Fashola and NERC meets with DISCOs on electricity tariff

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, is meeting with the management of distribution companies, DISCOs, today with a view to acquainting himself with them and also intimate them about his expectations from them on the way forward.

The meeting, which will hold in the minister’s office this afternoon comes ahead of a scheduled meeting between the power industry regulator, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC and the DISCOs, to discuss the contentious issue of tariff.

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Electricity supply down by 480MW due to vandalised transmission tower

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) yesterday said Nigeria’s overall power generation has dropped to 3763.4 megawatts (MW) from 4243.4MW, following the vandalism of one of its transmission towers in the eastern supply loop.

TCN said in a statement in Abuja that the tower, No. 62, which is along the Okpai-Onitsha 330kV double circuit transmission line and evacuate power generated from the Okpai Power Station in Delta State was vandalised.

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Lagos power generation drops from 813 to 660 megawatts

Power generation has dropped from 813 megawatts to 660 at the Egbin Power Plant in Lagos State, an official said on Tuesday.

The plant, the nation’s biggest power generating outfit, has the capacity to contribute about 1,000 megawatts to the national grid.

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European Union offer Nigeria €150m grant for power sector improvement

The European Union (EU) has announced the availability of 150 million Euros grant to Nigeria to give the power sector the needed boost.

At an interactive session with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in Abuja on Thursday, the team leader of the EU delegation, Mr Peter Cameron, said the delegation was exploring possible areas of assistance to address Nigeria’s power challenge.

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Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to revoke licences of non-performing electricity firms

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) yesterday announced that it has commenced revoking many of the generation licences that it issued which are ‘non-performing.’

The commission, which reviewed the status of the 120 licences issued since 2006, noted that government had since resolved some of the complaints of the licensees by establishing the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET or Bulk Trader) to act as the off taker for the sector.

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Dealing With Nigeria’s Perennial Energy Crisis – by Jide Ojo

Nigeria’s economy was declared as the biggest in Africa in 2014. However, the vulnerability of the economy nay the country has been exposed by the perennial energy crisis the country has had to contend with.

By energy crisis, I mean the challenges being faced by the citizenry in getting affordable and steady supply of petroleum products and electricity. Barely two weeks of a strike action by oil marketers and unions, the country’s economy suddenly became comatose. As of Monday, May 25, 2015, petroleum products had become so scarce and prices astronomic to the extent that many public and private businesses either ran skeletal operations or shut down completely.

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Nigeria’s Electricity Crisis Is A Failure In Leadership – by S.K.C. Ogbonnia

Nigeria’s epileptic power supply has taken a turn for the worse in recent months. Despite investing over $30bn in the sector in the past 15 years, the total electricity supply as of today is less than 1,400 megawatts for a country of over 170 million people.

As a result, the citizens and businesses have resorted to the use of generators to the point where some industry experts are placing the frontal cost, including imported fuel, as high as the size of the annual national budget. This mire has provoked a wide range of debates with a host of powerful voices overtly urging the President-elect, Muhammadu Buhari, to scrap current power sector reform altogether. But any temptation to toe that line readily translates to a right cause on the wrong course. The problem is definitely not the policy by itself. The gospel truth is that the highly celebrated “Road Map for Power Sector Reform” under President Goodluck Jonathan has simply lost its bearings, but can be redirected under a common sense leadership.

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Electricity supply down by 2,000mw; …only 5 of 23 power plants functional

The Federal Government said yesterday that the nation has recorded a loss of over 2,000 mega watts in the national grid due to shortage of gas supply to the thermal plants.

The government in a statement signed by the Chairman of the National electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi explained that only five out of 23 power plants are currently generating electricity.

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Curtailing The Energy Sector Curse – by Charles Iyare

The importance of electricity to the economic development of Nigeria cannot be overemphasised. It is the driving force of development, be it technology, industrial, and other forms of economic expansion. Equitable power generation can improve the life of millions of the people. It can serve as the basis for running an effective economy. Successive administrations have failed to provide adequate electricity needed for economic activities by Nigerians.

Artisans, technicians, and entrepreneurs have been forced to shut down their businesses due to government’s inability to provide electricity, in the process, adding to the increasing list of the unemployed. In some cases, electricity is routinely distributed and for others, it does not show up for months. Foreign investors have subsequently relocated to other countries where they can conveniently operate their business.

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Nigeria loses 1,800 megawatts of electricity in one month

Ministry of Power, on Thursday, said Nigeria lost about 1,800 megawatts of electricity in the last one month.

Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Ambassador Godknows Abigail, who stated this while meeting with the Senate Committee on Power, said the loss was largely due to vandalism.

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