The Nation Newspaper

Tag: POWER

  • Obasanjo seeks improvement in power sector

    Obasanjo seeks improvement in power sector

    The former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on Saturday said Nigerians are yet to witness the change campaign promises of the current administration.

    Obasanjo stated this at the presentation of award to the former Managing Director of Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), Engr. James Olotu, during investiture ceremony of new president of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), in Abuja.

    The new NSE President, Engr. Adekunle Mokuolu had earlier commended Olotu for his outstanding performance in delivering all the independent power projects and the power injector substations.

    He applauded other distinguished Nigerians who have contributed significantly to the power and engineering sector in the country while Obasanjo made the award presentations.

    But Obasanjo, who was in his cream traditional Agbada attire and a matching cap, quietly asked Olotu on the podium if the projects were actually completed with a response from Olotu.

    Facing the crowd in the Africa hall of the International Conference Centre, Obasanjo said, “If you want to know what I have been asking him, I asked him if all the 10 NIPP have been completed but he said they are 85 per cent completed and the Power Injector Substations have been completed above average.”

    “Let’s hope that all the 100 per cent of them will be completed and all of them will be feeding power into our homes. Maybe we will see the change.”

    However, Obasanjo applauded the new president for his commitment and tenacity to developing the engineering sector.

    In his remarks, President Muhammadu Buhari, said the NSE has proven to be good partners to developing the nation’s infrastructure and the economy.

    He said the role of local engineers is imperative to really achieving the National Economic Recovery Growth Plan, thus reason the Federal Executive Council approved new policy plan to promote local content.

    Buhari, who was represented by the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonaya Onu said the new policy would be of immense benefit to local engineers.

    “Our engineers are well placed to assist in the realisation of our numerous policy initiatives. The recent guideline on design, planning and execution of projects, programmes and contracts that have science, engineering and technological components is particularly instructive.

    “These policy guidelines which already have been approved by the federal executive council are equipped with great revolutionary potentials of great benefits to the engineers and other professionals in science and technology,” Buhari said.

    Mokuolu in his inaugural speech called for a change in the present procurement process if the nation must be the envy of other countries.

    He said the absence and inadequacy of infrastructural facilities has led most people to migrate to other countries at a risk through the Sahara desert and Mediterranean Sea.

    However, he restated commitment of the NSE to ensure the success of all programmes initiated by the President and his administration.

    Mokuolu disclosed plans to commence initiatives that will increase population of Engineers in the country with special attention on girls to encourage them to flourish in the profession.

    He assured to increase interactions with the Industrial Trust Fund and the Supervised Industrial Work Experience Scheme.

    “We shall introduce competitions in engineering and technology innovations among students in the first quarter of 2018 and facilitate seamless connect between the Academia and Industry,” Mokuolu added.

    In a new report titled, the Nigerian Infrastructure Report Card, distributed at the event, the study rated the nation’s infrastructure system (F1) – Unfit for Purpose.

    According to the report, the F1 rating is a further drop by two points from E2 in the previous rating carried out in 2015.

  • NASS, stakeholders collaborate on extending Local Content to construction, power sectors

    Members of the Federal House of Representatives have begun working with stakeholders in Power, Construction and Information Communication Technology sectors to extend the Nigerian Content Act to the three sectors of the economy.

    The collaboration was firmed up at the recent workshop organised by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for members of the House of Representatives Committee on Local Content, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

    The consensus at the event was that extending the Act to those key sectors would replicate the achievements recorded in the oil and gas industry through the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act.

    In his presentation on Opera-tionalising Local Content in the Construction Sector, Chief Executive Officer, Megastar Construction Company, Arch Harcourt Adukeh stated that the construction industry could be a key driver of the Federal Government’s economic diversification programme when the prevailing dominance of the industry by international companies is reversed.

    Adukeh underscored the need to encourage indigenous participation in the construction sector, adding that the industry was a key enabler of ancillary services like financial services, education, retail, real estate and hospitality.

    Speaking on Local Content in the power sector, Commissioner, Engineering, Performance & Monitoring, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Prof. Frank Okafor, stressed that”no country in the world had grown its power network through the importation of all components and devices.’’He canvassed a legislation that would promote deliberate utilisation of local human and material resources, goods and services in the power sector.

    Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Local Content, Hon. Emmanuel Ekon in his address, highlighted some of the achievements recorded in the oil and gas industry through the imple-mentation of the Nigerian Content Act.

