariff.

  • Communities, Nipp/Bedc trade words over epileptic power supply

    Communities, Nipp/Bedc trade words over epileptic power supply

    Residents of Asaba, the Delta State capital since its creation in August 27, 1991, have endured poor public power supply.

    Numerous communities across Aniocha North, Aniocha South, Oshimili North and Oshimili South have suffered worse fate than Asaba with some enduring blackouts for upwards of ten years.

    So, its residents must have heaved a sigh of relief following the commissioning by the Federal Government of the 330/132/33KVA transmission substation located near Asaba after many postponements.

    But several months after the inauguration of the transmission substation, public power supply in Asaba and environs has remained epileptic and unreliable, dashing the high expectations of residents.

    The frustrated communities have led several protests against the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) demanding improved services.

    The Supervising Engineer, Nigeria Integrated Power Plant (NIPP), Mr Amobi Odinakachukwu, further stoked the embers of controversy when he criticised BEDC for dereliction of duties, stressing that basic power infrastructure are lacking.

    His words: “If there is any problem that makes power not to get down to consumers, I think it is the responsibility of BEDC to take care of that. I think for my own view, most of the areas in Asaba lack power because there are no distribution poles and high tension lines, but there is ongoing rehabilitation of these lines by the Federal Government bodies – NIPP and Federal Ministry of Power.

    “BEDC also has not come up with serious strategies for solving the problem. May be we will have to wait for them, perhaps they are still sleeping.”

    Amobi accused BEDC of shutting down most of their transformers and were not receiving power from the NIPP, adding if all BEDC’s transformers were working there would be light for all Asaba residents and beyond.

    He added: “BEDC has simply shut down most of their transformers and are not receiving power from the NIPP, if all their transformers within their network is on everybody will have light. If they have been managing a certain megawatts, let say, 10 megawatts, with current local poorly motivated workforce, and are comfortable returning funds based on that, if the manager increases his capacity to say 30 megawatts and is unable to make returns generated don’t you think he will be axed?”

    Also, an advocacy group known as The Concerned Citizens of Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency, in a petition through their counsel, Augustine Elikwu & Co, made available to Niger Delta Report, are threatening mass protest including disrupting electricity supply to ‘favoured  private companies’ and instituting legal redress.

    It also threatened to invoke the Freedom of Information Act to know the modalities with which BEDC obtained the right/licence to distribute electricity within Delta State.

    The petition reads: “It is our client’s demand that you and your company connect/evacuate the light to the various towns and villages in Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency that these substations were meant to serve within two weeks from the date of this letter, failing which our client will stage a mass protest against you and your company and we shall also be forced to do whatever is necessary to stop everybody in Asaba and environs, including the private companies from enjoying electricity.”

    Residents have alleged underhand practices by BEDC, blaming the epileptic power supply to diversion of energy from transmission lines direct from the 330/132/33 KVA substation to major industries , including a major telecommunication, steel smelting and aluminium companies among others in the area.

    NDR gathered that the 330/132/33 KVA substation is equipped with six feeders and that all have been energised, but BEDC has dedicated two feeders for private companies.

    The aggrieved communities’ members also claim that BEDC’s desire to service the high net customers to the detriment of residents was the reason behind the poor power supply.

    Manager, Benin Business District, Dr Abiodun gave credence to these speculations recently in an interview with Niger Delta Report when he said: “As a business person, if you have a product that sells for maybe 10,000  units and that same product sells higher somewhere else, where will you take it to? The tariff structure is not created by BEDC; the BEDC does not have power to fix tariff NERC has the responsibility to do this.”

    But he debunked insinuations that the amount of energy allocated to Asaba and environs have risen since the 330/132/33KVA transmission substation was commissioned.

    According to Abiodun, the energy allocated to BEDC by National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) from power generated nationwide is 9%, adding that this translates to 24megawatts.

    He maintained that available power allocated to Asaba and environs is insufficient  and has not improved with the commissioning of the new substation adding that BEDC in a bid to satisfy all its customers have resorted to load shedding.

    “When BEDC was taking supplies from General Cutting Mill, Onitsha with only single line running from Onitsha to Asaba the power being transferred was about 24 megawatts, that is our allocation. The share of BEDC of the power that is generated nationwide is 9 per cent. BEDC is just one of the 11 DISCO’s in the country. BEDC serves four States – Ondo, Ekiti, Delta and Edo. We have 22 business units.

    “For instance if power generation is 2700MW and our share is 270mw if it is to be divided equally, according to business unit that would be 12.2 mw for each business unit, but energy is shared according to location and customer population. Asaba’s share is about 24 mw.”

