Power Sector News And Other Related Stories For Thursday 4th August 2022
Discos Reject ‘Restructuring’, Says Nigerian Govt Owes N100 Billion
The Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) has rejected the federal government’s decision to restructure electricity distribution companies in the country.
It added that the government failed to fulfil its N100 billion subsidy and other privatisation promises made since 2013.
The executive director, research and advocacy, Sunday Oduntan, disclosed in a statement.
At least five companies, including Abuja DisCo, Benin DisCo, Ibadan DisCo, Kaduna and Kano DisCos, have been taken over by the banks they borrowed money from after failing to break even.
A few days after NERC announced a contract-based power market, stakeholders claimed the current situation might make the industry’s problems worse, citing an alleged breach by BPE and NERC.
Both NERC and BPE stated that the bulk of the equity in the companies will be sold to competent private sector investors who will re-capitalise and efficiently run the businesses.
Discos Rejects Restructuring, Say FG Owes Them N100bn
The Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) has rejected the federal government’s decision to restructure electricity distribution companies in the country.
It added that the government failed to fulfil its N100 billion subsidy and other privatisation promises made since 2013.
The executive director, research and advocacy, Sunday Oduntan, disclosed in a statement.
At least five companies, including Abuja DisCo, Benin DisCo, Ibadan DisCo, Kaduna and Kano DisCos, have been taken over by the banks they borrowed money from after failing to break even.
A few days after NERC announced a contract-based power market, stakeholders claimed the current situation might make the industry’s problems worse, citing an alleged breach by BPE and NERC.
Both NERC and BPE stated that the bulk of the equity in the companies will be sold to competent private sector investors who will re-capitalise and efficiently run the businesses.
https://allafrica.com/stories/202208040161.html
Disconnecting Electricity Consumer Without 10 Working Days’ Notice Illegal —FCCPC
Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, has said no electricity distribution company (Disco) has the right to disconnect a customer without first serving a notice for at least 10 working days from the date of delivery of their bill.
The commission further said the Disco must notify the consumer in writing ahead of the disconnection of electricity service before doing so, adding that upon payment of an outstanding bill, it has a duty to reconnect the consumer within 24 hours.
Speaking during a four-day electricity consumer complaint resolution platform in Calabar, Cross River State, yesterday, Executive Vice Chairman, Babatunde Irukera, bemoaned the abysmal service provided by Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company, PHED, in Calabar and its environs.
He disclosed that based on his interaction with the people, PHED needs to improve its service, adding that their success was not measured based on what they generate but customer satisfaction.
Paying Bills Without Commensurate Electricity Supply Is Illegal, Says Irukera Consumer Protection Commission
Speaking at the inauguration of FCCPC four-Day Electricity Resolution Platform in Calabar on Wednesday, Irukera said any business that cannot satisfy its consumers is preparing for its extinction.
According to him, “allowing customers to pay tariffs without commensurate electricity supply is against the law. The problem of compelling consumers to pay electricity bills is tantamount to oppressing and extorting money illegally from consumers.
“What Port Harcourt and Electricity Distribution Company
is doing is by forcing customers to pay bills is just to make all agencies fail.
“The commercial contract we have is between the citizens and the power distribution companies, and that is acceptable. People pay for a service, and it is mandatory to provide what they have paid for.
“The internal mechanism for assessing scorecard of electricity companies is not by collection of tariffs. There is need for a new model of service delivery where customers can also derive satisfaction.”
Disconnecting Electricity Consumer Without 10 Days Notice Illegal – Commission
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) says it is illegal to disconnect a consumer from source of power supply without a 10-day prior notice from the date of bill delivery.
Mr Babatunde Irukera, Executive Vice Chairman of the commission, stated this on Wednesday in Calabar at an electricity consumer complaint resolution platform.
Irukera bemoaned the abysmal service provided by Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED) in Calabar and its environs.
He said from investigation by the commission, PHED had not faired well in the providing of services to its consumers commensurate with their bills.
Irukera particularly described as “oppressive ” PHEDC services to residents of Cross River State.
He said that the reports they received on many issues included mass disconnection carried out by the company without recourse to the law.
“I want to convey to you the incredible displeasure of the people of Cross River , according to them, especially the governor , if they have their way , they will prefer that PHEDC does not operate in the state.
National Grid: Beyond The Headlines
The Power Ministry is rekindling hope in the sector despite all the challenges, writes Oluwole Samuel Kayode
One problem that Nigerians expect the nation to overcome — and to overcome urgently is electricity. With a population projected to be over 200 million stable and accessible electricity is key to economic growth and social prosperity. Nigerians are still hoping that one day electricity will be a settled question. One day there will be uninterruptible light. In the past, hope was raised and dashed, especially when it was reported that under the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo the sum of $16 billion was spent (or was it wasted?) on power between 1999 and 2014.
Recent media reports of “collapse of the national grid” appear to be raising the old concerns about lack of progress towards resolving the electricity challenge. The search for answer always begins with asking the right question. So, what is really going on in Nigeria’s power sector? What is happening to the national grid? Is there any hope for the power sector? What is really going on?.
