The frequent industrial action by workers in the electricity supply industry has resulted in the loss of about N7.734bn between 2014 and 2016, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has said.
Governor Fashola
Fashola disclosed this at the third triennial delegates’ conference of the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies in Abuja on Thursday.
The minister stated that the huge revenue loss was arrived at after he conducted a snap survey of strikes embarked upon by workers in the sector between April 2014 and March 2016.
He urged the workers to reconsider their resistance to private investors in the sector as well as their views of the investors as being exploitative.
Fashola said, “Can an employee who caused the employer such financial losses in all good conscience expect improved welfare package or industrial peace? Or have the employees taken over from the employers?
“Our job is to provide electricity and get paid for it; we have no other job. If electricity is not enough, it means that we haven’t provided it, you and I. If there is not enough electricity, it is not the fault of the President but you and I, who are employed to work in this sector.”
Similarly, the Minister for Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, urged the Nigeria Labour Congress to consider ongoing negotiations on the recently introduced electricity tariffs before embarking on a nationwide strike.
The labour union had on Wednesday threatened to declare a one-day nationwide strike against the government in protest of electricity tariff hike and fuel scarcity across the country.
Ngige, however, noted that such an action would be unnecessary because the National Assembly had already taken up the issue.
The minister pleaded with the labour movement to tarry with its planned industrial action.
He said, “The dispute over the increment in electricity tariff is right before the National Assembly and it is only right that as law abiding social partners, that all parties afford the National Assembly to arbitrate.
“The chairman (president) of the NLC is not here, but this occasion offers a crucial avenue for me to state the government’s position on this hot button issue. In tandem with the theme of your conference this year, I must state that the Federal Government is concerned with good governance in all sectors of the economy and the subsequent expansion of the infrastructural and super-structural base of the Nigerian economy.
Nigeria’s power generation collapsed completely on Thursday at exactly 12.58pm to zero megawatt and this persisted for about three hours
Power electricity
Data from the country’s System Operator showed that around 1pm on Thursday, no power generation company in Nigeria produced a single megawatt of electricity.
Industry operators told our correspondent that as a result of the complete collapse, no electricity distribution company received load allocation beginning from when the collapse was recorded up till around 3pm.
The SO stated that the 11 distribution companies got zero electricity load allocation during the period of the collapse, meaning that for about three hours on Thursday no part of Nigeria got power supply from the national grid.
Our correspondent, however, gathered that supply of electricity was restored around 3pm.
For instance, out of the 450MW that was due Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, the Disco only got about 50MW when the situation began to improve.
Before the collapse, AEDC got an allocation of 257.97MW and the nationwide generation level stood at 2,243.2MW.Sources in the sector blamed the complete collapse in power generation on the extent of destruction of infrastructure and gas pipelines vandalism that had happened in the industry over the past years, as well as the poor upgrade of power installations across the country.
“The power crisis being experienced nationwide since Tuesday this week has worsened on Thursday with a total system collapse at exactly 12.58pm this afternoon. At that point, the nation went to ground zero, with all the Discos receiving zero MW allocation from the System Operator,” an operator in the sector told our correspondent in confidence.
Officials from the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing as well as private investors, had attributed the never-ending fall in electricity generation to vandalism of gas pipelines and destruction of vital infrastructure in the industry by miscreants.
“Aside pipelines vandalism, some miscreants have been involved in the destruction of vital power infrastructure and this has been affecting not just generation but transmission and distribution as well,” a senior official at the power ministry who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak on the matter, had said.
The official also stressed that the ongoing difficulty in the downstream oil industry was also impacting negatively on the power sector.
The highly pronounced power failures across the country in the past few days may worsen following a partial system collapse that occurred on Tuesday, and the continuous drop in electricity generation due to what the government says is the vandalism of pipelines that supply gas to the power plants.
Power electricity
As a result, power generation dropped to 1,580.6 megawatts on Wednesday.
Data from the Nigeria Electricity System Operator as well as information from senior officials of the different electricity distribution companies confirmed that power generation plummeted massively on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The officials noted that this resulted in the reduction of the electricity load allocated to the Discos, stressing that this was why many parts of the country had been recording blackouts in the past few days.
It was learnt that the partial system collapse that occurred on Tuesday happened at the Shiroro Power Plant and dragged down electricity generation to as low as 1,233.4MW from a peak of 3,207.7MW recorded on the same day.
Data from NESO showed that by 9.48am on Wednesday, power generation was 1,580.6MW, with the Ikeja Electric getting 237.09MW; Abuja, 181.77MW; Eko, 173.87MW; Benin, 142.25MW; and Enugu, 142.25MW.
Others are Ibadan, 205.48MW; Jos, 86.93MW; Kano, 126.45MW; Kaduna, 126.45MW; Port Harcourt, 102.74MW; and Yola, 55.32MW.
One of our correspondents gathered that prior to the partial collapse of the system, the Abuja, Ikeja and Eko distribution firms were getting over 350MW each to meet the power needs of a considerable number of their customers.
In fact, it was learnt that the normal baseline allocation for the Abuja Disco was 450MW, but on Wednesday, the firm got 181.77MW around 9.48am, according to data from NESO, and this further dropped to 131.77MW by 1.25pm.