    Dr Abiodun describes the 330/132/33 KVA substation thus: “The project can be likened to having a very big pipe and only little water is flowing through the pipe. That is just the problem, not until our allocation of power is increased the epileptic power will continue. For now it is the same 24 mw that we were taking from Onitsha that we are still taking from there. It is because of this allocated power that we have not been able to serve other communities. We want this allocation to be increased so that we can serve other communities.”

    He accused an engineer supervising the NIPP of altering its initial design in favour of Ibusa community, adding that the alteration is posing challenges to efficient evacuation of energy.

    He, however, added that when the power substation has been delivered the BEDC will effect changes that will enhance distribution of electricity.

    He said: “I do not want to mention names; there is a staff of NIPP, this has been an argument, it is that there was supposed to be a line to Ibusa and that was what was shown to me at headquarters now it going to be two lines. That is where the argument comes in. The contractor explained that the 2/15 MVA transformers in Ibusa is to be served with a dedicated line and there will be another line going to Ogwashi-Uku via Ibusa so making two lines to that axis.

    “The NIPP has six lines coming out, initially the BEDC design  and expectation is that of the six lines, the steel companies will have one line each, so they will not have anything to do with other public lines, but the engineer supervising the project altered the design making Asaba have 2 lines which we call Asaba line 1 and Asaba line 2. Asaba line 1 will feed the injection substation near B Division, while line 2 will feed Government/Core area, Okpanam  and the new substation to be commissioned at Government House. Another line will go to Isselu-Uku and environs, the fourth one will go to Ibusa and the fifth one will also go to Ibusa and Ogwashi-Uku because there is a 2/15MVA transformer under construction there, then the other lines will be used for the industries and other businesses,” Dr Abiodun explained.

    On efforts by BEDC to electrify communities that have experienced blackout for several years, he noted that an enumeration exercise was going on in some Issele-Uku, Ubulu-Uku and other communities, stressing that when it is completed power will be restored.

    He added that BEDC chose this option because data from the moribund Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) could not be relied upon.

    On the vexatious estimated billing system by BEDC, Abiodun maintained that a new billing method was being adopted by his organisation.

    “We have a new method of billing of customers that are not metered. It is called cluster billing, though it may not be 100 per cent correct. The method looks at the cluster which are categorised into A, B, C. We use customers who have functional meters to assess what others will consume.”

     

  • Power generation rises to 4,810.7Mw

    Power generation rises to 4,810.7Mw

    The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), said in Abuja yesterday that it had attained new peak of 4,810.7 megawatts (Mw) of generated electricity.

    In a statement signed by its Managing Director, System/Market Operation, Mr Dipak Sarma said this was achieved at 20.45 hours of Aug. 25 following a record set on Tuesday when 4748 Mw was generated.

    According to NAN, it said these successes were due to the joint contributions of the gas companies, generation companies, distribution companies and the TCN.

    Its Managing Director, Mr Paul Stefiszyn, said: “The Federal Government has been supportive in coordinating the activities of the sector across the value chain.’’

  • Ekiti communities protest power outage

    Ekiti communities protest power outage

    Two communities in Ekiti State-Aramoko and Erio-erupted in wild protests penultimate week as residents, led by their traditional rulers, took to the highway to protest a six-month power outage. ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA reports.

    Residents of Aramoko-Ekiti and Erio-Ekiti, both in Ekiti West Local Government Area of Ekiti State showed their fury penultimate week over a six-month blackout occasioned by their disconnection from power source by the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC).

    They took to the streets as early as 6:30 a.m., marching around and singing war songs against the electricity company for “throwing them into darkness longer than necessary”.

    The major highway that traversed the two neighbouring communities, private motorists, commercial drivers, commuters and vehicles belonging to government and private organisations bore the brunt of the riot.

    They were held up in traffic for nearly four hours as the irate indigenes of the towns prevented vehicular movement; causing a massive gridlock that spanned several kilometres.

    Aramoko is a nodal town and a major junction when a traveller intends to reach Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, from cities such as Lagos, Abeokuta, Ibadan, Osogbo, Ife and Ilesa.

    It is the headquarters of Ekiti West Local Government Area and one can connect other towns such as Ijero, Ipoti, Ikoro, Okemesi, Ido, Erijiyan and Ikogosi, where the famous warm spring is located.

    Erio, on the other hand, is the immediate town before and after Aramoko, depending on which direction you are coming from and it is famous as the site of the Mountain of Mercy (Ori Oke Aanu) which draws millions of people for prayer programmes every year.

    Like many other communities in Ekiti State, Aramoko and Erio have been having issues with the BEDC which led to attacks on officials of the company, violent protests and vandalism of company’s vehicles and power installations.

    Communities which had altercations with the BEDC in the recent past included Ifaki, Oye, Emure, Ijan, Iyin,  Ikere, and some parts of Ado.

