Power Sector News And Other Related Stories For Thursday 7th July 2022.
IBEDC Intact, Ignore BPE, NERC, Says Receiver Manager
The Receiver/Manager’s Nominee of Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Company (IEDM), yesterday, said it is the legal and beneficial owner of 60 per cent (controlling and managing) shareholding interests in Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC).
It, therefore, advised the public to ignore a statement by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), purporting to take over control and management of IBEDC.
It said the purported takeover was announced “in spite of a subsisting order of court in suit FHC/L/AMC/92/2021 granted on September 8, 2021 and varied on December 3, 2021 respectively.”
The IEDM made the claims in a statement by Mr. Kunle Ogunba (SAN).
The Federal Government through NERC and BPE had on Tuesday announced the restructuring of five electricity distribution companies, also known as DISCOs, in the country.
NERC and BPE listed the affected companies as Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO), IBEDC, Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), Kaduna Electric, and Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED).
https://guardian.ng/news/ibedc-intact-ignore-bpe-nerc-says-receiver-manager/
DisCos Vow to Battle FG Over Takeover, Restructuring
The receiver/manager’s nominee of Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Company on Wednesday said it was the legal and beneficial owner of 60 per cent (controlling and managing) shareholding interests in the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company.
Also, the management of Benin Electricity Distribution Company Plc said on Wednesday that there was no legal basis for the takeover of the company following the purported activation of the call on its collateralised shares by Fidelity Bank.
Both firms disclosed this in reactions to the announcement of the Federal Government on Tuesday regarding the takeover of Kano, Benin and Kaduna electricity distribution companies by Fidelity Bank Plc after the bank initiated action to take over the boards of the three Discos.
The government had also announced through its Bureau of Public Enterprises that with the takeover of Ibadan Disco by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, the BPE had obtained approval from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission to appoint an interim managing director for the distressed power firm.
https://punchng.com/discos-vow-to-battle-fg-over-takeover-restructuring/
FG Backs Fidelity Bank’s Takeover of Benin, Kano, Kaduna Discos Over Insolvency
The federal government has announced the takeover of three non-performing electricity distribution companies, namely Kano Disco, Kaduna Disco and the Benin Electricity Distribution Companies (BEDC) by Fidelity Bank over the power investors’ poor financial performance.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) effected the takeover based on the statutory responsibilities given to them by the government.
The NERC and BPE in a statement issued yesterday, equally announced the sacking of the managing directors of two of the three Discos and also announced their replacements with immediate effect.
The three firms were considered to be technically incapacitated, and financially insolvent after their inability to meet their loan obligations with Fidelity Bank Plc.
The two agencies named Ahmad Dangana as the new Managing Director of Kano Disco; and Henry Ajagbawa for Benin Disco.
They replaced Funke Osibodu formerly of Benin Disco, and Dr. Jamil I. Gwamna, Kano Disco.
Sigh of Relief at Last as Buhari’s Govt Announces Restructuring, Takeover of DisCos
The federal government on Wednesday, July 6, announced the restructuring of five electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) in Nigeria over their inability to repay loans obtained to pay for assets acquired in the 2013 privatisation exercise. This development was made known in a statement jointly signed by the executive chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Sanusi Garba, and the director-general of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Alex Okoh.
The affected DISCOs are as follows: Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) Kaduna Electric Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED)
The failure on the part of the DISCOs was disclosed by Fidelity Bank which recently made a call on the collateralised shares of KEDCO, BDEC, and Kaduna Electric. According to the said statement, both Garba and Okoh explained that while the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) would be a placeholder board for IBEDC temporarily, the PHED will be restructured to avert insolvency. NERC and BPE bosses noted that at the moment, the new boards for the discos have been approved and the bureau was working with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the ministry of power to ensure no service disruptions during the transition.
NERC Set to Resolve Metering Issues in S’East – Official
The National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has assured electricity consumers in the South-East that it will soon resolve metering issues for better customer satisfaction.
NERC’s Commissioner for Consumer Affairs, Mrs Aisha Mahmoud, gave the assurance on Wednesday at a town hall meeting with electricity stakeholders in Owerri.
The meeting was organised by the commission in collaboration with the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC).
Mahmoud said that the three-day meeting was convened to look into consumers’ complaints, with a view to addressing them.
She expressed dismay over persistent issues of metering, in spite of the privatisation of the power sector and the enactment of the Power Sector Reform Act.
She said that the commission was already sensitising Nigerians on the mandate of the commission.
Mahmoud also said that over the years, the commission had come up with several initiatives, such as the approval of the National Master Metering Scheme, to ensure that customers were metered for increased customer satisfaction.
https://nnn.ng/nerc-set-resolve-metering/
SERAP Threatens to Sue Buhari if Nigeria’s First Teaching Hospital, UCH Charges Patients N1,000 Each for Electricity Bill
A civil rights organisation, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has threatened to sue President Muhammadu Buhari if the first university teaching hospital in Nigeria, University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State, implements the N1,000 electricity bill per day for every patient in the hospital.
The hospital through a circular mandated heads of units to implement the N1,000 electricity bill for every patient, citing inflation and fuel scarcity as reasons for introducing the bill.
Reacting to the order, SERAP urged President Buhari to immediately instruct the Minister of Health to stop the UCH from implementing the order.
The group threatened to file a suit against Mr. President should the hospital go ahead and charge patients the electricity bill.
