Power Sector And Other Related News Stories For Tuesday October 24th 2023
Concerns as Nigeria’s Power Sector Decade Privatization Deal Expires
There are mounting concerns as Nigeria’s power decade privatisation process is expected to elapse on October 31, 2023.
It has become more problematic following the decades-long crisis within Nigeria’s power sector.
For over 62 years, the country’s electricity value chain, from distribution to generation and transmission, has been bedevilled with challenges.
Meanwhile, the government attempted to break the jinx in the country’s ailing power sector, first with the establishment of the defunct 2005 Electric Power Sector Reform (EPSR) Act, then on November 1, 2013, the commencement of the privatisation process.
https://dailypost.ng/2023/10/24/concerns-as-nigerias-power-sector-decade-privatization-deal-expires/
FEC Approves $3.45bn Loan for Power Sector, Others
The Federal Executive Council on Monday approved the application for a $3.45bn loan to finance the power sector and others.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun disclosed to State House Correspondents that the government would proceed to receive the $3.5bn “zero-interest” loan payable within 40 years with a 10-year moratorium, meaning payments would begin from 2033.
Edun explained, “Today at the Federal Executive Council, I presented five memos which the Council gracefully approved. They had to do with concessional and, in many cases, zero-interest financing by the World Bank and the International Development Association, which is the very concessional financing arm.
https://dailypost.ng/2023/10/24/fec-approves-3-45bn-loan-for-power-sector-others/
Harnessing NDPHC’s Electricity Capacity To Rev Up Industries
Bilateral electricity purchase agreements are necessary in Nigeria to aid the direct sale of power from Generation Companies (GenCos) to Distribution Companies (DisCos).
The implementation of these contracts between GenCos and DisCos is expected to address the non-buoyancy of DisCos and pose a serious challenge in the implementation of bilateral power contracts.
The bilateral power contract will allow the DisCos to engage directly with willing GenCos for energy supply on mutually agreed terms, which is expected to improve on the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), boost power generation, and electricity supply in the country.
https://leadership.ng/harnessing-ndphcs-electricity-capacity-to-rev-up-industries/
We Supplied 500MW of Power, Attracted $2bn Investments in Last 10 Years
The Rural Electrification Agency (REA) says over the past decade, it has attracted over $2 billion in investments in the renewable energy sector.
In a statement in Abuja, Mutari Ibrahim, REA’s director of promotion and outreach, said the agency established partnerships with agencies like the World Bank, African Development Bank, Global Alliance for People and Planet, Rocky Mountain Institute, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and others.
Other partners, he said, include the Sustainable Energy for ALL, Agence Française de Développement, the United Kingdom Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility, the European Union, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation, Global Environment Facility, and the United States Agency for International Development.
Nigerian 700MW Hydropower Plant Gets GE Vernova Turbines
The 700MW Zungeru power plant on Kaduna River in Niger State outfitted with four 175 MW Francis hydropower turbines and generators to supply 10% of Nigeria power demand; plant built with Chinese and Nigerian finance
GE Vernova’s Hydro Power business announced this month that it has commissioned four 175 MW Francis hydropower turbines and generators at the 700MW Zungeru power plant.
The hydropower project is located on the Kaduna River in Niger State, about 150km northwest of the capital Abuja.
The plant cost a total of $1.3bn and was financed by a $984.23m preferential loan facility from the Export-Import Bank of China to be paid over 20 years at a 2.5% interest. The government of Nigeria provided the remaining 25% of the cost as counterpart funding.
https://energy-utilities.com/nigerian-700mw-hydropower-plant-gets-ge-vernova-news122757.html
TotalEnergies Starts Up Solar Power Plant in US
TotalEnergies has started commercial operations of Myrtle Solar, its utility-scale operated solar farm in the United States.
Located south of Houston, Texas, Myrtle has a capacity of 380 megawatts peak (MWp) of solar production and 225 MWh of co-located batteries. With 705,000 ground-mounted photovoltaic panels, Myrtle produces enough green electricity to cover the equivalent consumption of 70,000 homes.
70% of Myrtle’s capacity will supply green electricity to the Company’s industrial plants in the U.S. Gulf Coast region. It is part of the Company’s “Go Green” Project, which will enable the Company to cover, by 2025, the power needs and curtail the Scope 1+2 emissions of its industrial sites in Port Arthur and La Porte in Texas, and Carville in Louisiana.