  • Power sector records new national peak of 5,222.3Mw

    Power sector records new national peak of 5,222.3Mw

    The nation’s power generation has  peak of 5,222.3Megawatts (Mw), according to a statement from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

    TCN’s General Manager,  Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, who issued the release in Enugu,  said  the achievement was  the highest ever recorded in the nation’s power sector to-date.

    “This surpassed the 5,155.9Mw achieved on December 8, 2017 and the earlier peak of 5,074.70Mw, achieved on February 2, 2016, Mbah said, adding that the gradual, but steady improvement in the nation’s power sector is attributable to the strategy of the administration of President Mohammadu Buhari, in line with its policy on incremental power.

    “At the 22nd Power Sector Stakeholders Meeting, the Minister of Power Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola assured that the current synergy among the presidency, Ministry of Power, Works and Housing and other major power sector stakeholders working through the Power Sector Recovery Program (PSRP), would continue to deliver improved power supply to the people,” he stated.

    Mbah said to properly key into the incremental power policy, TCN has developed the Transmission Rehabilitation and Expansion programme to enable it prioritise and execute critical transmission projects, saying this necessitated the clearing of the company’s stranded containers carrying various transmission equipment at the sea ports, to enable it complete previously abandoned projects to further expand the grid capacity.

    He said of the 759 containers abandoned by contractors at the sea ports within the last five years, 454 have been cleared from March to date. Payment for 193 containers has been made and they are being cleared, while payment for the outstanding 112 containers is yet to be made.”

    He said  all the 454 containers cleared from the ports have been taken to various construction sites, such as Yola, Gulak, Katsina, Jos, Dambatta, Ganmo, Abeokuta, Onitsha, Jos and Benin. Other construction sites include Odoguyan, Ede, Igangan, Okene, Walalambe, Akwanga, Kachia, Kumbotso, Kaduna and Yola.

    Mbah added that the containers have been abandoned at the ports for between two to six years by contractors, for various reasons, including suspension of TCN Import Duty Exemption Certificate (IDEC) in 2013, by the Ministry of Finance, slow processing of IDEC by TCN in the past and inefficiency of the contractors. The result was that several uncompleted transmission projects  littered various parts of the country.

    TCN reiterated its commitment to continue to work to further stabilize, rehabilitate and expand the grid and called on all Nigerians to work with the sector in safeguarding electricity installations nationwide.

  • FEC approves N377b for roads, power, education, others

    FEC approves N377b for roads, power, education, others

    THE Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting yesterday approved over N377. 53 billion for projects covering roads, power, education, water, health among other projects, after over six hours meeting.

    Ministers of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, Power  Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola, Water Resources Suleiman Adamu and Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Mohammed Bello briefed State House correspondents at the end of FEC meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Fashola, said council approved the completion of Police Service Commission headquarters in Abuja.

    He said: “That project was approved for variation to enable its completion over the next six months. The initial cost was N3.486 billion and it has been increased to 3.925 billion, it is a variation of N439.113 million.”

    He said council also approved Nnamdi Azikiwe Mausoleum in Anambra State. The project was started but not completed from previous administration.

    “Council approved the additional funding to complete it from N1.496 billion to N1.953 billion”.

    He said council approved road projects, which include Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria to Kano, at the cost of N155.7 billion and Efire-Araromi-Aiyede-Aiyela road to connect Ondo and Ogun State at cost of N14.4 billion.

    The minister said for the Amansia section of Enugu-Onitsha highway, council approved the variations of the cost of N38.74 billion to enable the contractor progress with the work.

    Fashola said council also approved  money for the intervention of education and healthcare.

    It approved the provision of independent power plant to nine universities and one teaching hospital as the first phase of the pilot programme to cover 37 universities at the cost of N38.965 billion to provide dedicated power to the universities, which include street lighting and  workshop to train the students post-completion.

    Adamu said council ratified augmentation of funds to complete Adada dam, Igbo-Atiti LGA in Enugu State, with the aim of providing water to the university town of Nsukka.

    It comprises of a dam, some kilometres of pipeline, water supply to some communities along the route and to water treatment plant.

    The Enugu State government, he said, is expected to take the conveyance system from where we stop from the water treatment plant into Nsukka town and provide the necessary distribution, storage and reservoirs.

    He said: “The project was started in 2010. This project has been augmented and council approved that the project be completed now at N5.6 billion by the end of 2018.

    Amaechi said council approved production and distribution of core text books for early education classes 1-3 and for primary 4-6 in public schools nationwide.

    According to him, the government has resolved to investigate distribution of textbooks to schools in the country between 2009 and 2011 before commencement of the distribution of the new textbooks.

