Energy and Power
FG Threatens to Takeover DisCos Over Failed Electricity Distribution
By Mathew Dadiya, Abuja
The Federal Government on Wednesday, threatened to revoke the privatization license of the electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) following their inability to improve distribution in the country.
The government was furious that despite spending over N1.
Briefing State House correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive Counvil (FEC), presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, the Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, disclosed that the ministry has submitted its report to the Council for necessary action.
Mamman noted that while the DisCos were collecting the 3,000mw, they were only paying for 1,000mw.
The minister said that the companies must show that they have capacity to give power to Nigerians or leave, so the that those who can do it would be engaged.
The government cannot continue to subside the companies without commensurate result, he said.
The minister disclosed that he has submitted to the FEC a way out of the situation, but declined to explain what he recommended to the Council hoping that it would approve his plan.
He explained that the DISCOs do not evacuate all of the about 13,000 megawatts generated by the GENCOs, and while 7,000 megawatts out of this is transmitted, the GENCOs manage to eventually pay for only 15 percent of the 3,000 megawatts they are able to distribute.
The implication is technical economic losses as the GENCOs don’t get value for the electricity they generate and the end consumers also do not get adequate electricity despite the output of the GENCOs, the Minister said.
The Minister said: “We presented our achievements right from the day we took oath of office to date. We want to tell Nigerians what we achieved in the value chains.
“Nigeria can generate up to 13,000 megawatts of electricity but we cannot transmit all. So today we presented to the council the solution to the problem of our generation.
“It is mainly distribution. We can transmit, we can generate 13,000 megawatts, we train it 7,000 megawatts but can only distribute 3,000. There is a lot of work to be done in transmission companies and the government is now willing to take up the matter immediately.”
On the several financial interventions the government has made, he said “That is what we are saying, government cannot continue to subsiding because what they doing is that they collect 3,000 megawatts and pay for only 1,000 megawatts, that is 15 percent of what they are collecting.
“So government is the one completing the payment. So we cannot continue like that. So if they are ready to continue, fine but if they are not ready to continue maybe they should give way to whoever that is ready to come and invest. We are asking government to review and see if they are capable fine but if they are not capable they should give way.”
On what becomes the fate of the Discos, Mamman said, “the DisCos are the ones manning the distribution, that is why I have submitted by observations to the government, it is left for the government that will have to decide.
“We just have to sit and see whether they are capable, have the technical know how because most of the problems we are having today is the loss- technical loss and commercial loss.
“They will give you light and may not collect your money or they will collect the money and pocket, or they may send light and you may not have good sub-station that may collect this power and distribute to customers. This has been our major problem and it is the responsibility of the DisCos to take care of that end.
Asked what other steps the Federal Government has taken to address the problem, the minister said, “One of the things I will tell you is that government has signed memorandum of understanding with the German government, Siemen. They are to align between distribution and transmission and also generation. So that at the end of the day if we generate 13,000 megawatts, transmission will take the whole 13,000 and will distribute same, that way Nigerians will be happy and everyone will have 24/7 electricity supply.”
Business News
FG Targets 350GW Electricity Generating Capacity by 2043
By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning Sen. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu has reaffirmed the commitment of the Federal Government towards achieving the desired target of 350GW electricity generating capacity by the year 2043.
The Minister, who spoke during a briefing session Thursday, in his office in Abuja, by top management staff of the Nigerian Electricity Management Service Agency (NEMSA) said that it would only be possible if all hands were on deck towards realizing the targets.
He informed that ‘’the present administration of President Bola Tinubu, has prioritized the Power Sector as the topmost priority of all the National Integrated Infrastructure Master Plan (NIIMP) assets classes”
He added that over the years, the government had also embarked on several reforms to turn around the power sector, the latest being the new Electricity Bill.
Bagudu pointed out that ‘’the electricity law repeals the Electricity and Power Sector Reform Act of 2005 and consolidates the law relating to the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).The Minister noted that the Nigeria Electricity Act 2023 prioritized the implementation of tariffs that accurately reflected the cost and service provided as well as promoted competition in the electricity sector through the use of contracts and rules’’.
