AfDB approves $155 million loan for Nigeria’s power sector

Posted on February 3, 2017 by Staff Reporter

The Africa Development Bank (AfDB) says it has approved a loan of 155 million dollars for Economic and Power Sector Reform Programme (EPSERP) in Nigeria. A statement by Fatimah Alkali, Senior Communications Officer of AfDB in Abuja on Friday said that the loan became effective in October, 19, 2012.

Recent media reports had indicated that there might be a face-off between the Senate and the Federal Government on plans to secure a facility of 174 million dollars from AfDB.

The media reports also revealed that part of the security for the loan was the handing over the management of Transmission of Company of Nigeria (TCN) to AfDB.

To this end, the AfDB, in its statement, said that the appointment of the management TCN was a prerogative of the Nigerian authorities and not that of AfDB

It stated that the loan was aimed at improving power systems, business environment and sustaining growth through sound macroeconomic policies and budget priorities. AfDB said the amount was fully disbursed in two tranches on March 1, 2013 and December 21, 2015, respectively.

According to the statement, the programme was designed to benefit the entire population of Nigeria in terms of extended access to more reliable supply of electricity at reduced rate.

“The EPSERP will have a major positive impact on the private sector through the substantial reduction in the cost of doing business for all economic sectors, particularly in the formal and informal manufacturing and service activities which are seriously constrained by the power supply gaps.“

AfDB also said that the bank had also released one of its staff to support the government in its power sector reforms programme for 12 months on September 19, 2016

It said it was committed to assisting Nigeria to achieve the objectives of its reforms in the power sector in accordance with the priorities already approved by the authorities.

Power Sector Collapsing Over N110bn Gas Debt

Posted on November 2, 2016 by Staff Reporter

Nigeria’s power sector faces an imminent collapse if nothing is done to offset the huge debts owed gas producers and suppliers by power generation companies, Chief Executive Officer, Frontier Oil Limited, Thomas Dada has said.
Speaking at the ongoing Nigerian Gas Association (NGA) 10th international conference and exhibition holding in Abuja, Dada said power firms still owed gas producers more than N110bn.

He said the problem has made it difficult for power generation companies (GENCOs) to access gas for production.
“You heard of the CBN intervention, but it was just a drop in the ocean,” Dada said adding that it was a serious problem to suppliers, because “all Gencos who run thermal plants in Nigeria get their gas from producers.”
Dada stated that 80 per cent of the domestic gas in the country was sold to power plants but it is unfortunate that these plants are still in the possession of government, “despite the so called privatization which has not been properly concluded. We want the privatization of the power sector to be fully concluded.”
Other producers in the panel including NNPC, Shell, Total and ExxonMobil harped on the need for stakeholders in the gas value chain to sit down and talk over some of these challenges.

Credit: dailytrust

Fashola Begs Nigerians To Accept Hike In Electricity Tariff, Faults Jonathan’s Privatization Of Power Sector

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Staff Reporter

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN, has noted that the increase in electricity tariffs is the first major policy the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is coming up with, describing same as “a painful pill,” which consumers have to “swallow.”Fashola disclosed this Monday during the second monthly meeting with stakeholders in the power sector in Lagos, where he also inspected some projects at the Alagbon Transmission and Distribution Complex.

Fashola’s comments came at a time Nigerian workers under the aegis of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, Trade Union Congress, TUC, joined by Civil Society Organizations embarked on peaceful protests against the policy which has grounded commercial activities in several cities in the country.

His words, “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…”

The minister, who faulted the way the privatisation of the power sector carried out by the immediate past administration of Goodluck Jonathan, said the sector was being plagued by several problems including gas supply shortfall and transmission issue.

Credit: Vanguard

Obasanjo, Yar’Adua, Jonathan Spent N2.74 Trillion On Power Sector Since 1999

Posted on September 8, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The successive regimes of former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua and immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan committed N2.74 trillion to the troubled power sector in Nigeria.

The huge expenditure was disclosed by the Ministry of Power and the Niger Delta Independent Power Project (NDIPP) during the probe of spending in the sector by the Senate.

In his presentation before the Ad hoc Senate Committee on probe of power sector, the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Power, Ambassador Godswork Ighali said a total of N1.1 trillion was released for power project within the period under review.

He disclosed that for power projects, the Federal Government appropriated a total sum of the sum of N1.56 trillion, less the releases to the NIPP.

According to him, the amount represented a release of N948.2 billion and the sum of N155 billion as subsidy to cushion the expected shortfall in the revenue flow for the power projects.

Also giving account of spendings by the NIPP within the period, the Managing Director, Mr James Abiodun Olotu said the sum of $8.234 (N1.640) was spent on power generation, distribution, transmission and gas plants.

Details On: dailytimes

Senate Begins Probe Of Power Sector

Posted on August 29, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The stage appeared set for a comprehensive probe of the nation’s power sector as the Senate declared on Friday that officials of the Federal Ministry of Power, its departments and agencies and other key players within the sector would soon appear before it.