    “Council also gave approval for Jos Central Library and the construction of the faculty of animal sciences and engineering,” he said

    Amaechi said: “For Ministry of Transport, we had approval for two vessels called pilot cutters to escort vessels into the seaport. Prior to this time, they were hiring now. We have approval for NPA to buy theirs at the cost of N1.9 billion.

    “Also council approved another two vessels of 17 meters in the eastern port that will help monitor and assist vessels into the seaport at the cost of N1.2 billion.

    “Council also approved the award of contract for direct procurement of installation and commissioning of Wide Area of multilateration for the Gulf of Guinea at the cost of N3.9 billion. This is to help capture those equipment flying below the radar, for us to be able  to pick them because it will be dangerous if we cannot because a lot of them use helicopters.

    “There was also an approval for the consultancy services to construct a new terminal building at Mallam Aminu Kano Airport. We just  want to complete the payment, which is at N621 million.

    “Council also approved the purchase of flight calibration inspection at the cost of N111.6 million.

    “One other key project that was approved is the engagement of consultants for the project management, monitoring and evaluation including media and public relations services of the UNEP report.

    “The president has also directed immediately that remediation should start and so the processes for remediation should come to council within the next six months so that we can commence the activities of reclaiming the land from the disastrous stage that it is now. The President reminded the cabinet that he was in Ogoni during campaign and had promise that the UNEP report will be carried out.”

    The FCT Minister said council approved the completion of the Goodluck Jonathan Way in the FCT that links traffic from Keffi-Nyanya into the city.

    “We got an augmentation of an additional N3.8 billion and with the funding the road will be completed any moment from now.

    Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity Garba Shehu said that the FEC which will continue today, has gone half way into the over 40 memos for consideration.

    According to analysis of the various projects later released by Shehu, the road projects are coming at a time when the administration has increased the pace of the completion of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway and is considering increasing the scope of work on the East-West expressway, Port Harcourt to Lagos, the Second Niger Bridge and other roads.

    “The first two years of the government have witnessed a drastic reduction of the number of stalled road projects and the commencement of new ones all over the country. At the rate it is boosting infrastructure investments, roads, rail and power, the Buhari administration has undoubtedly found the road to glory,” he stated.

    He said the meeting was extended to today to enable the council deliberate and take decisions on pending issues.

    According to him, the Federal Government plans to make Nigerians happy by providing tangible and meaningful projects to uplift their quality of life.

  • Financial closure for $550m power project coming

    King Line Development (KLD) Nigeria, which signed a $550million Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for 550megawatts (Mw) with the Federal Government last week, has set the fourth quarter of next year for the project’s financial close.

    Its Managing Director, Akinnola Fola, who spoke with reporters Abuja at the weekend, said the cost of developing the deal is being borne by Kingline, adding that discussions are ongoing for another investor to jointly fund the remaining development activities’ financial close in January next year.

    On equity contribution, he said it would be partly provided by Kingline and other investors, while land has been provided by Ondo State government as its contribution.

    Confident of securing all equity need at financial,  Fola explained that for the project finance “discussions are with various options available. ECA’s from  South Korea, France and Canada, according to him, are all options. African Development Bank (AfDB), OPIC and international lenders options are all available and very viable”, adding that the PPA gives some credibility to would-investors and lenders.

    According to the Managing Director investors are now ready for the project to go to the next level.

    The agreement, he said, will ensure that 550Mw, which is 12 per cent of the 6,000Mw will come to the national grid for the benefits of Nigerians.

    Continuing, he said after the PPA, “we still need to sign other transaction agreements such as partial risk guarantee, but we are looking at fourth quarter 2018 to achieve financial close. And after that we have 24 months to do the construction. So tentatively we are looking at first quarter 2020.”

    He said there is a mechanism put in place by government of which one is the partial risk guarantee, political risk insurance, which are all measures that international lenders will need to put money into the business to ensure returns on investment (RoI).

  • Akande:Power vital to ease of doing business success

    Akande:Power vital to ease of doing business success

    Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) former President  Dr. Nike Akande has urged the Federal Government to ensure adequate power supply, saying it is important to the ease of doing business.

    Mrs Akande spoke at the 129th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the chamber held in Lagos.

    Appraising the ease of doing business in the aftermath of recession, Mrs Akande said the recovery impact would only be appreciated when it reduces the cost of doing business, enhances productivity of investors and boosts the competitiveness of firms and sustainability of investments.

    “The provision of power remains at the heart of ease of doing business in Nigeria. We call on the government to sustain the current reforms in such critical sectors as power, agriculture, solid minerals and oil and gas,” she said.

    Mrs Akande commended the Economic Management Team and the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council on its initiatives, saying it has become a platform for engagement between the government and private sector.

