Power Sector News And Other Related Stories For Monday 4th July 2022.
DisCos to Repossess Dormant Prepaid Meters from Customers
Prepaid meters given to electricity consumers from the Office of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo under the National Mass Metering Programme, which have now become dormant, will soon be retrieved.
The NMMP scheme, an intervention scheme introduced by the Federal Government in 2020 to bridge the metering gap, is aimed at distributing six million free prepaid metres across the country.
However, the programme which has so far seen the distribution of almost one million in its phase 0 and phase 1, may have been experiencing some challenges as some beneficiaries were said to be experiencing technical problems with the meters.
https://punchng.com/discos-to-repossess-dormant-prepaid-meters-from-customers/
Kaduna Electric Loses N386m to Vandalism in 6 Months
The management of Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company has lamented the rising cases of vandalism of power supply infrastructure in its franchise which is taking a serious toll on the company’s operations.
The concern was raised in a statement by the company Saturday.
The statement said 158 distribution sub-stations were vandalised across the four franchise states of the company between January and June this year.
https://www.blueprint.ng/kaduna-electric-loses-n386m-to-vandalism-in-6-months/
Vandals Destroy 20 Transformers in Three Weeks – Electricity Distribution Company
The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) says more than 20 transformers have been attacked by vandals across the company’s franchise network within the South-East in the past three weeks.
The Head of Corporate Communications, EEDC, Emeka Ezeh, said in a statement on Sunday in Enugu that four of the suspected vandals had been apprehended.
Mr Ezeh, who narrated the ugly experience EEDC had been going through at the hands of vandals, reiterated the company’s resolve to continue working with critical stakeholders to ensure that the elements perpetrating the dastardly act were apprehended and brought to book.
According to him, there is no day that passes without the company receiving a report of an electrical installation being attacked by vandals.
“It has gone so bad that the vandals now go as far as draining transformer oil, even after carting away the armoured cables, a situation which is disheartening,” he said.
He said that the suspected vandals apprehended had been handed over to the police stations for proper investigation and possible prosecution.
The EEDC spokesman also called on customers to be more involved in securing electrical installations serving them.
Mr Ezeh commended the efforts of the security personnel, vigilante groups as well as the president-generals of communities and their teams for the efforts in apprehending the suspects.
Power Crisis May Worsen Over Power Purchasing Agreement
There’s a looming sword of Damocles hanging over the power sector in the country over the contentious nature of a host of power liberalization agreements, including the Power Purchasing Agreement, PPA, and most especially the resolve of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, to set in motion the activation of PPA among other challenges.
Other contentious issue that is threatening the tenuous uneasy relationship between the federal government and the generation companies of Nigeria, GenCos, is the insistence by the later that it cannot attain the 5,000MW order by NERC by the end of July, saying such order from the regulatory agency is not only mischievous but ‘an APC promise’, which is not realistic.
Concerns became strident last week, when it emerged that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) was serious on its bid to enforce Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company Plc (NBET) and players in the power sector.
A Power Purchase Agreement (“PPA”) is normally the primary contract between the public and private sector parties, which underpin a power sector. It is in a sense, between a public sector purchaser “off-taker” (often a state-owned electricity utility, in jurisdictions where the power sector is largely state operated) and a privately-owned power producer.
https://hallmarknews.com/power-crisis-may-worsen-over-power-purchasing-agreement/
Power Crisis May Worsen Over PPA
There’s a looming sword of Damocles hanging over the power sector in the country over the contentious nature of a host of power liberalization agreements, including the Power Purchasing Agreement, PPA, and most especially the resolve of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, to set in motion the activation of PPA among other challenges.
Other contentious issue that is threatening the tenuous uneasy relationship between the federal government and the generation companies of Nigeria, GenCos, is the insistence by the later that it cannot attain the 5,000MW order by NERC by the end of July, saying such order from the regulatory agency is not only mischievous but ‘an APC promise’, which is not realistic.
Concerns became strident last week, when it emerged that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) was serious on its bid to enforce Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) between Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company Plc (NBET) and players in the power sector.
https://hallmarknews.com/power-crisis-may-worsen-over-ppa/
40% Nigerian Households Use Generators, Spend $14bn On Fuel – Report
Over 40 per cent of households in Nigeria own and use generators to meet their electricity requirements, figures contained in a power sector report jointly put together by a research firm and a financial institution, showed.
It also stated that the affected households spent about $14bn annually to fuel their generators, as the power supply from the national grid continued to falter.
The June 2022 report by Stears and Sterling, titled, “Nigeria’s State of Power: Electrifying the Nation’s Economy,” obtained by our correspondent on Friday in Abuja, stated that the cost expended on diesel and petrol for electricity generation by Nigerians was having severe economic impact on households and businesses.