    That of Ifaki was dramatic as the youth of the town staged a violent protest which was halted by the intervention of Governor Ayo Fayose.

    Out of the N6 million allegedly owed by Ifaki community, Fayose assisted it by paying N5 million after which he warned other communities to always ensure that their citizens pay their electricity bills as power generation and distribution had been privatised.

    Ikere, believed to be the second largest town in the state, was thrown into darkness for over one month after the youth of the community attacked members of staff of BEDC whom they accused of bringing ‘crazy’ bills without providing electricity.

    The town was subsequently disconnected by officials of the electricity company but the feud was resolved following the intervention of the state government, security agencies, community leaders and other interest groups.

    At Aramoko, the protest was led by the Alara, Oba Adegoke Olu Adeyemi while that of Erio was led by the Regent, Princess Adejoke Aladetoyinbo Ojo.

    The Deputy Governor, Kolapo Olusola, visited the two communities in the heat of the protest and appealed to the irate demonstrators to give peace a chance and allow government to mediate in the crisis.

    Olusola, alongside the Alara and the Regent went to the spots where roads were barricaded and urged the protesters to allow free flow of traffic.

    The protesters accused the BEDC of “illegal disconnection from the national grid” without their knowledge and also accused it of bringing bills on electricity they never used.

    They wondered why the BEDC kept on distributing bills on electricity it did not supply and which the residents did not use. They accused the officials of being the agents of complicity in vandalism of transformers in the their communities.

    One of the protesters, Mrs. Sarah Ojo said: “Despite lack of electricity in our town, we still pay N2, 000 monthly as electricity bills and later they would come to disconnect our light.

    “There was a time we enjoyed the light only two days in a whole month and after then, no light again and they have turned this place to “kingdom of darkness”.

    “We later discovered that the N2, 000 we paid to them was pocketed by their officials. We later discovered that it was the BEDC officials that disconnected our cables from the transformers.

    “They are robbers who reap where they did not sow; we do not owe them anything. In fact, we don’t want to be connected with Ekiti again; we want to be connected with Osun.”

    Another protester, Tope Olajide said: “We are tired of this hardship. Just imagine, we have no light, no water and we have government that watches while these things happen to us.

    “If Fayose does not do anything as soon as possible, we are marching on to the Government House in Ado-Ekiti because we installed him with our votes and he must find solution to our problems.

    “In fact, the protest won’t stop today; we are coming out again tomorrow and next tomorrow until they find solution to this problem because we cannot bear it any longer.

    “We have about seven transformers in Aramoko alone and none of them has cables on it currently. We suspected that they were vandalised by BEDC engineers because somebody who is not an expert cannot go to the transformer to remove something from it.”

    The Alara said his subjects have been suffering, saying the community is tired of paying for services not rendered by the electricity company. He said the officials of the company dumped bills in his palace when his subjects rejected them.

    Oba Adeyemi said: “The BEDC has not done well by disconnecting us without our knowledge. This unjust treatment is part of the insults and injuries we are suffering in the hands of the BEDC.

    “Our request is direct: Fayose’s administration did it before, he connected us to Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), and we were enjoying it. We want him to return us to IBEDC. In terms of payment, we are among the communities that pay our bills.

    “The BEDC is cheating us. When they give us electricity for five minutes, they would have five hours in their record.

    “We discovered that they haven’t got measuring rod in this area but they said they have a pool where they take the records from where they distribute the bills.

    “How can we pay for services not rendered? That is one of the problems we have with them.

    “We never had light at all for over five months now and we didn’t know when the entire community was disconnected. We are far to the source of power and we want you to intervene because we have been suffering.

    “We have bought 10 cables and arrested robbers and vandals who are now in prison. We are tired of paying for services not rendered. Do they have the moral right to keep on distributing bills now?

    “They have brought and dumped bills in my palace, armed robbers are on the prowl and this has caused businesses and other activities to be paralysed.”

    While thanking the governor for promptly stepping into the problem, Erio Regent, Princess Ojo, said her subjects want power supply to the community removed from BEDC and joined with IBEDC.

    She said:  ”Erio, Aramoko and Ido were linked together but to our surprise, we discovered that they had solved the problem of Ido. We want to be removed from BEDC.”

    According to the Deputy Governor, the state government and the affected communities would set up a committee consisting of various stakeholders to look into the problem.

    A meeting was held later in the day at the Deputy Governor’s office to find a way to resolve the crisis. It comprised government officials, traditional rulers, community leaders and officials of BEDC.

    But the Chief State Head of BEDC in charge of Ondo and Ekiti states, Ernest Edgar claimed that consumers in Aramoko and Erio owe the company over N132 million in electricity bills.