On reason for the slump in electricity generation, officials at the power arm of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing told one of our correspondents that the same old issue of gas pipeline vandalism had continued to pose challenge to adequate electricity generation and distribution.
An official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “Gas is vital for power generation and most of the electricity being generated in Nigeria is produced by gas-fired power plants. Both the ministers of power and petroleum have often called on Nigerians to help safeguard these infrastructure, but we keep recording explosions of gas pipelines.
“Currently, repairs are ongoing on some of the ruptured pipelines and once they are completed, we believe generation will pick up again.”
Last week, the acting Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Dr. Anthony Akah, lamented the incidences of vandalism that led to the reduction in peak power generation and supply from the national grid.
Akah, who spoke in Abuja, solicited the support of members of the public and the Consumer Protection Council to collaborate with electricity service providers and security agencies in ensuring adequate protection of power installations across the country.
Similarly, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, told journalists in Abuja on Tuesday that vandalism had been a serious challenge to not just the oil and gas sector, but also the power sector.
Meanwhile, the management of Ikeja Electric has apologised to its customers for the epileptic power supply across its network in the past three days.
The Head of Corporate Communications, Ikeja Electric, Mr. Felix Ofulue, made the apology through a statement on Wednesday.
Ofulue attributed the poor service to the ongoing activities by labour unions picketing the facilities of the company over the purported sacking of 400 workers.
He said the company’s employees were not on strike, but that they had been prevented by the protesting labour unions from gaining access to its facilities and “are, therefore, not in a position to provide any consistent service to our valued customers.”
Ofulue noted that the situation had impacted negatively on power supply as well as the purchase of recharge units because all the substations, business units and undertakings had been taken over by members of the protesting unions.
He said, “Ikeja Electric regrets all inconveniences this action may have caused its customers and appeals to all its customers to please bear with us.
“We assure our customers that the company is doing its best to normalise the situation within the shortest possible time. We thank all our customers for their patience and understanding.”
Power sector workers under the aegis of National Union of Electricity Employees and Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies had on Monday picketed the head office of the Ikeja Electric over the sacking of 400 workers of the company.
The union had issued a seven-day ultimatum to the management of the company last week Tuesday to recall the disengaged workers or face industrial action.
The President, Dangote Industries, Aliko Dangote, has said his company should be able to generate about 12,000 megawatts of electricity for the country by 2018.
President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote
He also said that his business estate would start selling foreign exchange to the Central Bank of Nigeria by 2020.
Dangote, who spoke in Lagos on Monday at the Nigerian Economic Summit organised by Economist Events, an arm of The Economist of London, said, “We are looking at a situation that by 2020, we will be the one selling FX to the CBN. Our projects are mainly import substitution. We are working to be self-sufficient to grow about a million tonnes of rice over the next five years.
“Our gas project would have our gas pipelines on the seabed. The output should be able to provide about 12,000MW of power. We see a lot of transformation when we are done with most of our projects by 2018.
“We have 15 countries in the ECOWAS community that are duty-free. The export market is big and profitable if you have the capacity. Players in the manufacturing (sector) should be encouraged to export if they have the capacity. We must also meet local consumption.”
Dangote said the fall in crude oil price was not a curse and that the nation must use the opportunity to explore the potential in other sectors of the economy.
He said, “This is the right moment to pursue the diversification of the economy, which we have been talking about. I know that once oil gets back to $80 per barrel, we will go back to the same misbehaviour.
“But I think this is the right time for that. Government must come up with the right policy, because if we don’t do it now, we may not do it. But low prices do not mean doom. In 1998-1999, the price of oil was $9. What we need to do is just to block the leakages and pursue diversification.”
According to Dangote, the monthly revenue inflow from oil, which used to be $3.2bn, is now around $1bn, and this has caused a number of challenges for businesses in the country.
“There are some areas where we are facing serious challenges and there are some where we are not. It depends on your business model. If your business model is to import 100 per cent, definitely, you will be facing challenges, because the inflow of foreign exchange is not where it used to be a year and a half ago,” he added.
The Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, on his part, said a number of manufacturers were facing hard times due to their inability to access forex to buy raw materials.
According to him, there is a need to explore import substitution, while efforts are being made to boost forex supply in the country.
Wigwe said, “We have a lot of manufacturers who have to rely on forex for their raw materials but who are going through tough times. However, are there opportunities? I believe there are. I think it is time for us to move towards import-substitution. But I think we need to do things to support the supply side of forex and liberalise the market.
“Even for those who have to source their raw materials locally, there is a value chain effect. If the entire value chain in a production process is not sorted out, we will have a problem. So, access to foreign currencies for raw materials is important. However, it is important that people start looking at how to use local raw materials to produce.”
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Okechukwu Enelamah, said the Federal Government was focusing on creating an enabling business environment to attract investment and fast-track industrialisation.
He noted that efforts were being made to give adequate support to Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises.
Enelamah said, “The key is to create the right incentive, regulation and policy so that people can work with them and do more locally than just importing. The other thing I should mention is that Nigeria has an industrial revolution plan developed by the last government, but the plan needs to be revisited.
