14012020 - 50 years after: Let's revisit issues that caused Civil War

24— Vanguard, TUESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2020
DONATION: L-R: Mr. Emeka Onyeagba, Base Manager, Eastern Asset, Seplat Petroleum
Development Company Plc; Mr. Ayodele Olatunde, General Manager, Eastern Asset; Dr, Chioma
Nwachuku, General Manager, External Affairs & Communication; Rt Honourable Emeka
Ihedioha CON, Governor of Imo State; Mr. Effiong Okon, Operations Director, SEPLAT; and
Chief Mrs. Nkeiru Ibekwe, Hon. Commissioner of Gender and Vulnerable Groups, Imo, during
the donation of relief materials to flood victims in Imo State by SEPLAT in Owerri.
Source: Vanguard’s energy database
Electricity Tariff hike: FG's double standard
. Power remains epileptic despite previous tariff review
By Michael Eboh
IN December 2015, when
the Nigerian Electricity
Regulatory Commission,
NERC, with the backing of the
Federal Government, carried
out the last upward electricity
tariff review, it told Nigerians
that the hike in the tariffs would
bring about stable electricity
supply and would finally
resolve the problems of the
country's power sector.
Specifically, then Minister of
Power, Works and Housing,
Mr. Babatunde Fashola, urged
Nigerians to comply with the
upward review and ensure that
they pay their bills, noting that
the Nigerian electricity sector
would record considering
improvement thereafter. Also,
the Chairman/Chief Executive
Officer of the NERC, at that
time, Dr. Sam Amadi, declared
that tariff increase would help
achieve a smooth meter rollout,
as almost every Nigerian
would be metered. He further
stated that the increased tariffs
would ensure more hours of
power supply, and reset the
electricity market, making the
sector more efficient, bring
about increased quantities and
create a market whereby
customers would be satisfied
with what they are paying for.
Previous tariff review
Up until 2016, the NERC had
also at various times
introduced Meter
Maintenance Fee and Fixed
Electricity Charges ranging
from between N750 to N800
per customer, all with the claim
that the charges were critical for
the growth of the industry. Prior
to the 2015 electricity tariff
review, the NERC had
undertaken a review of the
tariffs in 2012, which increased
the tariff to N22.62 per kilowatt
hour of electricity. The tariff was
also reviewed upward to
N23.75 per kilowatt hour in
2014, N26.50 in 2015, before
the latest review, January 2020,
which sought to hike tariffs to
as high as N49.80 per kilowatt
hour of electricity.
Paying heavily for darkness
Fast forward to January 2020,
a little over four years after the
last hike in electricity tariffs,
reports from across the country
showed that power supply has
worsened from what it was in
2015 and the rot had eaten
deeper into the sector. Majority
of electricity consumers are still
at war with the various
electricity distribution
companies, DISCOs, for
meters, which the DISCOs had
deliberately made a scarce
commodity; while the
inefficiencies in the electricity
sector had hit an all time high.
Data obtained from the
Ministry of Power revealed that
by December 2015, electricity
supply stood at an average of
5,000 megawatts daily, today
however, Nigeria is battling
with 3,500 megawatts, and
most households hardly enjoy
up to eight hours of electricity
daily. Inefficiency is still
recorded across all the value
chain of the electricity sector,
and Nigerians appear to be
paying heavily for darkness.
Despite current realities, TCN projects 20,000MW
electricity transmission capacity by 2023
By Ediri Ejoh
THE
Transmission
Company of Nigeria,
TCN, has said that Nigeria may
achieve 20,000 MegaWatts,
MW, in 2023.
Although, Nigeria's current
capacity hovers around
8,100MW but in real term, only
an average of less than
4,000WM is wheeled to
consumers.
The Managing Director of
TCN, Usman Mohammed, had
last year disclosed that Nigeria
can achieve a wheeling capacity
of 10,000MW in 2020, which
remains a mirage.
But speaking in Abuja on the
capacity that would be realised
by implementing the
Transmission, Rehabilitation and
Expansion Programme (TREP)
policy of the company, TCN
General Manager, Public
Affairs, Ndidi Mba, said the
agency has energised another
brand new 100MVA 132/33kV
power transformer installed in
Ogba Transmission Substation
in Lagos.
According to Mba, "TCN is
working assiduously to
implement the Transmission,
Rehabilitation, and Expansion
Programme (TREP) under
which the capacity of the
company will be expanded to
20,000MW by 2023."
However, there is a need for
commensurate distribution
capability to improve supply of
electricity to consumers, Mba
noted that the new transformer,
which was installed under the
supervision of TCN's engineers
has increased the capacity of the
substation from 165MVA to
265MVA.
The TCN publicist stated that
"Prior to the installation of the
100MVA power transformer,
Ogba Substation had a total of
two (2) units of 60MVA 132/
33kV power transformers, and
one unit of 45MVA 132/33kV
mobile power transformer. To
ensure optimal utilisation of the
newly installed power
transformer, a brand-new
switchyard made up of 132kV,
33kV and three number 33kV
feeders were equally installed
and commissioned."
