Power Sector News And Other Related Stories For Friday 22nd July 2022
Kano Electricity Company Gets New MD/CEO as Fidelity Bank Takes Over
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), on Thursday, appointed new management for the Kano Electricity Distribution Company Plc (KEDCO).
The NERC approved the appointment of Ahmed Dangana as the managing director and chief executive officer (MD/CEO) of the power distribution company.
Similarly, it approved the appointment of Hassan Tukur, a former diplomat, as the chairman of the company’s board of directors. Other members of the board are; Nelson Ahaneku, Rabiu Suleiman, Amaechi Aloke and Bashir Gwandu.
In a statement on Thursday, the KEDCO’s Head of Corporate Communication, Sani Shawai, said the new appointments followed the Nigerian government’s restructuring of five electricity distribution companies (DisCos), following Fidelity Bank’s takeover of three of the DisCos.
He said the development led to the dissolution of KEDCO’s board of directors.
“In this regard, NERC and BPE approved Mr Dangana, a seasoned management consultant and a business turnaround specialist as the new MD/CEO of the company,” the statement said.
NERC, NOA to Address Electricity Consumers’ Challenges, Deepen Public Awareness
A new deal signed in Abuja, yesterday, between Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and National Orientation Agency (NOA) is aiming to address the growing concerns of electricity consumers in Nigeria.
Recall that NERC and Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) had earlier signed a pact to ensure consumers’ rights are respected in the electricity sector.
In the first quarter of last year, NERC had said complaints received by electricity distribution companies in the country from consumers rose by 17.37 per cent to 478,415.
By implication, the new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between NERC and NOA, if implemented with all seriousness, will empower electricity consumers to know their rights and stand for them through awareness and education.
Passage of Electricity Bill Will Address Incessant Collapse of National Grid – Expert
A power expert, Mr Kola Balogun, has commended the Senate for passing the Electricity Bill, 2022, adding that it would help to address the incessant collapse of the National Grid.
Balogun, who is the Chairman, Momas Electricity Meter Manufacturing Company (MEMMCOL), made the assertion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos.
NAN reports that the Senate had on July 20, passed the bill after the consideration of a report by the Committee on Power.
Balogun noted that the passage of the bill, which would allow people to generate power, would liberalise the entire structure of the national grid which suffered another system collapse on Wednesday.
“All over the world, they have decentralised the structure of grid system so it is a welcome development.
“This is the best thing that can happen to the power sector reforms and the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI),” he said.
Obaseki and Senate Bill to Allow States Generate, Distribute Electricity
In June 2017, Governor Godwin Obaseki announced to the world that in six month’s time, his administration would provide uninterrupted power supply to Bénin City and environs. According to his plans, government establishments on Sapele Road axis, including Government House, Secretariat, Court Complex, Central hospital, House of Assembly and also the Oba of Bénin Palace, will enjoy the 24 hours power supply.
Obaseki was quite assured that he would deliver on his promise in record time. He gave the assurance after he entered a power purchase agreement with Ossiomo Power and Infrastructure to bulk purchase the five megawatts the firm planned to generate from its 50 megawatts plant at Ologbo in Ikpoba-Okha local government area which BEDC has frustrated. The megawatts was expected to be transmitted on a new 35-kilometre double circuit 33Kva line to deliver 24/7 uninterrupted power.
The senate has passed the electricity bill 2022 that would allow states to generate and distribute power as well as solve the sector’s challenges. The bill was passed recently after the consideration of a report by the senate committee on power.
Senate Passes Bill That Allows States, Individuals Generate, Distribute Electricity
This Bill seeks to consolidate on existing legislations in the Electricity industry and provide an ideal institutional framework to guide the post-privatisation phase of the Industry in Nigeria.
The Bill passed third reading, following the consideration of a report by the Senate’s committee on Power at Plenary on Wednesday.
Over the years, Nigeria’s Electricity industry has suffered operational and institutional lapses, which has rubbed off on many other sectors of the economy.
The deplorable situation led to the Privatisation of the power sector in 2013, but this did not solve the problem of erratic power supply that has greatly impacted on economic growth and development.
At the Senate’s plenary, lawmakers considered the report of the committee on power to repeal and reenact a new legislation to provide an institutional framework for the post privatisation phase of the Power Industry.
The Chairman of the Committee, Senator Gabriel Suswam (PDP, Benue North East), in his presentation, said the bill seeks to, amongst others, provide an Ideal legal and institutional framework to leverage on the modest gains of the privatisation phase of the electric power sector in Nigeria.
Renewable Energy to The Rescue as Electricity Suppliers Flop
Nigerians cannot forget the ugly experiences of continued low power generation. Many believe that successive governments have hands in the problems of electricity supply in the country. Year in year out huge budgets are allocated to boost electricity in the country but without any significant result to show.
Not even the name chamge form Nigeria Electricity Power Authority of Power Holdding Company has helped to redeem the battered image of power service providers in the country, over these years.
Today, the major challenges within the Nigerian power sector, borders on outages and unreliable services, against which Nigerian government appears to to have taken some radical actions by enacting the Electric Power Sector Reform Act of 2005, for the unbundling of the national power utility company into a series of 18 successor companies. This included six generation companies, 12 distribution companies covering all 36 Nigerian states and a national power transmission company. The act stipulated that ownership of these companies be granted to the Bureau of Public Enterprises (the privatisation arm of the federal government) and the Ministry of Finance Incorporated. This unbundling paved the way for an ambitious privatization program to be carried out by the Bureau of Public Enterprises in Nigeria. Those who canvassed the unbundling made way and bought into the company.
https://www.sunnewsonline.com/renewable-energy-to-the-rescue-as-electricity-suppliers-flop/
Flare Gas to Optimize Efficiency in Energy Transition
As organizations across the globe continue their energy transition, there is a large opportunity for companies and countries to significantly reduce carbon output by creating electricity from flare gas.
According to Hesham Tawfik Elshamy, country manager for Egypt at Aggreko Africa, there is an enormous opportunity for oil and gas companies to not only transition to cleaner energy, but to also reduce wastage that results from flare gas.
“There is a global initiative to reduce gas flaring, with the World Bank aiming to eliminate routine flaring associated with oil production by 2030,” he says. “While Egypt as a country has been making great strides in reducing flare gas, the country is still ranked among the top 30 flaring countries in the world according to the 2022 Global Gas Flaring Report. And with access to electricity being a challenge across the continent, there is significant opportunity to utilize this flare gas to generate electricity for the continent.”
