Power Sector News And Other Related Stories For Thursday 30th June 2022.
FG Approves Multiple Projects to Boost Power Supply Across Nigeria
Following the recent incidents of vandalism which have affected power supply in Nigeria, the Federal Executive Council has approved power shoring projects for the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), worth billions of naira, in the south and in the North.
This was disclosed by Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The Minister said the projects will boost the capacity of TCN and also respond more efficiently to vandalized assets, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
The Minister stated that said that the projects were aimed at strengthening the capacity of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and shore up power supply in the country.
He said, “I presented two memos to the council which has approved; “the first memo council approved the award of contract for design, supply and installation of 1x60MBA, 132×33 KV transmission substation with associated 4×132 KV line bay extension at Hong Local Government in Adamawa in the sum of N6.5 billion, consisting of two components. One is offshore and onshore.
FEC Approves Projects to Shore Up Power Supply
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved projects to shore up power supply across the country.
Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, briefed State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Aliyu said that the projects were aimed at strengthening the capacity of the Transmission Company of Nigeria(TCN) and shoring up the power supply in the country.
“I presented two memos to council today which council has approved; the first memo council approved the award of contract for design supply and installation of 1x60MBA, 132×33 KV transmission substation with associated 4×132 KV line bay extension at Hong local government and Adamawa in the sum of N6.5 billion consisting of two components one is offshore and onshore.
“The offshore is 6.9 million dollars and the onshore is N3.3 billion at the CBN prevailing exchange rate and 7.5 per cent VAT; the delivery period is 24 months.
“This seeks to raise the capacity of the supply around that area and it’s going to affect so many towns and villages, there’s a very important local government headquarters around that area.
https://guardian.ng/news/fec-approves-projects-to-shore-up-power-supply/
FG: Terrorists to Blame for Power Outage Nationwide
The Federal Government has disclosed that the perennial power outage across the country is caused by continued vandalism of power infrastructure by terrorists.
It expressed regrets that terrorists continued vandalism of power infrastructure was seriously affecting the capacity to deliver electricity to consumers.
Briefing newsmen Wednesday at the State House, Abuja, after the weekly virtual meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, was specific about cases of the North East, North West and North Central, where he said after power infrastructure were brought down by terrorists and were restored, they were vandalized again.
He said: “We have vandalism on our lines, vandalism on our stations, substations, we have those ones that affects us indirectly, and directly affect us but the infrastructure is not directly our own.
“Like vandalism around oil pipelines which affect gas and once you don’t get gas to power, you don’t get the megawatts, once there is no power coming from the generators, you know what that means”.
https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2022/06/29/fg-terrorists-to-blame-for-power-outage-nationwide/
FG Okays N5.141bn Projects to Shore Up Power Supply
The Federal Government is hoping to shore up its power generation threshold to at least 11,000 megawatts which it plans to offload into the national power grid to boost power supplies.
To this end, it has approved the contract for the design supply and installation of 1x60MBA, 132×33 KV transmission sub-station with associated 4×132 KV line bay extension at Hong Local Government Area of Adamawa State.
Approval for the contract was given at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, on Wednesday at the State House, Abuja, in favour of Messrs.
Associate Power Solution Engineering Limited in the sum of N6,529,589,637.28. Minister of Power, Engr. Abubakar Aliyu, while giving insight into the contract awards, explained that it consist of two components, offshore and onshore.
According to him, the offshore component was awarded at the cost of $6,932,289.20, while the onshore is going for N3,337,250,789.77 at the CBN prevailing exchange rate and 7.5% VAT. He told State House correspondents that the delivery period is 24 months.
https://independent.ng/fg-okays-n5-141bn-projects-to-shore-up-power-supply/
FG: Terrorists Sabotaging Power Supply in North East
The Federal Government has said terrorists are sabotaging efforts to provide steady and reliable power supply to Nigerians, especially in the North East region.
The Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, said this at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He spoke as FEC approved various contracts in the power and water resources sectors, totaling N23,047,974,090.
The minister, who cited the case of the North East, North West and North Central, said after power infrastructure were brought down by vandals and restored, they were again vandalised.
He said government has now been compelled to design alternative, but less efficient ways to supply electricity to areas affected particularly Maiduguri in Borno State through Damaturu substation.
“But currently, we have returned the contractor to restore the main 330 that was vandalized some time back. So, in order to have enough electricity for Damaturu and environs, from that substation in Damaturu, and take some to Maiduguri, this project seeks to boost the capacity of Damaturu substation,” he explained.
https://dailytrust.com/fg-terrorists-sabotaging-power-supply-in-north-east
Pylon Failure Leaves 500 Mw Sudan Power Plant Offline
The 500 megawatt Um Debakir thermal power plant in Rabak, White Nile state, is currently out of service after a pylon collapsed during bad weather, the Sudanese Electricity Transmission Company says.
In a press statement yesterday, the company confirmed that bad weather conditions led to the collapse of one of the pylons between Mashkour and Rabak, which is part of the electricity feed to Jebel Awlia in southern Khartoum.
The company says that work is underway to repair the tower in order to restore power service to the affected areas as soon as possible.
The Ministry of Energy commented in a statement yesterday that Energy Minister Mohamed Abdallah Mahmoud will announce that adequate arrangements have been made to compensate the current power shortage with reserves from the Roseires power plant in Blue Nile state and the Renk plant in South Sudan until the repair is completed.
The Ministry of Energy said that the concrete base of the pylon was fortunately not affected, which means the repair should not take more than a week. The transfer of new iron components to rebuild the pylon started at dawn today.
https://allafrica.com/stories/202206300179.html
Renewable Energy, Not Gas, is The Answer to South Africa’s Long-Term Energy Security
Amidst soaring gas and oil prices and global shifts in energy markets, many decision makers in the private and public sectors in South Africa seem intent on investing in gas. But if we really want long-term energy security – and a just transition to a low carbon economy – we must look to renewable energy.
The Russian-Ukraine war is now in its fifth month. Beyond the human suffering and the displacement of millions of refugees, the conflict has also caused sharp increases in the price of gas and oil. In Europe, which until recently relied on Russia for 40% of its gas, prices have reached highs of €227 megawatt per hour in recent months.
Unsurprisingly, Europe is now looking to reduce its dependence on Russian gas. Recently, the EU has agreed to suspend seaborne deliveries of Russian gas within a few months, a move that would impact two thirds of Russian gas imports. This move may be the start of more sweeping and extensive sanctions. Many countries around the world, and in particular those in Africa, will look to fill this role as a major supplier of gas on the international stage.
Good News About Load-Shedding — Koeberg Nuclear Power Station Unit to Come Online Soon
Eskom’s Koeberg power station could soon add 920MW to the grid as its Unit 2 generator’s start-up is now in progress, the power utility has told MyBroadband.
However, the unit would not be added to the grid by the end of June as planned, and it is unclear whether Eskom will be able to return the full 2,500MW it promised.
“The current Koeberg Unit 2 Outage has progressed safely, and the planned work has been completed, with the start-up of the unit now in progress,” the power utility told MyBroadband.
“The unit is currently expected to return to service by mid-July and will require about ten days to reach full power.”
“This work included a massive scope of maintenance work as well as a number of plant refurbishment modifications required for Koeberg’s life extension,” it added.
Eskom explained that it achieved a significant step during the planned outage — replacing Unit 2’s reactor pressure vessel cover.
It said replacing the cover was a prerequisite for Koeberg’s life extension.
“In addition, following the deferral of the Steam Generator Replacement project, a full suite of steam generator inspections were required to be performed to confirm the operability of the existing steam generators,” Eskom said.
