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Tag: Prof. Chinedu Nebo

  • Power supply now 2,979.06Mw

    Power supply now 2,979.06Mw

    The Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) yesterday recorded a marginal increase, as energy sent out by the Transmission Company Nigeria (TCN) hit 2,893.7 megawatts (MW) on Saturday from its 2,834.30Mw supply on April 26.

    This resulted in an increase of 56.4Mw in the electricity market, said the Ministry of Power in its power statistics.

    In the period under review, the electricity market  recorded 68.84Mw stranded power the TCN could only evacuate 2,979.06MW out of the 3,042.90Mw  which the Electricity Generation Companies (Gencos) produced.

    The ministry noted that the market reached a peak power production of 2,893.7Mw which was an anomaly as energy generation was higher than peak energy.

    It would be recalled that having  failed to meet a target of 5,000Mw last year, the ministry early this year increased its 2015 power generation target to 6,000MW, next year’s to 10,000 and pegged that of 2017 at 12,000Mw.

    Although the administration winds down in 23 days time, the Minister of Power, Prof Chinedu Nebo said  there exists a 5,500Mw generation capacity in the market, especially with the commissioning of new power plants this year.

    In reality, the NESI is yet to actually maintain an average of 4,000Mw power supply steadily in a week.

    The highest peak power generation recorded in the market so far was the 4,517.6 Mw  of December 23, 2012.

    The prolonged challenges in the market have been shortage of gas supply owing to frequent vandalism of the gas pipelines and inadequate water for the hydro power plants in dry season.

    According to the chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr. Sam Amadi, this has affected revenue generation and metering in the industry.

    He said: “Two things are holding back  aggressive metering : financing and quantity of power. If you are selling 60,000Mw you have more money to finance metering. But if you are because of pipeline vandalisation and others we are selling 3,000Mw, then you have less revenue for metering.

    “Let’s be realistic, if we are generating   3,500 or 4,000, there is no way …we don’t have adequate power for reasons you know. Some of them gas. We are still building the power plants. So even if, you have 6,000 Mw you will not still have 100 percent power supply. “

  • Nebo says LED bulbs ‘ll save N500b, free 1200Mw

    Nebo says LED bulbs ‘ll save N500b, free 1200Mw

    The use of low emitting diode (LED) bulbs across the country would free 1,200 megawatts (Mw) of electricity valued at N500billion for industrial and commercial use, Minister of Power, Prof Chinedu Nebo has said.

    Speaking yesterday at the inauguration of the 50KVA 3-phase off-grid solar solution factory of Omatek Ventures, Ikeja, he said the Federal Government is encouraging the use and development of alternative energy sources, adding that the thinking of the management of Omatek was in line with the aspirations of the government.

    Nebo said the LED bulbs would also substantially save energy cost by between 70 and 90 per cent and assure power availability and reliability.

    He said: “This kind of initiative makes it possible to live off-grid and this means you don’t need to be connected to the national grid before you can get efficient power supply to handle your home, office and industrial activities.”

    According to him, what Omatek has demonstrated, in terms of solar power supply and LED indicate that the company knows what the government wants to do because this imitative is perfectly in tandem with the policy of the Federal Government, adding that with regard to LED bulb, Omatek has shown that every Nigerian can cut power consumption by 70 to 90 per cent.

    He said: “In other words, if your electricity in a month is N10,000, you can reduce it to N3,000 if you use LED bulb  and this bulb conserves a lot of electricity. For 100 watts of regular bulb, if you have a five watts of LED, it will serve you the same purpose, give you the same luminosity so at the end of the day, the whole country would benefit and what we are saying is this: If the whole of the country put LED in use, it will free us 1,200Mwof power for industry, manufacturing, SMEs and industrial revolution will further boom. So, this is a clarion call to all Nigerians to begin the process of modification of making all our offices LEDified, all homed lEDified. In fact, new housing estate shouldn’t get approval until they demonstrate that they will use LED all through because that is the only way we can save the lot of energy we waste in this country. So, we should start doing the right thing now. Another way of looking at the use of LED is that when you free up 1, 200Mw of electricity for real-time good use- industrial, productive manufacturing, it is like building a power plant. That kind of power plant would cost about half a trillion naira and that is what you save and that is for the power plant. When that now comes down, it has multiplier effect.