Let us start with the national grid. Power outage is not a new phenomenon. How it is managed is more important. To eliminate blackouts, China’s state-owned power grid company just introduced a new AI system that resolves power issues in just three seconds. Nigeria’s national grid has been in the news, with headlines about what is called ‘collapse of the national grid.’
https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2022/08/04/national-grid-beyond-the-headlines/
Siemens Deal: Mega Transformers Past Acceptance Test, to Arrive Nigeria September
Electricity supply in Nigeria may receive a major boost in the next few weeks as the first batch of the mega transformers ordered by the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari’s Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) have successfully undergone factory acceptance test at Siemens’ transformers factory in Trento Italy, and are expected to start arriving Nigeria in September 2022.
Mr. Kenny Anuwe, the managing director of Federal Government of Nigeria Power Company (FGN-Power) who laid a delegation that includes engineers from Transmission Company of Nigeria, (TCN), witnessed the factory acceptance test conducted on Thursday, in Trento Italy.
The factory acceptance test paves the way for Siemens Energy to start delivering the transformers to Nigeria.
This was coming after the minister of Power Engr. Abubakar D. Aliyu lead a delegation to Germany in April, where he paid visits to Siemens Energy factories in Berlin and Frankfurt, and held meetings with the senior leadership of Siemens Energy on the need to fast-track the delivery of the early orders that will kick start the transformation of Nigeria’s electricity.
OPEC to Consider Africa’s Electricity Deficit in its Energy Transition Plan
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has announced that the organisation will make provision for the millions of Africans without access to electricity in its global energy transition discussion. The new secretary-general, Kuwait’s Haitham Al Ghais, disclosed this intention.
Al Ghais spoke at a virtual event where he engaged the Nigerian media on his immediate plans for the oil industry after assuming duty as the organisation’s new head.
“The African continent has over 1.2 billion population, with over 600 people without electricity. There is an ongoing discussion about energy transition, and the voice of the people needs to be heard and taken into consideration and accounted for.
“In the energy transition, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Everybody’s voice must be represented, and everybody must be part of the dialogue, particularly on the African continent,” he declared.
Seplat Energy Commits to Improving Energy Mix
Seplat Energy has committed to providing an efficient energy mix to accelerate Nigeria’s economic growth. Mr Effiong Okon, the Director, New Energy at Seplat, made this known while delivering a keynote at the 45th edition of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition (NAICE) themed: ‘Operationalising a Clean Energy Transition for Sustainable Development in Africa’ on Wednesday.
Okon, who represented Mr Roger Brown, CEO of Seplat Energy, said, “We must support the goals of the Paris Agreement and align with society’s objective to get the world to net zero carbon emissions by 2050, if not before; as lower-emission hydrocarbons, particularly gas, have a role to play during energy transition by replacing diesel generators and biomass.
“Though hydrocarbon export will continue to be a mainstay of the Nigerian economy and will fund Nigeria’s growth as well as its energy transition, the Oil & Gas Industry has a role to play as a responsible steward of Nigeria’s oil and gas assets, including those that might be divested, he added.”
https://theelectricityhub.com/nigeria-seplat-energy-commits-to-improving-energy-mix/
Ghana Needs Zero Emissions Electricity Baseload to Deal with Climate Vulnerability
Ghana requires a zero emissions electricity base-load for sustainable and affordable electricity production.
The Akosombo Dam, which has served as the country’s electricity baseload for six decades has been facing a drop in water levels due to climate vulnerability.
Dr Seth K. Debrah, Director, Nuclear Power Institute, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (NPI-GAEC), who expressed concerns about the country’s energy sustainability, said Ghana “will be in trouble” if it failed to adopt a green solution for electricity production.
Delivering a presentation at a workshop for selected media practitioners and editors at Peduase in the Eastern Region on Wednesday, Prof. Debrah said Nuclear Power “is Ghana’s next green baseload solution.”
“Every plant has a lifetime. The Akosombo Dam is 60 years and the water level keeps dropping due to climate vulnerability.
“We are losing the climate fight and if we don’t look at zero emissions technology, then we are in for trouble,” he said.
Electricity Shortfall Reaches 6,997mw
ISLAMABAD: The citizens were reeled under the 10-hour-long prolonged electricity outages as the power shortfall increased to 6,997 megawatts (MW), ARY News reported on Thursday.
According to details, the Power Division recorded the total power generation capacity at 22,003MW against the demand of 29,000MW after the shortfall.
Sources told ARY News that 7,660MW was being generated from water, 9,500MW from Independent Power Producers (IPPs), 1,000MW from government thermal plants, 2,785MW from nuclear plants, 757MW and 133MW from wind and solar plants respectively.
Sources further said that 88MW of electricity was being generated from bagasse power plants. They said decreased power generation has also led to an increase in unannounced load-shedding periods.
It is pertinent to mention here that the federal government has announced multiple deadlines previously to end loadshedding in the country, however, they have yet to materialize owing to multiple reasons cited by the ministers including higher fuel prices and delay in maintenance of the power plants.
https://arynews.tv/electricity-shortfall-reaches-6997mw/