“We need to look beyond the rhetorics and actually implement what we are talking about, because I believe that if we implement them, we will get better result.”
The minister added that the government of President Muhammadu Buhari had made employment, local production and inclusive economy growth its top priorities.
The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has described the increased electricity tariffs as “a painful pill,” appealing to consumers to “swallow” it.
Governor Fashola
Fashola stated this on the sidelines of the second monthly sectoral meeting with stakeholders in the power sector in Lagos, where he also inspected some projects at the Alagbon Transmission and Distribution Complex on Monday.
He said, “Importantly, I understand that people who have been disappointed over a long time will feel a sense of concern that again tariffs have gone up. But the truth is that these tariffs ought to have been there from day one. I don’t know why the government of yesterday was not courageous enough to tell us this was the price.
“It is a painful pill that I must appeal that we swallow. It is like quinine and malaria. It’s painful; it’s not sweet, I know that, but I do it because we are not left with many choices. This is the first major decision in power that this administration has taken. There are other problems.
“I can only appeal for some understanding and some trust that we do this in the best interest of our country. It is a hard decision, but I think down the line, we will have cause to look…”
Fashola’s comments comes amid the ongoing nationwide protest by workers under the aegis of the Nigerian Labour Congress and Trade Union Congress, which has grounded commercial activities in several cities in the country.
The minister, who faulted the way the privatisation of the power sector was carried out, said the sector was being plagued by several problems including gas supply shortfall and transmission issue.
The President Goodluck Jonathan administration had in November 2013 privatised the successor generation and distribution companies carved out of the defunct government-owned Power Holding Company of Nigeria, leaving out the transmission segment of the value chain.
When asked what the problems in the sector were, the minister said, “The problem is everywhere. The problem is with us. The problem is with gas. The problem is with transmission. The problem is with the way the privatisation exercise itself was conducted.
“But as I have said before, I am not going to lament what has happened in the past. I am going to move on with it. So, the first move we have made when we accessed the situation, nobody was happy with it when we took over.
“This is a problem that has been here for 16 years, if we put it mildly. It is a problem that has been here 100 years ago, if we put it really extremely. I have been here for less than a 100 days, and I think we can solve this problem if you give us the tools that we need to do it. I think that this problem can be solved, and the day that we feel that it cannot be solved, I will gladly come and tell you that I don’t think it will work.”
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has finally released the new power tariff regime, in which it outlined the various rates of increase in energy charges for consumers across the country.
Prepaid meters
It also announced the removal fixed electricity charges for all classes of electricity consumers and noted that power users would only pay for what they consume.
About two weeks ago, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, revealed that electricity tariffs would increase and urged consumers to comply with respect to paying their bills, as he promised that the sector would record considerable improvement thereafter.
Confirming the tariffs increase on Monday, NERC stated that henceforth, from the next billing period, power distribution companies would no longer charge their customers monthly fixed charges.
Fixed charge is that component of the tariff that commits electricity consumers to paying an approved amount of money not minding whether electricity is consumed during the billing period.
Outlining the rates of increase in tariffs for various customer classes in selected locations across the country, NERC said, “For instance, residential customer classification (R2) in Abuja Electricity Distribution Company will no longer pay N702 fixed charge every month. Their energy charge will increase by N9.60.
“Also, residential customers (R2 customers) in Eko and Ikeja electricity distribution areas will no longer pay N750 fixed charges. They will be getting N10 and N8 increase respectively in their energy charges. Similarly, the burden of N800 and N750 fixed charges would be lifted off the shoulders of Kaduna and Benin electricity consumers. These consumers will see an increase of N11.05 and N9.26 respectively in their energy charges.”
This comes less than a week after the House of Representatives asked NERC to stop plans to increase electricity tarrifs.
With this increment, Nigerians will even pay more than when they pay the fixed charge with the current rate
For example, in a place like Warri in Delta State, if 100 units is used and with the current rate of N14.82 , it amounts to N2,232 excluding VAT but with the increment from N14.82 to N24.08 (N9.26 increment) and removing the N750 fixed charge, if the same 100 units is consumed, it will now amount to N2,408, Which is N176 more than the current tariff and N750 fixed charge.
For many who live in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city, it is disappointing that there are street lights that hardly ever function. UGBOJA FELIX OJONUGWA writes that this situation has residents apprehensive especially with growing security concerns in the city.
Abuja: A Capital City In Darkness
Most times, a drive around Abuja at night makes one feel no different from being in a city without any street light poles at all. It is a vast plunge into darkness.
While a few major streets do have their lights turned on at night, 90 per cent of Abuja’s streets are only navigable if your vehicle head lamps are super sharp and radiant. And it is not uncommon to see many dilapidated taxis without a set of functioning head lamps moving around Abuja.
Many are of the opinion that the situation has not only increased the number of motor accidents at night, but has really presented criminals with a platform to rob and cause mayhem in the city. And no thanks to the national security situation, one would only wonder why city authorities can afford to maintain such level of negligence for such a long time.