  • Siting of NIPPs not political, says Power Ministry

    Siting of NIPPs not political, says Power Ministry

    THE siting of the National Independent Power Plants (NIPPs) in the southern belt was strategic, and not political, the Special Adviser on Investments, Finance and Donor Relations to the Minister of Power, Olajuwon Olaleye, has said.

    He said politics was not part of the reasons behind the establishment of the power plants in the southern belt, as being rumoured in some quarters.

    He said: “The government was more concerned about the issue of gas supply since southern belt hosted the country’s gas processing plants. Going by the government’s calculation, it would be easier for the power companies to access gas in the south than the north. It is not economical to construct  gas  pipeline from  north to south. Besides, the topography of the land in the north is not good enough for such investment.”

    He added that efficiency of a project matters matter most to the government than any other thing.

    “We should gradually begin to look at what is efficient when it comes to infrastructural development. These companies are in the southern belt to make piping of gas easier and cheaper ‘ he added.

    He noted that seven out of 10 of the plants have been completed, adding that the remaining three are going through bidding processes, adding the bidders for the plants have been identified, following a screening exercise conducted for them by the government.

    The 10 plants are billed for privatisation to ensure effective management the plant built by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Plc on behalf of the Federal Government are expected to provide 5,000 megawatts (Mw)of electricity to the nation grid on completion.

  • Nigeria, others need $25b investment in power sector

    Nigeria, others need $25b investment in power sector

    Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, has said Nigeria’s and other West Africa’s power sector needed $25 billion (N3.88trillion) investment over the next one decade to have a reliable and consistent power supply in the industry.

    In his presentation titled Updates on the Nigerian power privitisation at the ongoing West African Power Industry Convention (WAPIC), in Lagos, he said there was the need to invest and develop regional grid through effective power generation across the West African sub-region region.

    The minister said Nigeria, which is regarded as Africa’s foremost business destination is  second to South Africa.

    He said Nigeria, the 26 largest economies in the world and the seventh largest population was one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

    According to him, Nigeria’s economic performance is one of the most robust in Africa and an adequate power supply is a pre-requisite for a stable economy.

    Nebo said the overall Gross Domestic Products (GDP) growth for last year was 6.81 per cent was above the projected global growth average of 3.5 per cent.

    “Today, Nigeria is an attractive destination for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). In the last three years, Nigeria has attracted over 10 per cent of the total FDI to Africa totaling over $20 billion.

    “This performance is driven by favourable political, economic and demographic realities,’’ he added.

    He said renewable energy remained the most neglected in the West African sub-region, adding that it stood as a veritable tool that could energise Africa.

    He added that renewable energy could also be used to solve the energy problem in a very inclusive way.

    He said: “The Ministry of Power is synergising with the Minister of Petroleum and Central Bank Governor to address gas challenges and also to inject more liquidity into the system

    “Handing over successor’s power companies in Nigeria to investors remains one of the laudable achievements of the present administration, because before the privitisation the sector had been in comatose.’’

  • ‘Infrastructure deficit inhibits growth of gas sector’

    Inadequate infrastructural facilities such as pipelines, pressure station, and Central Processing Unit (CPUs), is hindering the growth of the gas sector, the President, Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association of Nigeria (LPGAN), Mr. Dayo Adesina, has said.

    Others challenges, he said, include lack of gas stripping plants and effective regulatory mechanisms, among others.

    Adesina said the problems are ineffective utilisation of gas, which makes it impossible for critical sectors of the economy to access the product for growth. He said the country is finding it difficult to take the gas to where it is needed, processed and used to achieve the desired results.  He lamented that Nigeria is flaring gas without considering its socio-economic implications.

    He said: “The country is flaring millions of metric tonnes of gas daily, because there is no infrastructure in place to capture it for productive usage.  And to take the gas to where it is needed, the government has done in that regard. Facilities such as Central Processing Units (CPUs), gas stripping plants, pressure stations and others are lacking in the country. What is considered a waste in the gas sector can be turned around and be useful in other sectors, if there are adequate infrastructural facilities in place.”

    According to him, the gas  being flared can power the whole of Africa, if the right policies are in place.

    Also, the Director -General, Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE), Benjamin Dikki in an interview with The Nation, said gas shortage has affected the operation of the power sector. Dikki said infrastructural deficit in the gas industry is having spillover effects in the power sector. “Instead of wasting gas by flaring it, we can channel it to the power sector. Due to gas shortage, the power sector cannot generate enough electricity. We are producing less than 6,000MW of electricity. We are hovering between 4,000MW to 5,000MW of electricity; when we are suppose to generate 10,000MW.  We have been targetting 10,000MW for some time now and we are yet to achieve it.