SERAP, which made this known on its Twitter page, @SERAPNigeria said, “We urge President Buhari to immediately instruct the Minister of Health to stop the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State, from asking every patient in the hospital to pay N1,000.00 electricity bill per day.
FG, EU, Germany Seek Improvement in Electrification Rate
Nigeria’s Ministry of Power, the European Union and the German Government, have raised concerns about the rate of electrification in Nigeria, calling for improvement.
The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) had said that the number of Nigerians without access to grid electricity has risen by 5.8 per cent to 90 million at the end of 2021.
The stakeholders at the launch of the Nigeria SE4ALL.3.0 version platform, which aims at improving electrification planning using the mini-grid supply, noted that data remained key to improving electricity access in the country.
Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, said at the event that the development marked a milestone as it aims to offer more accurate data that would assist Nigerians to develop a more robust business case in its effort to invest in the power sector.
“I have also been informed that it will also use the latest tools to empower data-driven electrification tools in Nigeria and hope that this will achieve all the promised outcomes,” he said.
https://guardian.ng/business-services/fg-eu-germany-seek-improvement-in-electrification-rate/
Geregu Power Seeks N40b to Support Expansion
Geregu Power Plc is raising about N40 billion from the capital market to support its ongoing expansion project. Geregu Power generates about 10 per cent of Nigeria’s power supply.
Geregu Power, a power generation company (Genco) owned by billionaire businessman, Mr. Femi Otedola, has launched its N40 billion Series I Fixed Rate Senior Unsecured Bond Issue. The issuance is the first tranche under the company’s N100 billion multi-instrument debt programme.
Geregu Power will use the net proceeds of the N40 billion bond to part-finance expansion of its current power generation capacity and also to acquire other strategic new power assets in Nigeria.
The Genco is offering naira-denominated seven-year bonds at the par value of N1000 with a pricing range of between 12.75 per cent and 13.25 per cent. The bond is due in 2029 but it has a 24-month moratorium on principal repayment. The fixed rate coupon will be paid semi-annually while the principal repayment will be by way of amortised-redemption, after the expiration of the principal moratorium period.
Minimum subscription to the issue is N10 million and thereafter in multiples of N1million.The book-building-application process, for the offer, which started on Friday, July 1 will close tomorrow.
https://thenationonlineng.net/geregu-power-seeks-n40b-to-support-expansion/
Nigeria’s Energy Conundrum, Implications and Solutions
There is a nexus between Nigeria’s petroleum and electricity sectors. Though the two are under different ministries viz. Ministry of Petroleum Resources and Ministry of Power, the former provides the ingredient for the latter. By this I mean the country’s petroleum sector provides the industrial gas for all the thermal power plants operating in the country. Some of the thermal plants are Afam Power Plc, Ughelli Power Plc, Sapele Power Plc and Egbin Power Plc.
It is baffling that despite the abundance of natural gas in Nigeria, so much so that international oil companies have been flaring this essential product for domestic and industrial use, the country hasn’t been able to sufficiently trap and tap this resource to power our electricity-generating companies. Aside from this, the price of cooking gas has hit the rooftop despite the country having this in abundance.
Quite unfortunately, the creation of separate ministries, as well as privatisation and commercialisation of petroleum products and electricity, have not been able to resolve the conundrum in the energy sector in Nigeria. Many compatriots who believed that the passage of Petroleum Industry Bill by the National Assembly is the silver bullet needed to unbundle the latent potentials in the petroleum sector have been very disappointed because after the signing of that bill into law by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Monday, August 16, 2021, there has not been the political will to follow through with faithful implementation.
https://punchng.com/nigerias-energy-conundrum-implications-and-solutions/
South Africa Electricity Crisis: No Power for Up To Six Hours
South Africa is gripped by a winter of discontent as the country faces its biggest ever power crisis.
People are experiencing rolling blackouts of up to six hours a day and are having to face a bitterly cold winter with an erratic and unreliable power supply.
A typical day of what the state-run power company Eskom euphemistically calls “Stage six load shedding” consists of waking up to no power, driving to work through congested roads because the traffic lights aren’t working, being pummelled by the din of generators at the work place, and then finding power has been cut once more when you get back home.
It’s enough to make George Landon, a resident of South Africa’s main city Johannesburg, want to leave the country.
“I had a job interview in London. I’m booking my flight tomorrow because of the state we are in. Unfortunately I love my country, but the country needs to love us as well,” he says.
Poor management and corruption at Eskom mean South Africa has been experiencing power cuts for many years but this is poised to be the worst yet.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/south-africa-electricity-crisis-no-010127994.html
Tesla Powerwall 2 Vs Freedom Won Lite Home — Ultimate Load-Shedding Battery Battle
With no end in sight for load-shedding in South Africa, many people are looking for backup power to carry them through the outages.
Small backup systems like power trolleys and UPSes might be able to run a limited set of devices, such as a TV, laptop, some lights, and a router.
Energy experts previously told MyBroadband that a fully-fledged off-grid system could cost the typical household upwards of R500,000.
An excellent middle-of-the-road solution is an on-grid inverter-and-battery system that can charge from Eskom power and discharge during an outage.
The Tesla Powerwall is a well-known option globally and has been available in South Africa through Rubicon Renewables since 2018.
It proved so popular that it sold out and was superseded by the Powerwall 2 in South Africa in December 2019.
This premium all-in-one system combines a battery, inverter, cooling system, and smart control and reporting capabilities into a sleek package.