Recently, the Department of State Security (DSS) discovered that the dreaded Boko Haram terrorist group have been able to establish some sleeper cells in Abuja in a bid to carry out an attack. Sleeper cells help carry out surveillance activities in the city in order to discover soft targets for attacks. It doesn’t take rocket science to understand that a city without functional street lights would create more room and freedom for terror operations.
“There are some streets here in Abuja that I have never ever seen the lights come on.” Said Maina Abdul, who lives on a street in Garki area of the city. “I wonder why the poles are still standing. On some other streets, the light would either come up once in a while or it will just be about 3 lights out of about 50 that will come on.” He added.
On a street in Zone 6, located in Wuse area of the city, Adama Judith, a banker had fallen victim many a time to criminals who lurk in the dark streets.
“I get robbed on this street at least once every week because I am always returning late from work. There is no protection for us on this street at all. We have reported to the police, but their patrol vehicles are only here once in a while. This place has become a hide out for criminals because they know that it is a dark street where the lights are never on. Even my neighbour’s car was snatched from her about a week ago by the same hoodlums.” She said.
According to other residents of the area, the situation would be far less than it was if the lights would ever come on. At least with the street lights on, they can carry out environmental vigillance themselves, but that has become very impossible.
On another street in Jabi area of the city, it has been an endless re-occurence of vehicle head-on collissions every night. According to Onobi Michael, who lives on the street, “it has been a harvest of blood on this street for the past one year.”
On Adetokunbo Ademola crescent in Wuse, motor accidents are also bound to occur every night during the weekends, especially when city night-life lovers who must be driving under the influence cannot even see anything but mere darkness at that time.
In some areas, the streets light poles are even broken and dilapidated. In fact, many residents have argued that at no time is the situation as bad as now. Gradually, many street lights in Abuja are becoming historical relics to serve as a reminder of a once functional city.
From LEADERSHIP Sunday’s findings the situation has been made worse by stoppage of payments to streetlights’ maintenance contractors. The contractors, consequently, abandoned the job since September. There are also reports about poor power supply, but even some streets with solar- powered lights are no better either.
In April this year, the publisher of DESERT HERALD newspaper, Mallam Tukur Mamu, while speaking with a LEADERSHIP reporter, raised a number of issues about the FCT administration. One of those issues include the poor state of the city street lights.
Mamu raised a concern about the person or persons that benefitted from the controversial Abuja streetlights multi-billion naira contracts over the last six years and why the nation’s capital remains in the dark despite the billions.
Mamu who clearly indicted the immediate past minister of FCT, Sen. Bala Muhammad of mis-administration asked that “We will also like to know why they only chose to rush substandard streetlights installation after losing the 2015 election which they (ministry) questionably spent N500 million on.”
Investigating more about the issue led Leadership Sunday to the office of the Director of Facility Maintenance at the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA). The treatment received by our reporter was hostile to say the least. After spending at least 10 hours a whole week waiting to see the director, our reporter was surprised when the director who wouldn’t give his name brushed him off insisting that he had nothing to say.
“You are here to ask about the state of the street lights? And so what?” Said the Director in a harsh tone while walking out of his office.
Our reporter insisted on getting answers to his questions, and the director in terse words only claimed that the street lights were not functioning because “our transformers have been vandalised by hoodlums, but we are already fixing the problem.” He said.
If there is any impression left by the Director’s reaction, it is that there is more to the issue than meets the eye.
Only recently, the new FCT Minister, Muhammad Bello, undertook a late night tour of the city and came face-to-face with the ugly situation. Like we did, he met broken down streetlights around the city.
As was expected, the minister asked for explanations, and the Executive Secretary of Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), Mr Adamu Ismaila, stated that he had to adopt drastic measures in the maintenance of the streetlights on Airport and Kubwa expressways because of their priority status and security implication. He disclosed that officials of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) were engaged for constant surveillance along the routes to keep vandals away.
Of course, the minister was given other reasons, but he expressed dissatisfaction with some of the reasons given for the non functioning status of the streetlights.
He then directed the officials of Abuja Municipal Management Council (AMMC) and the FCDA to immediately liase with the FCT Permanent Secretary, Dr Babatope Ajakaiye in order to bring all the streetlights across the city to a functional status.
The minister tasked the officials to be proactive in tackling the challenges. “Quite frankly, the city is very dark. The city was much brighter than this in the past; instead of improvement, it appears we are going backwards and this is certainly not acceptable.” He said, while also adding that “Keeping the city bright enhances its beauty, eases the job of the security agencies in securing it and also makes it easy for residents to come out in the night without any fear of being attacked.”
From LEADERSHIP Sunday’s findings, there is a high level of apprehension among the dwellers of the beautiful city about how ‘things are beginning to fall apart’. And fair enough, that is in consonance with the minister’s opinion. According to him, lighting up the city is as paramount as keeping it secure and clean.
As Abuja is thrown into darkness at night, the obvious consequences have been anything but good for the members of the city, whether they are living in the suburbs or highbrows, there is a common desire and demand for the city to have infrastructures that will also work, and it all bore down to authorities taking responsibility.