    The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, and her counterpart in the Power Ministry, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, the Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and other relevant stakeholders had in Abuja, discussed how to make gas available to the power sector.

  • Energy ministers, operators for NAEC confab Thursday

    The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, and Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, is expected to lead a government delegation to the  yearly conference of the National Association of Energy Correspondents (NAEC) on Thursday at Eko Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    In a statement the group’s Chairman, Yusuf Yunus, said International Oil Companies (IOCs), independent producers, new owners of the privatised power assets and other stakeholders, would also be at the conference to proffer solution to pipeline vandalism, oil theft and supply of gas to power stations.

    He said Mrs Alison-Madueke would deliver the keynote address while the Group Managing Directorof theNigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Joseph Thlama Dawha, would present the lead paper.

    He said: “The theme of this year’s conference is: “Pipeline vandalism and its socio-economic effects on the nation.”  It will have two technical sessions where operators will discuss relevant topics related to the theme.

    “The topic for the first technical session is: ‘Crude oil theft and the way out. ‘ ”

    Discussants for the first technical session include Maj.-Gen. Emmanuel Atuwe, commander, Joint Task Force, Operation Pulo Shield; Ernest Nwapa, executive secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB); Mr. Robert Clay Neff, managing director, Chevron Nigeria Limited; Mr. Wale Tinubu, the Group Chief Executive Officer, Oando Group; Mr. MutiuSunmonu, Managing Director, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC);Mr. Cornelius Zegelaar, Managing Director, Addax Petroleum; Mr. Felix Amieyeofori, Managing Director/CEO, Energia Company Limited and Mr. Abdulrazak Isa, Chairman/CEO, Waltersmith Petroleum Limited.

    “The topic for the second technical session is: “Effective implementation of Gas Master Plan (GMP) for adequate power supply.”

    Discussants include Dr. David Ige, Group Executive Director (GED), Gas and Power, NNPC; Mrs. MoremiOnijala Soyinka, Deputy Director, Climate Change/Gender, Ministry of Power; Mr. Austin Avuru, MD/CEO Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc; Dr. Sam Amadi, chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

    “Others include Dr. Frank Edozien, Special Adviser on Gas to the Minister of Power; Mr. James Olotu, Managing Director, Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC); Mr. TaofeekTijani, Commissioner for Energy, Lagos State; Dr. OladeleAmoda, Chief Executive Officer, Eko Electricity Distribution Company, and Engr. AbiodunAjifowobaje, Chief Executive Officer, Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company.

    The Chairman of the conference is Dr. LayiFatona, Managing Director, Niger Delta Petroleum Resources Limited.

  • Nebo, others advocate renewable energy in Africa

    Minister of Power, Prof Chinedu Nebo and his Tanzania counterpart, Sospeter Muhongo have called for the implementation of the policy on renewable energy in Africa.

    Speaking during the United States-Africa Leaders Summit in New York, the ministers said the continent’s future depended on renewable energy because of it is cheaper to access than hydro and gas method of energy.

    The ministers, who joined their colleagues from other countries to deliberate on electricity problems facing the continent, said renewable energy was the way to tackle energy challenges in Africa. According to them, the continent has been battling power problems for long and, therefore, needed to find lasting solutions to it.

    Nebo said: “Africa is hugely in darkness. Whatever we can do to get Africa from a place of darkness to a place of light … I think we should encourage that to happen. Renewable energy is one options we think can solve the problem.. I think Africa should be allowed to develop its coal potential. This is very critical. There are so many areas in Africa that will help to generate power for the over 60 per cent of Africans that have no access to energy at all,” said Nigeria’s Nebo.

    Mohongo urged the continent to explore opportunities in solar, coal, biomass and other sources of renewable energy.

    “We, in Africa, should not be in the discussion of whether we should use coal or not. In my country of Tanzania, we are going to use our natural resources because we have reserves which go beyond five billion tons,”

    “If some people have taken a position where we say no coal, no nuclear, no hydro, then we’re really not serious,” he said. Big hydropower, in particular, demands new acceptance, he said, arguing that the multilateral donor agency has learned lessons from past disastrous projects and is much better-equipped to work with indigenous communities and others affected by new dams. We, in Africa, we should not be in the discussion of whether we should use coal or not. In my country of Tanzania, we are going to use our natural resources because we have reserves which go beyond 5 billion tons,” Muhongo said.

