Power Sector And Other Related News Stories For Thursday April 6th 2023
NDPHC Engages 36 Engineering Interns to Boost Skilled Manpower for Electricity Industry
As part of efforts to boost manpower capacity for the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, NESI, the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited, NDPHC, has engaged 36 fresh engineering graduates for a one-year internship programme.
The company said the move, which would become annual, is intended to offer hands-on opportunity to young Nigerian engineering graduates for a possible career path in the power industry.
Nigeria with a population of 200 million people generates just under 5,000 Megawatts of power and it is rated one of the poorest in the world. According to the World Bank, one out every 10 persons globally without access to electricity lives in Nigeria.
Speaking during an orientation ceremony for the interns, the Executive Director, Corporate Services, NDPHC, Nkechi Mba explained that 36 interns were selected from the six geopolitical zones across the country with each zone producing six.
EEDC Assures Customers of Fortified Electricity Network
The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) has assured its customers of a fortified electricity network meant for maximal electricity delivery and service within its franchise areas.
The Managing Director of EEDC, Mr Praveen Chorghade, gave the assurance at an EEDC Customers Interactive Session held in Enugu on Wednesday.
Chorghade noted that the company was working around the clock to ensure that all impediments disturbing the network, both technical and nature made, were sorted out soon, adding that the customers would soon experience optimal service.
He explained that threats to the EEDC network would be a thing of the past when the company completes its ongoing robust and extensive maintenance on its network soon.
“I must commend you, our esteemed customers, for believing in the company as well as joining in the protection of electrical installations and facilities from vandals within your neighourhoods and communities,” he said.
https://independent.ng/eedc-assures-customers-of-fortified-electricity-network/
Electricity Metre Bypass: Osun NSCDC Parades Eight Persons
The Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Osun State Command has paraded eight suspects over alleged electricity theft.
The Corps revealed that they were arrested by its personnel in a sting operation at various locations in Osogbo, the state capital.
The Osun NSCDC Commandant, Sunday Agboola, while parading the suspects, revealed that they were arrested at Ogo-Oluwa and Alekuwodo areas of Osogbo based on credible information.
Agboola alleged that the suspects were engaging in bypassing electricity supply to their residents to evade the necessary payment.
“The Command is ready to curb activities of vandals, economic saboteurs and energy thieves, reaffirming the command’s zero tolerance for crime.
“We charge members of the public to desist from acts capable of throwing the state into darkness and economic hardship,” he warned.
https://dailypost.ng/2023/04/06/electricity-metre-bypass-osun-nscdc-parades-eight-persons/
The Crime of Electricity Theft and Punishment for Offenders
Electricity is an important ingredient to daily living and an essential commodity that both individuals and organisations cannot do without. And it is an essential service that is not free all over the world.
But in spite of the essential nature of power, many people decide to use it free and circumvent the system by bypassing legal means to tap electricity.
But aside from the fact that there are dangers associated with illegal connections also known as power theft and its negative effect on power distribution companies, it is also a criminal offence in Nigeria
Electricity theft is a major source of massive revenue loss to power distribution companies and this increases the debt profile in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), and affects the whole value chain thereby crippling the nation’s economy.
According to the NERC, over 25% of the total energy wheeled by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) is lost to theft and technical inefficiency.
https://tribuneonlineng.com/the-crime-of-electricity-theft-and-punishment-for-offenders/
Africa Must Connect 90m People to Electricity by 2030 – AfDB
Africa must connect 90 million people annually to electricity by 2030 in order to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG),African Development Bank (AfDB) Group President, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, has said.
Akinwumi, who disclosed this while addressing participants at the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue, hosted by the German Federal Government, also said the continent must also shift 130 million people from dirty cooking fuels yearly.
He recognized the scale of the challenge, just as he disclosed that Africa’s energy transition would require an estimated $100 billion annually between 2020 and 2040.
He said, Africa’s significant cobalt, manganese and platinum reserves could be utilised to build a robust manufacturing sector rather than being merely exported as raw materials.
He added: “Africa is a crucial source for minerals and metals for clean energy value chains, including electric vehicles and utility-scale battery storage.
https://independent.ng/africa-must-connect-90m-people-to-electricity-by-2030-afdb/
South Africa Ends National State of Disaster on Electricity
South Africa has terminated the national state of disaster due to the lack of electricity with immediate effect, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Thembi Nkadimeng said Wednesday.
The government’s decision to terminate the national state of disaster is motivated by the fact that a number of measures are being taken to achieve the objective of relieving the impact of the severe energy constraints on the economy and society, Nkadimeng said at a media briefing in Pretoria, the country’s administrative capital.
The goal of declaring the national state of disaster at that time was to make sure that quick actions will be taken to lessen the effects of load shedding on sensitive industries like the health sector and small companies, the minister said.
Since February, the government has implemented extensive regulations that outline the duties of various state organs to lessen the effects of extreme load shedding and stop the worsening of power supply shortages, she said.
https://english.news.cn/20230406/6d28035a2def4ee2898bdc99ba207177/c.html
Electricity Bills to Shoot Up in Maharashtra! Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission Hikes Power Tariff
The summer season will be hotter for the residents in Maharashtra as they will have to pay more for electricity from April 1, 2023. Power tariff in Mumbai and suburbs is set to go up by 5-10 per cent. The Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) has permitted power distribution companies like BEST, TATA Power, MSEDCL and Adani to hike electricity prices.
MERC recently allowed a 10 per cent increase in electricity tariffs for domestic consumers from April 1 and an additional 17 per cent increase from April 1, 2024.
MSEDCL -For the current financial year i.e. FY24, Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co. Ltd (MSEDCL) has increased the tariff rate by 2.9 per cent and 5.6 per cent for the financial year 2024-25. Due to this increase, there has been a rise of 6 per cent in residential electricity rates through the end of the financial year 2025. Industrial electricity rates increased by 1 per cent in FY 2024 and 4 per cent in FY 2025.
Adani Electricity – For FY24, Adani Electricity will charge 2.2 per cent more and it will charge 2.1 per cent more for FY24. “Despite challenges posed by volatile imported coal and gas prices leading to tariff hikes across the country, we are proud to say that our Tariff increase is the least across Maharashtra,” the company said in a statement.