The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle, on Wednesday urged the Federal Government to create an enabling environment for big private companies to invest in the power sector, saying that is the solution to the challenges crippling the nation’s energy industry.
American Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle
The U.S, according to the ambassador, identifies the private power players as the solution to the several challenges facing the country.
Entwistle spoke during a visit to the Minister of Science and Technology, Mr. Ogbonnaya Onu, in Abuja.
He advocated a stronger private sector participation in the energy industry.
Entwistle said his country has assisted Nigeria in nuclear energy programmes.
He said, “What we have done in nuclear energy in the past with Nigeria has been related to safety and we are very committed to increase the power sector through our Power Africa Programme. That comes with increasing generation through the private sector.”
Reacting to Onu’s request for technology transfer in the area of biotechnology, he stated, “the U.S would want to see what the minister has in mind specifically. Anything that he sends to us we shall look at it with great interest and see what is possible that can be done as fast as possible.
The envoy said it is important for Nigeria to collaborate with the U.S government and tap from their experience and technology and boost trade cooperation among African countries.
Onu said his ministry will explore the excellent working relationship with the U.S.
Former Minister of Power, Suleiman Bello, on Thursday, said that one of the major problems in the power sector is the incompetence of ministers appointed to man the sector over the years.
Power electricity
Bello told the Senate Ad hoc Committee on Power during the ongoing power probe that another problem was that the ministers appointed were usually given a short period of time to work.
He added that although there is no doubt that privatization was a good step, the 2005 Environmental Protection Regulation Act (EPR) must also be reviewed from time to time.
“One of the major problems of the Nigeria power sector is the incompetence and lack of knowledge of the sector by the ministers appointed to run the sector and the short time (less than two years in the past decade) that the ministers are given to run the sector.
“Acts such as the EPR Act (2005) must be reviewed from time to time as is the case in other countries where such attempt at privatisation were made.
“Acts cannot decide how this nation should be run. This is a nation trying to get 5000 MW. For ten yrs the argument has been how to sell 3000 MW.
“This is the only country that spends billions every year,” he said.
However, Bello stressed that the nation constantly talks about increasing generation but has not given a clear cut initiative on how to achieve this.
He went ahead to say that it was easier for new technology to be deployed in the telecoms sector following the liberalization of the sector because licenses were given to investors to start from scratch without necessarily unbundling Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) and selling it.
He also complained that the nation keeps saying there is no money in the power sector meanwhile the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) gave the sum of 220 billion naira for the reform of the power sector.
Meanwhile, he urged that credibility and competence must be shown to attract investors in the power sector.
A recent report has indicated that Nigeria loses about 50 percent of its generation, transmission and distribution due to ageing infrastructure.
Power electricity
In a document made available to Sweetcrude, the Coordinator, Nigerian-German Energy Partnership, Dr. Jeremy Gaines, said: “No sector in the world can operate with a loss rate of nearly 50 percent. Were these losses only to be halved, there would be substantially more revenue for the sector (Gencos, Discos), which could translate into investments and less pressure on government to subsidise the inefficiencies.”
He noted that overtime, the industry have suffered from lack of investment in the power sector and massive losses from generation output. Consequently, Nigeria needs to experience a robust development in the power by tackling its ageing infrastructure and increase generation capacity to complement the great demand from the rising population.
His words: “First, we have witnessed a massive shortfall of investment in power plants over the last 30 years, meaning that population growth, and with it the need for electricity has far outpaced supply.
“Second, many existing gas-fired and hydro power plants are in part very old and therefore nearing the end of their service lives. And finally, there are massive system losses.”
Highlighting the current cause of unstable power generation resulting from generating losses in the country, he said: “The current cause of unstable power is the sum of these losses, 11 percent from generation, 14 percent from transmission, and 22 percent from distribution.
“Were a strong system of sovereign guarantees in place, this would encourage foreign direct investment in the sector – hitherto foreign investors have been reluctant to commit to the fledgling privatised sector for this reason.”
On how Nigeria can tackle the power challenges, he said: “The Federal Government could approve financing to tackle the transmission losses and monitor implementation by Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, closely.
“Likewise, it could introduce meaningful fast sanctions to thwart the theft of electricity and punish defaults on payment of electricity bills, these realities everyone knows, but no one acts to stop them.
“It is important for the public to know that the existing power plant fleet is old and will never generate anywhere near full capacity, meaning many new power plants are required.
“It would be most beneficial if the new administration were to publicly support the Ministry of Power in its drive to ensure the spread of large-scale solar in the North. Only if power plants are built in the North, and renewable power plants can be built quickly, will electricity come to the North on any scale at all.
“At the same time it is critical that the new administration provides sovereign guarantees to anchor private investments in new power plants, be they driven by thermal feed stocks or renewable energy. Should it not be able to do so itself, then it could officially request assistance from the international community, specifically the EU, in obtaining concessional loans for such power plants.
“The government’s efforts to support small-scale solar systems for rural areas are very laudable but will not solve the main problem: electricity for the country’s many conurbations,” he said.
Gaines further argued that Nigeria can resolve a significant portion of its power issues through solar for the following reasons:
—Utility-scale solar power plants (50MW upwards) can generate a substantial volume of electricity in the North, where there is no gas infrastructure to enable gas power plants there but where power is desperately needed.