    He said his country was on the verge of becoming a middle-income nation and aims to grow its gross domestic product about nine per cent yearly. To do that, coal reserves and Tanzania’s 50.5 trillion geologic feet of natural gas are critical.

    Also, the Chief Executive Officer,  Mara Group, Ashish Thakkar, said: “We need 20 times more power than we have today, and by the time we get there, we’re going to need 30 times the amount of power we need today.”

    Thakkar said African gas production is expected to double in the next two decades, adding that the continent needs $400 billion in that time to provide power to the full half of the population that is without it.

    “I think Africa should be allowed to develop its coal potential. This is very critical. There are so many areas in Africa that will help to generate power for the over 60 percent of Africans that have no access to energy at all,” said Nebo.

  • TCN to transmit 6,000MW by December, says minister

    TCN to transmit 6,000MW by December, says minister

    •Market Operator receives N11b for power purchase

    The Minister of Power, Prof Chinedu Nebo yesterday told the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) hat it has no excuse for failing to transmit 6,000Mega Watts ( Mw) of electricity by December this year.

    The minister said since he had received assurance from TCN that it has the capacity to  wheel any generated power, the assurance must transcend semantics to reality.

    He gave this marching order in Abuja, during the commissioning of the TCN,  Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIPSS)/PowerCollect Operations and Command Centre.

    The minister noted that the new board of the TCN has been focused but the ministry was however worried about the capacity to transmit generated power.

    Nebo said: “The board of the TCN has given the leadership that is focused. And  the new management of the TCN has also been  focused to make sure we move ahead. A lot needs to be done and we are deeply concerned about the capacity of the TCN to deliver the power that is generated.

    “ We keep getting reassurances and assurances that the capacity is there. But we will want to make sure that this is realistic and this is experiential, not just something done on paper but something we can really experience.

    “Because we have no excuse for failing to have enough physical, tangible, palpable, wheeling power of 6,000Mw  by December this year.”

    Commenting on the PowerCollect Operation Command Centre, he assured the Market Operator (MO) of support, adding that the ministry welcomes  fresh initiatives.

    The minister urged  stakeholders to cooperate and comply with all the rules and requirements necessary for the success of the project.

    NIPSS partner, Mr. Biodun Ogundipe said it is a firm that is jointly owned by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and all other  banks in the country.

    He said “it was a good thing that on the 13th of June, we cleared the outstanding balance that was due for the market operators that is N11 billion.”

    The partner said the payment was an eye-opener of how transparent and reliable the operation will now be.

    The MO, Engr. Ngozi Osahon, said the new system-power collect operation was predicated on the fact that the power industry will now need billions of dollars of investment to achieve its 40000Mw target by 2020.

    She explained that NIBSS-Power Collect is an Automated Revenue Lifecycle Management System that will enable the MO and all players in the electricity value chain ensure equitable revenue collection and splitting.

    The Osahon stressed said it will give the MO the tools it requires for market price stability; the NERC the tools it requires for an effective regulation of the sector; the ministry the oversight it requires for effective monitoring of the sector; and all market participants the transparency required for mutual trust, and increased efficiency.

    She added that the next step stage after the privatisation of the sector is sustainability of the market that is hinged on continuous investment by both local and domestic operators.

    According to her, in the privatised setting, the MO has been made the administrator of the market in the interim and has taken on the arduous but  important task of ensuring that the market overcomes all the challenges, adding that it’s well positioned towards attaining its 40,000Mw 2020 traget. She said: “Like the rest of the world, we are at a crossroads where traditional solutions to fundamental problems no longer cut in; we have to  dig deep and come up with revolutionising technological solutions. Solutions so conceivable yet so efficient that it shocks the world. A solution globally accepted yet tailored to the Nigerian market and its specific problems.

    “It is in the quest for such a solution, one of the global standard but also that is customised to meet the unique needs of the local environment that the MO, working closely with the NIBSS has developed and hereby present to the market, the NIBSS PowerCollect Platform!”

  • Jonathan approves $4b for electricity transmission

    Jonathan approves $4b for electricity transmission

    President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the sum of $4 billion to boost electricity transmission in the country.

    The Minister of Power and Steel, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, disclosed this on Friday at the official commissioning of 1 X 150MVA, 330/132kv Transformer at Ayede 330/132kv Substation, Ibadan, Oyo State capital.

