TCN Explains Nationwide Blackout

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has said recent disruption in supply of electricity across the country was occasioned by a major collapse of the transmission grid.

The TCN in a statement by its General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr. Dave Ifabiyi stated that a fault had occurred on a major transmission line running from Benin-City, Edo State to Lagos through Osogbo, Osun State which resulted in the shutdown of the Egbin, Omotosho and Olorunsogo power stations respectively.

While extending apologies to electricity consumers across the country, it explained that the development resulted in nationwide blackout which occurred on May 24.

He, however, noted that recovery efforts by the company’s engineers to rectify the fault as well as bring up the system had begun but will take some time due to the magnitude of the incident.

Although power supply had not been fully restored in pockets of areas within some states, the company, however, assured Nigerians that it expects that the system would be fully recovered by the end of yesterday, adding that a separate incident had seen three of its transmission towers damaged by rain storm, in the North-western part of the country.

Jonathan Finally Constitutes TCN Supervisory Board

President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, has announced the constitution of the supervisory board of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN)

Anyim said that the constitution of a supervisory board for TCN is part of efforts by the government to reposition the transmission company towards the attainment of the goals of the power reform programme of the Federal Government. The supervisory board of TCN will be led by  Engr. Hamman Tukur as chairman, while Mr. Akinsola Akinfemiwa will assist him in the capacity of the Vice-Chairman.

Other members include the  Director of Human Resources  Management, Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE); a representative of the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance; Director of Power, Ministry of Power; and  a commissioner from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

The TCN board will also have the representative of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), representative of the generation companies (GENCOS), and a representative of the distribution companies (DISCOS) as members.

Power Generation Rises to 4,349.7MW

The Presidential Task Force on Power (PTFP) has said that the country’s power generation has increased to 4,349.7 megawatts (MW), adding that it was a peak all-time generation milestone in the country’s power sector.

Disclosing the new generation capacity which it announced despite increasing public distraught on the recent decline in electricity supply across the country, the chairman of PTFP, Mr. Beks Dagogo-Jack, explained in a statement from the Head, Media and Communications of PTFP, Mrs. Awele Okigbo, that the increase was occasioned by diligent management of power systems in the country by various managers in the sector.

Dagogo-Jack specifically singled out for commendation the new management contractor for Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Manitoba Hydro International (MHI) and Systems Operator in TCN.

He also attributed the new generation capacity to key developments in the sector such as the successful return of the Egbin Power Plant back to the national grid after a prolonged maintenance schedule, the final commencement of operation of the third gas turbine at the Omotosho National Integrated Power Projects (NIPPs) plant and restoration of gas supply from the Escravos gas plant belonging to Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) on the western gas network to the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS ).

TCN: Fresh hurdle delays Manitoba management takeover

Indications have emerged that the Canadian firm may not be able to fully take over Manitoba Hydro International yet. This is because of the inability of the President to constitute a board for TCN, a requirement that is vital to the execution of the three-year management contract for the transmission company won by Manitoba.

The delay in the constitution of the TCN board by President Goodluck Jonathan, it was gathered, was a key reason delaying the management takeover of TCN by Manitoba.

Before the President ordered that the management contract initially awarded to Manitoba for $23m for a three-year period be revalidated, it was gathered that Jonathan had approved the contract in principle.

The Canadian company had in July signed the management contract with BPE for the management of TCN beginning from September 1, 2012.

President Jonathan Cancels Manitoba Contract

President Goodluck Jonathan has cancelled the $23.72 million management contract for the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), a critical component of the power reform and privatisation programme awarded to Canadian firm, Manitoba Hydro International, which had been selected by the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) to run TCN for three years, with the option to extend for another two years.

Manitoba had signed the $23.7 million management contract with the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) last July, following a long drawn out process that lasted more than five years, in which the Canadian firm and Power Grid of India had their technical and financial proposals evaluated to determine which of the companies would be selected as management contractor.

Presidency sources said the president based his decision to cancel the contract on a memo sent by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), which for several weeks, had been pushing for its cancellation on the premise that did it not pass through due process as provided under the Public Procurement Act.

Power Sector Reforms: Jonathan reconstitutes committees

President Goodluck Jonathan has reconstituted two committees on the power sector, with a pledge that the current stable power supply in the country will be sustained even after the rainy season. The two committees, whose reconstitution was triggered by the sudden resignation of the Minister of Power, Prof. Bart Nnaji, on August 28, are the Presidential Action Committee on Power (PACP) and the Presidential Task Force on Power.

The committees are charged with the responsibility of overseeing the implementation of the Federal Government’s agenda for power sector reforms.

In the reconstituted committees, Jonathan will retain the chairmanship of PACP, which was established in June 2010 to provide leadership and guidance for the rapid development of Nigeria’s power sector and determine the general policy direction and strategic focus of reforms in the sector. Vice-President Namadi Sambo will serve as the deputy chairman of the committee whose other members shall include the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Head of Service, Chief of Staff to the President, Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Minister of Labour and Productivity, Minister of Power, Minister of State for Power and Minister of Petroleum Resources.

Other members are Minister of National Planning, Chief Economic Adviser to the President, Special Adviser to the President (Performance Monitoring & Evaluation), Director-General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Chairman of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Power. The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Power will serve as secretary of PACP.

However, Reynold Dagogo-Jack of the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) will assume the chairmanship of the Presidential Task Force on Power, which has the duty of developing and driving the Federal Government’s action plan for the power sector, as well as articulating a proper plan of action for implementation in the areas of power generation, transmission and distribution.

Other members of the recomposed task force are the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Power; Chief Executive Officer, Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN); Managing Director, Niger Delta Power Holding Company; Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Gas Company (NGC); Chief Executive Officer, Geregu Generation Company; Chief Executive Officer, Ughelli Generation Company; Chief Executive Officer, Eko Distribution Company; Chief Executive Officer, Abuja Distribution Company; Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Bulk Electricity Company; Chief Executive Officer, Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria and Mr. Evaristus Mogbo.