It read in part, “Nigerian households, on average, have electricity in their homes for 15 to 18 hours each day. Of that, 44 per cent (or 6.8 hours) is self-supplied by generators. And this differs by geography. In a state like Taraba, only 19 per cent of households report having electricity.
“Over 40 per cent of Nigerian households own generators, and bear the associated costs. First, the cost of purchasing generators – an estimated $500m between 2015 and 2019, higher than the proposed capital expenditure in Nigeria’s 2022 budget.
https://punchng.com/40-nigerian-households-use-generators-spend-14bn-on-fuel-report/
FG Fast-Track Concession of Zungeru Power Plant as Nine Discos Failed to Meet Performance Target
The National Council on Privatisation, has approved the board composition and proposed governance framework for the sustainable management and payment of post-privatisation liabilities of the power sector transferred to the Nigerian Electricity Liability Management Company (NELMCO) Board.
The Council also approved fast tracking of the work plan for the concession of the Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Plant (ZHPP).
These were among the highlights of the meeting of the Council at the Presidential Villa, presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.
NCP Names Zainab Ahmed as Chairman Of NELMCO Board
The National Council on Privatisation (NCP) has appointed Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, as the chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Liability Management Company (NELMCO) Board.
This is just as the council noted that a thorough performance assessment revealed that most of the set performance targets were not met by the nine Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos).
Recall that Abubakar Aliyu, the minister of power had recently admitted the failure of the power sector to provide the much-needed energy, blaming the failure on the activities of terrorists which made most of the power installations inaccessible
https://businessday.ng/markets/article/ncp-names-zainab-ahmed-as-chairman-of-nelmco-board/
FG Begins Construction of 2x30mva Power Sub-Station in Akwa Ibom
The federal government has begun the construction of a 2x30MVA sub-station worth N4.32 billion in Ibiono Ibom in Akwa Ibom state to improve power generation and supply to the people.
The Assistant Director (Transmission), Federal Ministry of Power, Mr. Philip Okpanefe, disclosed this in Ididep, Ibiono Ibom near Uyo, on Friday during the official take-over of the site to begin the construction of the sub-station.
Okpanefe noted that the federal government awarded the contract for the construction of the substation to JAMEC West Africa Ltd., to complete the project within 18 months.
https://www.blueprint.ng/fg-begins-construction-of-2x30mva-power-sub-station-in-a-ibom/
Diversification Essential for Country’s Electricity Supply Security, BLSA Says
It is essential that the country’s sources of electricity be diversified to ensure occurrences of load-shedding, as experienced particularly badly last week, stop happening, business organisation Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) CEO Busi Mavuso emphasises in her weekly newsletter.
“We cannot rely on a single State utility any longer. We have known this for some time and had we acted more vigorously sooner, experiences like last week could have been avoided.
“We have the right ingredients – the private sector can now build plants of up to 100 MW without a licence. The renewable energy independent power producers (IPPs) programme can procure far larger power production. Within a matter of years, we could substantially diversify the producers of electricity in South Africa,” Mavuso posited.
She stated that while progress had been made in this regard, it had been too slow.
What Is Eskom Doing to Stop Power Cuts?
Eskom has announced that load shedding is here to stay for the coming week as the power system will need more time to recover. The utility said that stage 6 power cuts would be implemented from Monday.
The rolling blackouts were intensified last month, with Eskom blaming the ongoing wage strike resulting in staff shortages.
Some political parties have called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to address the nation on the prevailing outages in the country but far from pointing fingers, what are the solutions towards ending load shedding for good? Is it even possible to see that vision where South Africa’s power generation is returned to stability?
Experts say that a serious intervention is needed as South Africans have endured load shedding for 15 years and it would take more than weeks to recover the utility’s weakened grid.
During a roundtable discussion on Inside Eyewitness News, energy analyst Chris Yelland said that we needed some radical intervention than we’d seen in the past 15 years.
https://ewn.co.za/2022/07/04/what-is-eskom-doing-to-stop-power-cuts
Power Generation Disrupted Due to Gas Shortage: Nasrul Hamid
State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources, Nasrul Hamid, today said power generation is facing disruption due to a shortage in gas supply.
As a result, electricity supply to several areas is facing difficulties and disruption, he said in a Facebook post from his verified account.
Power generation will return to full normalcy once gas supply is restored, the state minister also said.
Due to rise in price of fuel in international market as a consequence of the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, the country is facing a supply crunch of fuel like the rest of the world, he said.
“We sincerely regret the temporary inconveniences caused due to this situation,” Nasrul Hamid added.
