Power Sector And Other Related News Stories For Tuesday August 15th 2023
Top Firms Battle Rising Costs as Energy Bill Hits N221bn
Top listed companies in Nigeria are facing increased overhead costs as their combined energy bill hit N221 billion in the first half of 2023.
The high energy costs are being driven by a number of factors, including the rising cost of diesel and the depreciation of the naira. This has put a strain on the bottom line of companies, which now have to pass on the higher costs to consumers.
The top listed firms are Dangote Cement, BUA Cement, Dangote Sugar, Transnational Corporation, Lafarge Cement, BUA Foods Plc, Fidelity Bank, and Wema Bank.
Data obtained by BusinessDay from their financial statements showed that the eight firms recorded an 18.35 percent increase in energy costs to N221.75 billion in the first half of 2023 from N187.36 billion in the same period last year.
An Appraisal Of The Electricity Act, 2023 And Its Possible Impacts On The Nigerian Energy Sector
On the 8th of June, 2023, the Electricity Bill, now referred to as the Electricity Act 2023 was enacted. This step was taken after an extensive and robust examination of the Electricity and power sector birthed the Electricity Bill which was targeted towards identifying the problem areas and proffering plausible solutions in the industry. In light of this, stakeholders are highly expectant that the Act would be an answer to many of the lacunas plaguing the Energy and power sector in Nigeria.
Hydropower, Nigeria’s Cheapest Source Of Electricity At N3.67 kW/Hour
Electricity Market and Rates Consultants (EMRC) Limited has said that hydropower is Nigeria’s cheapest source of electricity.
A report from EMRC sighted by New Telegraph on Monday, also stated that the cheapest sources of electricity are from hydropower plants.
According to it, in electricity market invoices for 2023, hydropower plants charged an energy tariff of 3.67N/kWh, compared to the industry average of 17.69 N/kWh from all generation plants.
It stated that the development of grids within states may pose the risk that states lose out on receiving cheaper electricity from hydropower plants.
Ogun Govt Promises Electrification to Stem Rural-Urban Drift
Ogun State government has said that provision of electricity to rural areas will be a continuous one to stem the tide of rural-urban drift.
The measure, according to it, will also improve the living standards of rural dwellers.
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Rural Development, Adetayo Adewale, disclosed this during the installation of solar street-lights at Temidire Ogbonselu in Ayetoro and Biotiku Ashipa in Yewa North and Ado-Odo/Ota local councils of the state.
Adewale, who was represented by the Director of Rural Electrification, Ismail Balogun, said about 20 communities in the three senatorial districts had benefited from the provision of the solar streetlights.
https://guardian.ng/news/ogun-govt-promises-electrification-to-stem-rural-urban-drift/
TCN to Boost Port Harcourt Disco’s Transmission Capacity
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has said that in the next 12 months, Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) will be able to transmit an additional 485 megawatts (MW) to its customers.
A statement signed by TCN’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, said the company was ‘reconductoring’ the double-circuit transmission lines in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, to boost supply.
“The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) recently handed over the site for the reconductoring of the 8km Port Harcourt Main-Port Harcourt Town transmission line and the 10km Alaoji-Aba 132kV double circuit transmission lines in its Port Harcourt Region to a contractor for execution,” TCN stated.
Decade Of Gas: ‘Speedy Implementation Required Amid $20bn Annual Investments Needs’
With the dwindling international funding support and the expulsion of foreign interests from some parts of the continent stakeholders have made renewed calls for implementation of the Decade of Gas as the drive for energy transition intensifies.
Stressing the need to fully harness the 200 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of gas reserves the country boasts of, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) reiterated the annual investment requirement of $20 billion.
Amid Electricity Crisis, South Africa Produces First-Ever Electric Taxi
South Africa may be grappling with a major load-shedding crisis, but that doesn’t seem to be stopping its transition to green energy. A group from government-owned Stellenbosch University (SU) is testing what could become the country’s first-ever electric taxis.
The taxis are expected to travel for up to 120 kilometres before needing a charge. They come with an electric motor power of 90 kWh alongside a battery capacity of 53.76 kWh.
The team from SU and Rham Equipment collaborated to convert a minibus taxi into an electric-powered one. As of now, the vehicle is in the road testing phase with performance testing scheduled immediately after.
https://technext24.com/2023/08/14/south-africa-electric-taxis/