She said the increase in the
substation's capacity from
165MVA to 265MVA, means
that the substation has more bulk
electricity available for Ikeja
Disco to take to its customers
within Ikeja Industrial Area,
Ogba - Ijaiye, Agege Pen
Cinema, Mangoro Cement,
Ojodu and Ifako-Ijaiye areas of
Lagos.
Mba added that to optimise
the capacity of the newlyinaugurated
100MVA at Ogba
and other substations feeding
Ikeja DISCO, TCN imported
high capacity conductors, and
would soon conclude on the reconducting
contract that would
expand the transmission lines
under IKEDC to double the
current capacity.
TCN gave hope and reassures
that transmission will be
improved despite itches in the
country's power sector.
No major investments had
been made in the electricity
sector by the electricity
generation companies,
GENCO, and the DISCOs,
while despite privatization of
the sector, the Federal
Government is still making
heavy investments in the
sector.
DISCOs holding back the
sector
Stakeholders interviewed by
Sunday Vanguard were
unanimous in their views that
the biggest problem with the
Nigerian power industry is the
electricity distribution
companies, who unfortunately,
are the ones constantly asking
for an increase in electricity
tariffs. Specifically, Executive
Secretary of Centre for Social
Justice, Dr. Eze Onyekpere,
affirmed that the country needs
a cost-reflective tariff, noting,
however, that the hike in
electricity tariffs would not
solve the problems of the sector.
From their performance since
privatization, Onyekpere
accused the DISCOs of lacking
the technical, managerial and
financial capacity to turnaround
and add value to the
investments that they met on
ground, noting that the
concerns of the distributions
companies was only centred on
collecting money, which he
said they were unable to
manage properly. He advised
DPR to issue licence to NDPR
for additional 5,000bpd modular
refinery
By Michael Eboh
THE Department of
Petroleum Resources,
yesterday, said it is set to
grant a Licence to Operate, , LTO,
to Niger Delta Petroleum
Resources, NDPR, for the
installation of an additional 5,000
barrels per day modular refinery
at Ogbele, Ahoada in Rivers State.
In a statement in Abuja, Director/
Chief Executive Officer of the
DPR, Mr. Sarki Auwalu, stated
that the refinery, when completed,
would reduce importation of
petroleum products with
corresponding savings in foreign
exchange and employment
generation for the country's
teeming youths.
According to him, this laudable
project was expected to catalyse
further growth of the Nigerian
refining industry by attracting
more investments as more players
gain confidence. He noted that
in addition to its maiden 1,000
barrels per Day (BPD) Diesel
Topping Refining Plant, NDPR
had consolidated on its capacity
by expanding the plant with an
additional 5,000 BPD. The
expansion, he said, provided for
other products slate to include
kerosene, marine diesel and
heavy fuel oil to cater to the
Nigerian market. Auwalu noted
that major equipment and units
of the second train of 5,000 BPD
had been fabricated, inspected,
tested and modules are currently
being shipped to Nigeria.
He said, "When installed, the
the Federal Government to
revoke the licences of the
DISCOs, or concession the
companies to investors with
the financial and technical
capacity to turnaround the subsector.
He said, "Inasmuch as
we need a cost-reflective tariff,
I do not believe the hike in
electricity is going to solve the
problems of the industry
because we are not discussing
investments in new generating
capacity, neither are we
discussing about improving the
capacity of DISCOs to distribute
electricity. We are also not
talking about the capacity of the
transmission sub-sector to
wheel electricity to where it is
needed. "I do not think the hike
in tariff is the answer to the
challenges facing the sector. It
is much more fundamental,
because some of them need to
be pulled out of the
programme, in terms of being
asked to go, since they do not
have the managerial and
technical capacity. "The
DISCOs again should again be
put up for investors, who would
come in and put money.
Otherwise, if you do not want
to take them out, you ask them
to hold on a little bit, so that
investors can come in and work
with them.
It is either they do not have
the money, or they have it and
are mismanaging it. They
cannot give ordinary meters;
they tell you stories.
upgraded refining complex will
bring the total refining capacity to
11,000 BPD and will then have
the requisite units to produce
diesel (512,775 litres/day),
kerosene (317,205 litres/day),
marine diesel (281,907 litres/day)
and heavy fuel oil (234,525 litres/
day), and particularly Premium
Motor Spirit/gasoline (168,540
litres/day). "The DPR provided
necessary regulatory guidance
and technical support throughout
the project development phases
for NDPR to contribute about 4.2%
of national daily diesel demand
and about o.4% for gasoline in
Nigeria. "Having achieved these
giant strides, the DPR is set to
grant NDPR a 'Licence to Operate'
(LTO) the plant expected to be
commissioned soon." Auwalu
explained that this was part of the
DPR's drive to realise the
objectives of the Economic
Recovery and Growth Plan
(ERGP) and other similar Federal
Government initiatives aimed at
deepening local refining in
Nigeria.
He commended the giant
strides of the NDPR, a subsidiary
of Niger Delta Exploration &
Production Plc (NDEP) in
pioneering modular refinery in the
country. He further directed all
modular refinery 'Licence to
Establish' (LTE) holders to
demonstrate expected
performance within the two years
validity of the Licence to enable
them obtain 'Approval to Construct'
(ATC) and other milestone
approvals.