—Solar power plants can be built much faster (from idea to completion maximum 3 years; for a coal-fired power plant, 6 years).
ABUJA – THE House of Representatives Tuesrday resolved to probe the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan on the sale of power assets.
The House in a resolution on the motion titled, “Alleged Non-transparent and Fraudulent Sale of Power Assets by the Bureau of Public Enterprise, BPE, ” by the Jonathan’s administration, bemoaned the what it called lack of openness in the processes leading to the sale of Nigeria’s power infrastructure to private investors by the previous administration.
The sponsor of the motion, Rep. John Chike Okafor representing Ehime Mbano/Ihitte Uboma/Obowo Federal Constituency of Imo State on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the House of Representatives in his lead debate stressed the importance of power to every business, family, public or private institution, household and the general growth of the nation’s economy.
Ex-Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, has blamed the inability of Dr Goodluck Jonathan’s administration to turn around the power sector on those he described as saboteurs in the system.
The former Vice Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye Ekiti , said it was quite disturbing that in spite of the appreciable efforts made by the immediate past government that the cabal was destroying gas pipes constantly, with the intention to sabotage Jonathan’s strides in the critical sector .
Nebo, who spoke in Ikole at the weekend while being conferred with the honourary title of Ateyese of Egbeoba kingdom by Elekole, Oba Ajibade Fasiku, said the noticeable improvement in power supply across the country under President Muhammadu Buhari was a reflection of what Jonathan did in the sector.
Poor electricity distribution facilities across the country may jeopardise plan by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to see on-grid electricity generation hit 6, 000 megawatts by the end of 2015, the regulatory agency has revealed.
Power electricity
NERC said that preliminary report of the technical committee it recently set up to drive the realisation of the target indicated that the extent of infrastructure deterioration in the distribution network might have been underestimated.
It explained that the market still experiences huge load rejection and shedding as a result of the development, adding that new measures would have to be devised to overcome such massive distribution infrastructure decline.
Chairman of NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi told THISDAY in Abuja that the position of the agency stemmed from the preliminary works of the committee he set up some weeks back to help reclaim and transmit stranded electricity generation capacities into the national grid.
When asked about the feasibility of the December 6,000MW generation and distribution target, Amadi said: “It is feasible depending on how quickly we can turn around the network of the distribution and transmission company.”
“I am worried about getting this milestone because of the preliminary report I have got from the committee. The deterioration of the Discos network is worse than we think. There is still massive load rejection even as we have solved the imbalance energy problem. So, it means that there is something else. That something else is getting our attention,” Amadi added.
“Maybe we get to succeed in this target. Don’t forget that this is my own ambitious target not a target set in MYTO for the market. Why am I setting this target? I will like us to crown the tenure on a high. We all like to succeed. It is miserable that we have for 16 years set a target of 6,000MW and never got it. I will be sad if we miss it. I will be very happy to have the Commission finish its first tenure on 6,000MW. It is like breaking the jinx so that we can aim at 10,000 and 20,000MW. If we don’t get to 6,000MW under Buhari’s new paradigm of discipline and anticorruption then how can we be sure of getting 10,000MW soon? We have to work hard,” Amadi explained.
The transmission network with its poor infrastructure had often been identified as the weakest link in the country’s electricity network.
However, NERC’s identification of the distribution weakness confirmed the slow pace of investments to upgrade the distribution network by operators.
Reports also revealed that the impact of the apparent slow pace investment on the distribution network is further compounded by the reluctance of some Distribution Companies (Discos) to take over the distribution assets built by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) Plc under the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs).
ABUJA—Cash crunch has hit the National Assembly and forced the Senate to put on hold the public hearing on power probe.
Senate
According to a Senator, who did not want his name mentioned, the cash crunch was also largely responsible for crippling oversight activities of the various committees in the Senate and House of Representatives.
Making reference to the cash crunch being experienced in the National Assembly, a member of the Senate’s ad hoc committee on power, Senator Mao Ohuabunwa (PDP Abia North), said the much-expected public hearing on power sector cannot hold for now due to non-availability of funds to run it.
It will be recalled that Senate President, Bukola Saraki, had last month announced a 13-man ad hoc committee to carry out a holistic investigation into the management of funds appropriated to the power sector since the Olusegun Obasanjo’s civilian administration.
It was also gathered that the economic down turn being experienced in the country has hit the National Assembly and led to non-payment of August salary of the 469 federal lawmakers as at yesterday, September 17.
Senator Mao Ohuabunwa noted that the cash crunch had prevented lawmakers from carrying out their legislative functions effectively over the months.
About 2,500 legislative aides of senators and members of the House of Representatives, who were yet to be paid their salaries since June this year when their various principals employed them, protested two weeks ago.
They had alleged that based on information at their disposal, the N7 billion meant for the payment had been released to management of the National Assembly by the Ministry of Finance last month.
The National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) has claimed that the improved power generation currently experienced by Nigerians is not likely sustainable.