    Nebo added that the president had also approved a master plan for a national grid which will provide power to all rural areas in the country.

    This, according to him, will have a national transformation impact on the country’s electricity supply.

    He said, “Not only will the national grid be a lot more reliable, but will be a lot more effective in places where there is no power before in Nigeria. It will also have a huge impact on the entire Nigeria populace.”

    The minister also disclosed that Nigeria has a metering gap of three million, adding that it is a huge market for meters manufacturers to tap into.

    Commenting on the fate of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria workers, he noted that:”over 40,000 of the 47,000 PHCN workers has been paid off, saying the government is also working hard to ensure that the remaining 7,000 workers whose bio-metric capturing was not perfect were attended to.”

     

  • How GENCOs can improve power, by experts

    How GENCOs can improve power, by experts

    Well-located plants, constructed pipelines, a reasonable price regime, and additional investment in gas sector will help the four power generation companies to improve electricity in the country, experts have said.

    The experts, Supo Shadiya, Philip Ihenacho and Taiwo Afonja, who spoke at a summit with the theme: The Nigerian Gas:The backbone of Nigeria power sector in Lagos, said the Geregu, UghelIi, Shiroro and Kainji power plants would increase electricity megawatts when these above conditions are met.

    Shadiya, a Director at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)/Chevron Nigeria Limited Joint Venture, said infrastructure were crucial to the growth of the gas sector, adding that with the right infrastructure in place, it would be easier to produce enough gas for the power generation firms.

    He said investment in gas pipelines, among other critical areas, would help to foster the growth of power sector. He urged the governemnt to construct the East-West and North gas pipelines to enable power generation firms operate well, saying when this happens, firms would be able to access gas irrespective of their locations.

    Shortfall in gas production, he said, would continue, for as long as Nigeria is not ready to synchronise investments in the sector, stressing that stakeholders need to share and combine ideas for growth. He said immense opportunities exist for those that are ready to tap them.

    With Nigeria’s 179 billion gas cubit feet reserves and an estimated 600billion cubit feet projection, investors, he said, had a lot to gain from the sector, arguing that government’s ability to provide an enabling environment would help the International Oil Companies to produce gas for power firms.

    Ihenacho, the Chief Executive Officer, Seven Energy International, called for a paradigm shift in the ways gas plants are cited in the country. He said gas plants should be evenly distributed, as against the situation where they are sparsely sited. He argued that the manner the gas plants are sited will not meet the needs of the power generation companies.

    He said the collocation of gas plants and power generation companies must be given priority, in view of the problems in the power sector. The gas plants and power generation firms, he said, must be sited close to each other to improve electricity supply.

    Minimal distance, he added, should be between the power firms and gas plants if Nigeria wants to generate more electricity megawatts.

    “‘This brings us to the issue of cost involved in processing and transporting gas from one place to another. The farther the distance between a power generation firm and a gas plant, the higher the cost of transporting the product and vice-versa. Besides is the nature of producing gas. The cost of production varies, depending on the source of the product.

    “For instance, gas derived from deep, semi -deep or shallow onshore attracts different prices. Once consumers (individual and corporate) are not ready to bear the cost, it is a problem for the gas company. To process and supply gas it to consumers require huge investment. Investors can only invest in gas production, when the rate of returns is high,’’ he said, adding that the huge cost of producing and transportating gas, discourage people to shy away from the sector.

    He said the unattractive pricing is a disincentive in gas production and distribution, stressing that the issue has affected the operation of power generation firms.

    Ihenacho added: “A gas pricing scheme introduced in 2010 shows that gas should be produced and transported to designated locations at $1.50 mmbtu. This is a term used to describe the unit of gas processed and transported to consumers). At that price, investment in gas value chain is no longer attractive.

    He said collocation of gas plants must be giving priority to foster growth of the firms.

    Iheancho continued: ‘‘The distance between gas and power plants must not be too long. For instance, the distance between the Escravos Gas Project in Bonny, Rivers States, and Omotoso power plant is long, making it difficult for the plant to access enough gas for operation. Proximity between the gas plants and the power plants is one area that must be given priority in the country.’’

    Afonja, a Partner, Energy and Project Finance, Adepetun Caston-Martins Limited, said investment in gas plants was crucial to the growth of power companies.

    He urged investors to provide bankable projects to grow the gas and power sector. She said financial institutions are not ready to support non-bankable projects, adding that the development has culminated in low investment in the sector.