    She, however, warned that the Council’s efforts might not translate to much, if inconsistent power supply persists.

    She added that Executive Orders  should be fully enforced to improve the way government does business  to  improve the business environment.

    Presenting the LCCI yearly report, Mrs Akande said the outgoing year was eventful in that it re-invigorated the potency of its public policy advocacy.

    According to her, the Chamber  held programmes, which drew the government’s attention to the worries of the business community.

    Some of them, she said, are the presidential policy dialogue session, policy dialogue on the power sector, business delegations and diplomatic visits, among others.

    Mrs Akande said despite that the economy appeared crippled by a weak revenue base, high interest rates and security concerns in certain parts of the country, she was optimistic that opportunities for a rebound abound.

    “Crude oil prices are beginning to recover, foreign reserve is improving and inflation is on a steady decline. We are blessed with a huge market, abundant natural resources and an enterprising population.

    “As a chamber, we were consistent in our public advocacy and sustained our delivery of business development services to our members and the larger business community,” the former president said.

    She added that increased patronage of made-in-Nigeria goods and services would not only encourage global competitiveness of indigenous manufacturers but also boost job creation.

    She charged the chamber to continue to harp on sectorial advocacy.

    Mrs Akande said the chamber’s advocacy has  enhanced the quality of organised private sector (OPS) contributions to nation’s economic policymaking.

  • Experts proffer solutions to power problems

    The power sector requires funding, infrastructure, a mixture of gas, hydro and renewable sources of energy and cost reflective tarrifs to operate optimally, stakeholders have said.

    Other strategies, they said, are efficient transmission and distribution network, meters, and gas.

    The Chief Executive Officer, SolarCentric Technologies Limited, Mr Adetunji Iromini, the Campaign Director, Nigeria, Power for All, Mr Ifeoma Alo, the Executive Director, Business Development, Starsight Nigeria Limited, Mr Rex Adebayo, and others, spoke during the 12th  renewable energy seminar organised in Lagos, by the German Embassy, Abuja and German Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

    The seminar’s  theme was: Solar PV Development in Nigeria.

    Iromini said the industry is facing problems, such as short supply of meters, huge tarrifs and poor infrastructure, adding that the problems can be solved, when the sector is well financed.

    He said when there is huge liquidity  in the sector, it would be easier for the power firms to improve electricity supply, procure enough meters for their customers, amond doing other things that would engander growth in the sector.

    He said the power distribution companies (DisCos) interface with customers regularly, adding that it would be easier for the firms to know the problems facing them and how to proffer solution to them.

    On metering, Iromin urged power firms to conduct enumeration to know the customers that need meter and supply them meters appropriately, adding that by so doing, the firms are saving customers from the agony of estimated billing.

    Citing a report on Power Sector Recovery Programme(2017-2021), he said a unit of energy cost around N50.30, urging the Federal Government to subsidise the price, at which, people are paying for energy.

    Alo urged the government to allow prospective and exisitng investors in solar and other renewable energy build mini-grids, adding that the government would be decentralising transmission of electricity in the country.

    He blamed the Olusegun Obasanjo administration for not probing Nigerians that were guilty of corruption.

    He, however, commended the government of former President Goodluck Jonathan, for privatising the sector, despite the challenges facing it.

  • How to make power devolution work, by APC stalwart

    How to make power devolution work, by APC stalwart

    A Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC)in Lagos State, Chief Remi Williams, has lent his support to the agitation for devotion of powers to the states. He said though devolution of powers is good, care must be taken in adopting it.

    In an interview, the octogenarian said the concept forms a crucial part of the constitution.  He said: ‘’When we talk of devolution, we must be very cautious. There are certain aspects that we need not negotiate with the Federal Government. No matter what, the Federal Government will control defence, that is Army Air force, Navy etc. That aspect is not negotiable. For instance, during the Cuba crisis, the United States President John F. Kennedy took a decisive step against Fidel Castro of Cuba to checkmate his excessive actions. So also President Muhammadu Buhari took immediate steps against the Gambian insurgency. In a nutshell, devolution must have its limit. It must not be extended to foreign policy.’’

    Williams said those seeking restructuring should note that the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) members who are calling councils’ autonomy would now be justified ‘’rather than be an appendage to the state for their finance.”

  • Abandoned power

    •TCN must make errant contractors who abandoned electricity equipment at ports pay for them

    It is a veritable example of how not to use public funds or indeed, how not to conduct any business whatsoever.