The Chairman, 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 said stakeholders in the sector from 1999 till date would be asked to provide information in order to achieve the committee’s laudable objectives.

Read More: punchng

Senate to probe power sector under Obasanjo, Jonathan

Posted on August 14, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The Senate on Thursday set up a 13-member Ad-Hoc Committee to carry out a comprehensive investigation into the management of funds so far appropriated for the power sector since 1999.

The Committee, headed by Senator Abubakar Kyari, was also given the task of probing the unbundling of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria by the Federal Government.

The Upper Chamber took the decision while passing a motion sponsored by the Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, seeking the immediate reconnection of some parts of Borno State back to the national grid in view of the challenges the blackout was posing to his constituents.

The Senate urged the Federal Government to complete the Mambilla Power Project with the aim of improving electricity supply in the country.

It also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the Transmission Company of Nigeria to immediately reconnect Maiduguri to the national grid.

It also directed the committee to conclude its investigations and report to the Senate within two weeks.

The senators, while contributing to the debate, also condemned the inability of the TCN to provide uninterrupted power supply to all parts of the country.

Ndume had expressed concern that Nigeria, with a population of over 150 million, produced only 4,600 megawatts, while South Africa with a population of about 40 million people produced 40,000 megawatts.

He observed that the disconnection of Maiduguri , the Borno State capital, from the national grid, as well as the degeneration of power supply across the country had affected the economy negatively.

Ndume also expressed concern that with an installed power generation potential of about 5,000 megawatts, the output distributed currently was about 1,950 megawatts.

He added that it was disheartening to note that Iran with over 77 million people “generates about 42,000 megawatts, while South Korea with over 49 million people generates about 60,000 megawatts of electricity.”

Ndume, who said that Maiduguri and its environs had been completely disconnected since the emergence of insurgency, complained that the situation had grounded economic activities in the state.

He said, “I buy diesel to run my generator and that costs me N10, 000 per day. No country can be said to be near development when there is no power.

“This Senate needs to investigate this to give the government support. For some years now, a lot of money has been spent but there is nothing to show for it.”

Senator Danjuma Goje in his contribution said that the motion was apt in view of the untold suffering that lack of power supply had caused Nigerians.

Senator Godswill Akpabio lamented that many companies had shut down operation due to irregular power supply in the country.

He lamented that in spite of the financial contribution by some states in the South to improve power supply, Nigerians were still grappling with lack of electricity supply.

He said, “In 2015, we are celebrating 4,000 megawatts, for me this is worrisome. We cannot have employment without power and Nigerians are complaining about the high cost and some localities which have not seen light for months are asked to pay high tariff.”

Senate President, Bukola Saraki, noted that the inadequate power supply in the country was a cause for concern, saying it had affected the economic growth of the nation.

He observed that the lack of power supply had plunged the country into further hardship, besides corruption.

He said, “We thought that with the Power Reform Act and the unbundling of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, we will begin to see improvement with regard to power supply; unfortunately, it is not so.

“The Ad Hoc Committee that we set up should look at the activities of the Discos and what is preventing Nigerians from benefitting from the unbundling of the PHCN.”

Source : Punch

The Problem With Power Sector In Nigeria, PMB Explains

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Staff Reporter

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 realization 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.

Read More: vanguardngr

Blame Obasanjo For The Failure In Power Sector- Atiku

Posted on May 26, 2015 by Staff Reporter

Former vice-president Atiku Abubakar, has blamed his former boss, Nigeria’s ex-president, Olusegun Obasanjo, for the prolonged crisis in the power sector.

Atiku, who served under Obasanjo’s regime from 1999-2007, said this in an interview with Punch on Sunday, May 24, where he alleged that the latter’s adoption of a reform modeled after the gas power stations resulted in the lingering power crisis in the country.

Atiku said he advised Obasanjo to adopt a short-term, medium-term and long-term solutions to the power sector reform. He said the country had gotten foreign investors, who were prepared to come and invest between $250m and $500m to set up small and medium -size power stations.

He faulted Obasanjo’s long term solution, which involved the building the of gas infrastructure.

“By now, we would have been self-sufficient, but he said, ‘Oh, we must go gas’ and I said, ‘Gas? There is a problem. It’s long term; a lot of investments. There is instability in the region (Niger Delta). You must bring peace, before they would allow you to evacuate the gas.”

Read More: naij

FG Warns Buhari Not To Reverse Privatization Of Power Sector

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Staff Reporter

The Federal Government on Wednesday warned the incoming government of the President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to avoid reversing the privatisation of the power sector carried out by the outgoing administration.

Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, said this in an interview with State House correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting.

Nebo also attributed the poor power supply being witnessed across the country to those he called demon-possessed Nigerians who he said derive pleasure in vandalising gas pipelines for no just reason.