Power electricity
Joe Ajaero, the body general secretary, provided the reasons for the improvements and explained why the things would soon get back to the previous point. He was quoted as saying by Vanguard:
“During this time of the year, there is always a slight improvement in power supply because of the rise in water level. That is, the lake goes up and hydro power stations generate more power. Second is the Buhari factor which has made operator to sit up and added to that, before now, the gas pipelines were usually vandalized.
“We suspect it may be in collaboration by some highly placed individuals who award contracts for the pipelines to be repaired which runs into billions of Naira. If the pipelines are vandalized and the contracts are awarded for repairs, almost every two months, it is big money for them. I think that because of the fear that those who engaged in the business may be caught, for now there is relative peace and the gas pipelines are delivering gas to the power plants.
“But we fear the current power situation may not be sustainable. Once the rainy season ends and the water level drops, there will be problem. Again, today all power being generated is being pumped into the system, there is no reserve in case of any break down, and there is no reserve in case of maintenance and so on. We ought to have reserve for emergencies. Sadly, we do not have that at the moment.”
It should be noted that improvement in power generation has been attributed to the successful performance of President Muhammadu Buhari in his first 100 days in office. Several groups and some individuals have commended the presidency for having fulfilled one of its elections campaign promises.
Energy Sent out by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) last Sunday hit 4,029.83MW, The Nation learnt Monday.
According to the Federal Ministry of Power in its Power Statistics of Sunday 30th August, power supply leaped by 32.02MW from the last statistics of August 25.
Of the total energy generated in period under review, the company recorded 87.9MW spinning reserve or stranded energy which the it could not wheel to the electricity distribution companies.
The ministry made this disclosure on its website Monday, adding that the peak power generation that was 4,810.7MW on August 25 dipped to 4,516.5MW on Sunday.
It also noted that Energy Generation rose to 4,117.73MW from the last record of 4,080.86MW.
Highest peak power generation in the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) was the 4,810.7 MW of August 25.
There has been significant increase in the electricity supply to customers, which most consumers have described as the usual ploy of electricity distribution companies when they are preparing to dispatch their monthly bills.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had recently decided that the Discos’ fixed charge should now be proportional to energy charge, although The Nation could not confirm whether the adjustment was effected in the August bill or whether it would commence in September.
The stage appeared set for a comprehensive probe of the nation’s power sector as the Senate declared on Thursday that officials of the Federal Ministry of Power, its departments and agencies and other key players within the sector would soon be appearing before it.
Chairman of the Senate ad-hoc committee on power, Senator Abubakar Kyari, stated this when the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, inaugurated the 14-member fact finding panel at the National Assembly Complex.
Kyari explained that stakeholders in the sector from 1999 till date, would be asked to provide needed information in order to achieve the committee’s laudable objectives.
He added that the committee would also beam its searchlight in the unbundling of the power sector, which was midwifed by the Bureau of Public Enterprises.
Kyari added that the committee would be seeking inputs from the establishment on the process of privatisation as it relates to funds committed to the exercise, funds generated, and the settlement of laid off staff of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria.
Apart from this, Kyari stressed that the committee would verify the claims of the successful bidders, their companies financial profile and why they were already asking for bail out/loan facilities from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The news about the directive or rather order by the senate on the 11th of this month to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to suspend the fixed charge of N702.00, which it has been collecting from electricity consumers across the federation following unending complaints against the policy by Nigerians has been greatly applauded as the right step in the right direction, given its anti-people oriented and exploitative coloration.
Prepaid meters
When this good news filtered into the public domain, many a consumer of power supply heaved a profound sigh of relief having been subjected to the fixed charge without proportionate benefit to show for the money they pay, especially for those who do not make use of pre-paid meters. Again, the Senate in a landmark resolution from a motion entitled: Unfair Trade Practices of Electricity Distribution Companies in Nigeria, which was sponsored by the duo of Senator Sam Egwu and Senator David Umaru, directed the NERC to urge Discos to discontinue the practice of compulsory bulk metering of villages and communities in the rural areas.
As commendable as these directives are, it is only when the various private power/electricity distribution companies that cut across the geo-political zones of the federation are forced to implement and comply with the order will fairness be restored to the power sector as regards the outrageous, extortionate, slavish and exploitative electricity bills paid by consumers of electricity.
Apart from the issues of bulk metering and fixed charge of N702.00, another issue that is giving the public a great source of concern, anger, and sadness is the continuation of the charge of electricity bills on services not rendered for. For example, there are places and residential homes that have been disconnected for months and the wires used for the connection taken away by the various private power/electricity distribution companies’ electricians for one reason or the other but the end users (electricity consumers) have continued to receive electricity bills for services that have not been offered. This is a clear case of daily light robbery, thievery, consciencelessness, and man’s insensitivity to man by these exploitative companies and its allies. Had it not been that majority of Nigerians who consume electricity are docile even when pushed to the wall especially on this issue of having one’s source of electricity disconnected and wires taken away by these power supply companies’ electricians or taskforce on disconnection, we would have been inundated with news of untoward actions meted out to those who deliver these undeserving electricity bills to those who do not supposed to pay for the bills.