    A few months back, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) had informed Nigerians that power equipment imported by various contractors worth hundreds of billions of naira lay waste at the ports. These components were required for the numerous power projects scattered across the country.

    The equipment, which are said to be mainly transmission projects, had been ordered under the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) while some were procured during the transition period when the current transmission firm was being  set up.

    Whatever the case may be, only last week, the Interim Managing Director of TCN, Mr. Usman Mohammed, informed Nigerians that his firm had spent about N2.5 billion to clear some power transmission equipment worth several billions of naira abandoned  by different contractors at the nation’s seaports. He noted many contractors handling various power projects in the past had abandoned a lot of transmission equipment at the ports for no justifiable reasons.

    As to possible reasons for the abandonment, Usman noted that, “We found out that contractors formed the habit of collecting part-payments to import equipment and when the equipment got to Nigeria, they abandoned them at the ports without providing justifiable reasons.”

    He explained that the poor execution of transmission projects in Nigeria was largely due to many unqualified contractors handling the projects.

    While we commend the new management of TCN for rising to the challenge in the last one year, to clear stranded equipment from the ports, we dare say that several issues have been raised here.

    There is the question of poor institutional memory bordering on impunity and the question of poor deployment of government’s resources, among others.

    First, we wonder whether contracts worth over two hundred billion naira could have been awarded by various public corporations without proper documentation, monitoring and evaluation. Letters of credit must have been opened for those orders so there would not be any confusion as to who placed what orders, costs of the equipment and when they were ordered.

    We thought that even as the new TCN management had undertaken to retrieve the equipment from the ports, it is only incumbent upon it to ensure that the errant contractors are exposed, if need be prosecuted and necessary restitution made. How can we vouch that the same contractors that had been remiss in carrying out previous contracts are not back in the fold causing more havoc?

    Who bears the N2.5 billion spent to clear these goods? This is no way to spend public funds. The errant contractors and the colluding government officials, if any, must be fished out and made to bear some costs.

    It is unacceptable and borders on impunity that contracts of this magnitude were handed to contractors and they were handled with so much insouciance, yet not one person is being made to answer. Nigeria’s power sector has been in the doldrums despite billions of dollars sunk into it because of this kind of laissez faire attitude to work and in carrying out government business.

    Further, if TCN had elected to quietly retrieve the equipment from the ports, without recourse to the contractors, how can we tell that it doesn’t have junk equipment which would soon be found to be of no use to Nigeria’s power infrastructure?

    In a nutshell, we insist that the contractors and their cohorts in service must not be allowed to go scot free; they must be made to pay a price if this impunity and crass breach of contracts is not to recur.

  • Why six power plants are idle, by Shell

    Why six power plants are idle, by Shell

    Six power plants remain idle because of lack of gas to fuel their operations, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), has said.

    Its  Senior Commercial Adviser, Upstream Gas,  Emmanuel Anyaeto, said the plants could not operate as there was no infrastructure to convey gas to their locations.

    He spoke on the sidelines of ‘Gas Aggregation Buyers’ Forum’ orginised by the Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria (GACN), in Abuja, yesterday.

    He said gas producers were also reluctant to supply them gas owing to their rising debt profile which was almost hitting $500million.

    He said Nigeria needed about two billion standard cubic feet of gas to meet its requirement for both domestic and power plants.

    Anyaeto said: “The reason is because we have about six power plants in this country that are standing idle that are not getting gas. The reason why they are not getting gas, even though we are flaring 800million scuf per day is that we don’t have enough pipelines to deliver the gas to the power plants.

    “That begs the question, why were the power plants built far away from where the gas is? he queried, pointing out that the that most of the producers are owed a lot of money. The producers are being owed close to $500million today.”

    He said the power plants, are government owned, but since the government is not paying, the producers now require a guarantee  that they woul be paid upon supply of gas.

    This condition, Anyaeto said, is what the government is yet to  fulfill that has culminated in the shortage of gas for the power plants.

    He said the  amount of investment needed to meet the two billion SCUF in Nigeria is about $6million for gas, pipelines and other infratsuture.

    According to him, producers were readily available for the gas business, but the challenge was whether customers are available to pay for the gas.

    Also speaking, GACN Managing Director, Morgan Okwoche, said the Gas Purchase Agreement (GPAs) that was signed was not effective because there was no security for the electricity generation companies (GenCos), that needs a back up, while the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) was yet to come up with any security instrument.

    He said the N701billion intervention from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), was not was extended to the gas producers, stressing that GACN is in a position to certify any invoice dispute free.

    He said GACN wrote to  NBET and the Minister of Power to involve the company to help in disbursing the N701billion to avoid dispute in the future.