    He revealed that the communities had incurred N74 million since BEDC took over.

    Edgar said in a statement: “As a company at the end of the value chain of the power business; BEDC is expected to pay fully for the energy it receives from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and to remain in business, every community is expected to pay fully for every kilowatts of energy that’s consumed.

    “We are constrained by the fact that what is given to BEDC as allocation from the National Grid for the four states of coverage is just nine per cent of total generation in the country which is grossly inadequate.

  • Taraba governor flags off power plant

    Taraba governor flags off power plant

    Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku has flagged off the Tunga Dam hydroelectric power plant.

    The fanfare event took place on the Mambilla Plateau in Sardauna Local Government Area.

    The Tunga Dam power plant is different from the multi-billion naira Mambilla Hydroelectric Dam project which is to generate 3050 megawatts of electricity when completed.

    The small hydro-electric power plant, the first project to be commissioned by the Ishaku administration, is to provide 400 Kilowatts of electricity to the Kakara Highland Tea Factory and the villages around its catchment area.

    The power plant has been jointly constructed by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), United Nations High Commission for Refugee (UNHCR) and the Taraba State Government. The project was initiated by the immediate past governor Danbaba Suntai and Ishaku when the new governor was Minister of State for Power.

    Ishaku said, “The power plant is the key to my rescue mission in Taraba State.”

    The project is to employ thousands of indigenous people and is geared towards “enhancing economic activities of the people of Mambilla Plateau.”

    The UNHCR representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Angele Dikongue-Atangana explained through a representative that the project was put in place to improve the living standard of over 10,000 Nigerians that the commission repatriated from Cameroon in 2001, who were residing in the area.

    At least 50,000 people including 6,000 tea farmers in the community depend on the Kakara tea factory for survival. Whereas the fertile soil and temperate climate of the plateau favour tea production in the area, the absence of a steady source of power has prevented the tea firm from peak production. The factory’s equipment, including its tea processor, are obsolete, The Nation learnt.

    Head of the UNIDO Regional Office Abuja, Chuma Ezedinma said the organisation was happy to be part of the success story of using micro and small hydroelectric power to support productive activities in the state.

    He disclosed that the regional office of UNIDO has discovered over 200 potential hydro power sites in Nigeria that were ready for development.

    Governor Ishaku pledged the commitment of the state government in partnering with UN to build additional power plants that would supply electricity to more communities on the plateau and the state. “The area is endowed with adequate waterfalls that can be converted to hydro-power,” he said.

    The Mambilla Plateau, rising to a breathtaking 1,840 meters above sea level, is one of the greatest tourist destinations in Africa and has one of the best climatic conditions in the country.

    Ishaku said electricity supply will boost socio-economic development on the plateau in many ways, including tourism and sports.

    The natives were urged to jealously protect the project from vandals, and above all, sustain peace in the area for massive development.

    Many dignitaries attended the commissioning, including Deputy Governor Haruna Manu, House of Assembly Speaker Abel Peter Dial, former SSG Gebon Kataps, chairmen of local government councils and traditional rulers.

  • Power chief decries lack of TCN’s work centre in Uyo

    Power chief decries lack of TCN’s work centre in Uyo

    The Managing Director of Ibom Power Company, Dr. Victor Udo, has decried the absence of a transmission work centre in Akwa Ibom State.

    Speaking with reporters, Udo said it was not good that each time there were faults, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) deploys workers from the work centre at Calabar, the Cross River State capital.

    Udo said: “When faults occur along transmission lines, TCN deploys workers from the work centre at Calabar.

    “The implication is that faults that ought to be resolved within a short time take longer to resolve because of the logistics in transporting TCN workers from Calabar to Uyo”.

    “We have four 132kV transmission substations in Akwa Ibom State at Ikot Abasi, Eket, Itu and Uyo while two 330kV transmission substations are in advanced stages of completion. Therefore, a transmission work centre ought to be established in Akwa Ibom State.”

    He added that “some other places that have only one or two transmission substations have at least one TCN work centre while we have four transmission substations with no work centre in the state.

    ‘’The issue has been discussed with chief executives of Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and TCN. We will continue to push until TCN establishes a work centre in Akwa Ibom State.”

    Udo said the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) failed to instal sufficient injection substations.

    “We need at least two more injection substations in Uyo due to the population increase. The 11KV substation installed 10 years ago is no longer sufficient to meet the demands of the people.

    “It is not the responsibility of government to provide injection substations although government has intervened to instal transformers in communities across the state,” he said.

    Udo said providing this substations would amount to government providing mobile phone services or building masts for telecommunication companies after privatisation.

    He urged the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) to “improve operational efficiency to sustain the steady power supply”.