Similarly, there are homes and places that are connected to power supply but have not had electricity for months but these electricity companies still bill them for services not rendered. I believe the practice of making consumers pay for meters, poles and transformers, which by law, are properties of the electricity companies should not be paid for. No wonder the senate directed NERC to make a regulation to mandate the Discos to discontinue the practice of making consumers pay for meters, poles and transformers, which by law, are properties of the Discos, adding however that where consumers purchase those items, they should give notice of the purchase to the Discos, and should be entitled to recover their expenses from subsequent consumption of electricity.
This unpalatable situation of things in the power sector should be investigated holistically by the National Assembly with a view to finding permanent remedies to the ripping off of consumers of electricity and to restore sanity in the system. A stitch in time saves nine.
Nwaorgu Faustinus writes from, Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Email:ngorokpalaresearcher@gmail.com
ABUJA — President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the problem of power sector in Nigeria was more in the transmission than generation. He, however, pledged his administration’s readiness to rectify the problem to realize steady power supply in the country.
According to him, the realisation of steady power supply will launch the country into faster socio-economic development.
The president gave the assurance after taking briefing of the activities of the sector by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power, Ambassador Godknows Igali, in his office.
President Buhari said that his administration had already identified the critical problems in Nigeria’s power sector and was taking appropriate actions to address them.
“The problems besetting our power sector are not difficult to identify. Therefore, priorities can be easily set in order to tackle them. The problems are more with transmission than generation, and we equally need to secure the power infrastructure round the country. We will address all these issues,” the President assured.
Speaking earlier, Ambassador Igali told the President that power generation in Nigeria which was 1,750 MW in 1999, has improved at 4,600 MW.
He added that gas was available to take generation to 5,500 MW in a short time, but that the country needed to expand its electricity infrastructure to accommodate additional power generation.
Muhammadu Buhari is sworn in as Nigeria’s next president on Friday but he has a daunting to-do list after promising wholesale change during elections two months ago. Here are four key areas, otherwise termed enermies of his successful administration he will have to tackle when he takes office:
– Corruption –
General Buhari
Buhari, 72, has said the corrupt and corruption will have no place in his administration, sparking fears of a wide-ranging crackdown similar to his previous time as military ruler in the 1980s. But he has pledged outgoing President Goodluck Jonathan has “nothing to fear” and there will be no witch-hunt against the former administration.
Some areas are likely to be too big to ignore, however, such as the running of the opaque, state-run oil firm, which is seen as riddled with corruption. Analysts predict Buhari will beef up existing anti-corruption agencies, while he has personally promised to declare his assets and liabilities for greater transparency and accountability.
Buhari’s All Progressives Congress (APC) estimates it could save three trillion naira ($15 billion, 13 billion euros) by streamlining government and plugging “leakages” in the system.
– Security –
Jonathan’s administration will be remembered for the rise of Boko Haram Islamists, who left least 15,000 people dead and more than 1.5 million homeless in a six-year campaign of violence. Boko Haram is currently seen as on the run but security experts say the war is far from over, with sporadic attacks continuing and the likelihood the rebels could regroup in border regions.
Former army general Buhari has recognised the need for top-down reform to boost poor morale and end graft that hit military procurement, leaving troops ill-equipped to fight. But restructuring also needs to go hand-in-hand with social and economic programmes to tackle the root causes of the insurgency, namely lack of development and unemployment in the Muslim north.
Buhari has indicated he will maintain regional cooperation with Chad, Niger and Cameroon but he faces potential trouble on another front from former militants in the oil-producing southern Delta. Rebels wanting a fairer share of oil wealth have threatened to resume their activities against energy facilities in the region if a government amnesty programme is not extended beyond this year.
– Unemployment –
Nearly two-thirds of Nigeria’s population of more than 170 million is under 30. But unemployment is currently nudging 30 percent, despite strong overall rates of economic growth in recent years. Outgoing Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala in 2013 recognised the benefits of growth needed to be shared more equitably. The APC says some 110 million people still live in poverty.
Buhari’s administration has pledged to embark on a massive programme of industrialisation, including building railways, improving roads and ports, and improving crumbling infrastructure. But those programmes could be hamstrung immediately by lack of funds, with Nigeria hit hard by the slump in the global price of oil, on which it depends for 90 percent of foreign income.
Observers say diversifying the economy is a must, as is educational reform to improve skills. Some 10.5 million Nigerian children are currently out of school — the most in the world.
– Energy –
Last Friday, the government said Nigeria was producing just 1,327 megawatts of electricity — an all-time low and down even on Buhari’s last time in power in 1983-85. Reversing the country’s crippling power deficit is seen as key to driving economic growth but has evaded successive governments because of mismanagement, incompetence and vested interests.
Buhari is expected to decentralise, deregulate and privatise the transmission sector, opening it up to competition. The APC has reportedly promised to triple generation to 12,000 MW by 2019. He will also have to address the oil and gas sector and controversial subsidies paid to fuel importers who bring in petroleum products because of a lack of functioning refineries.
The government’s alleged non-payment of arrears saw fuel supply lines shut down in recent weeks, causing a crippling shortage that brought Nigeria to a near standstill.