He further stated that the main objective of the law was to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the Nigeria electricity industry, adding that NEMSA was one of the key players in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) charged with the responsibility of carrying out the enforcement of technical standards and regulations, technical inspection, testing, and certification of all categories of electrical installations across the country to ensure stable, safe and reliable electricity networks.
Bagudu added that the agency strived to ensure zero incidences of electrical accidents, energy accountability, eliminate substandard electrical equipment and material and rid the system of quack electrical installation personnel contractors.
Bagudu explained that the agency had embarked on some of the activities, which included: an inspection of over 15,931 electricity projects across the country, out of which 10,692 had been certified fit for use by NEMSA, monitoring of 12,114 existing networks and power systems nationwide; Inspection of 3,255 electrical installations at factories across the country, among others.
In his brief, the MD/CEO of NEMSA & Chief Electrical Inspector of the Federation, Engr. Aliyu Tukur Tahir said that their priority was to have a steady light electricity network that was stable, safe, and reliable. “We also strive to ensure zero incidences in the electricity networks, energy accountability, and eliminate substantial electrical material and equipment across our network in the country”.
He pointed out that “electricity has become part of our everyday life, it is a great benefit to all of us but the electricity we use is associated with a lot of hazards and these hazards are so real that they can even affect professionals themselves; so to mitigate these hazards, number of technical standards and revelations are now developed and that was why this agency was established to carry out enforcement of technical inspection, testing and certification before they are allowed to be used”.
Business News
BPP, AfDB Partner to Strengthen Energy Sector Reforms
The Breau of Public Procurement (BPP) and African Development Bank (AfDB) have entered into partnership to strengthen on-going reforms in the energy sector to improve productivity and add value to the economy.
According to a statement by Janet McDickson, Head, Media, BPP, the Director General of BPP, Mamman Ahmadu, made this known on Tuesday, while welcoming the AfDB team to his office.
The AfDB team was led by Dr Patrick Owuori, the Regional Procurement Coordinator.
Mamman said that emphasis should be placed on quality, while implementing the much needed energy sector reform, adding that government projects needed to be long-lasting and sustainable.
He said that sufficient rules should be made on how the money the organisation was putting on the table for the project was to be expended.
The director general said that BPP was working assiduously to achieve the Public Procurement Act, 2007.
“Procedures and strategies are put in place for spending government funds that will give value for money,” he said.
According to him, BPP was also in collaboration with the World Bank to put in place an e- procurement mechanism for transparency in all procurement processes.
“We are designing a capacity building sector to design customises areas to train procurement officers in skills and knowledge that will match global best practices,’’ he said.
Mamman said that the BPP needed more funding to design procurement capacity that could work with the energy sector and all procurements across board.
He, however, said that BPP’s partnership with AfDB would go a long way in enhancing the procurement sector engagement.
The leader of the delegation and Regional Procurement Coordinator, AfDB, Dr Patrick Owuori said, the new government of President Bola Tinubu, in the bid to get the power sector improve its services, had requested AfDB to develop and redesign a template to improve the energy sector.
Owuori said that the task would take them between six and nine months to redesign.
He said that the entire project would cost $1billion, with the timeline between 2023-2024.(NAN)
Energy and Power
Nationwide Blackout As Power Grid Collapses Again
Nigeria has witnessed yet another collapse of the power grid resulting in nationwide blackout.
Electricity supply plummeted from a high of 3,594.60 megawatts (MW) around 1:00 a.m. to an alarming 42.7MW on Tuesday, 19th September, 2023.
As of mid-day today, the only operational power plant on the grid was the Delta Power plant, generating 41.
00MW, while Afam contributed a mere 1. 7MW.This occurrence follows closely on the heels of two recent grid collapses in just over a 12-hour period, plunging the nation into complete darkness.
Last week Wednesday, Nairametrics reported the collapse of the nation’s electricity grid throwing the country into a blackout.
The Minister of Power attributed the collapse of the grid to a fire outbreak at the Kainji/Jebba station.