FG Earmarks N7bn for New Transformers; Plans nationwide electricity demand survey

Federal Government has earmarked about N7 billion for the purchase of new transformers and other ancillary facilities to boost the generation and supply of electricity in the country. Minister of Power, Prof. Bart Nnaji, disclosed this in Asaba, the Delta State capital during a two-day summit and retreat organized by the ministry for CEOs and other stakeholders with the theme: “Stable Power Supply; The Path towards Achieving System Reliability”.

Nnaji, recalled some of the challenges faced by the ministry towards ensuring a smooth privatization process of the power sector. He said a transformer of 60mva, 100mva, 150mva to 300mva capacity was necessary to boost power generation and distribution in the country, stressing that the procurement was made possible through the counterpart funding from the African Development Bank (ADB).

According to him, this forms part of the initial implementation plans for transmission as the transformers which would be imported from Europe would go into the existing station in the three geo-political zones of the country, adding that the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) power distribution capacity in the country was estimated at 5,436megawatts as plans were in the pipeline to improve on the figure in future.

Meanwhile, the minister also said that a national study will be carried out on the extent of demand for electricity supply in the country. He said that there was no real figure as to how much power was needed in the country, adding that data from the study, which would take the form of a census, would be captured in the 2013 census.

Scrapping of Rural Electrification Agency: Govt. makes U-turn

The Presidency has withdrawn a contentious bill it had earlier sent to the National Assembly seeking to scrap the Rural Electrification Agency (REA). Federal Government had made a bid to scrap the rural electrification agency three years ago owing to alleged widespread corruption. However, Minister of State for Power, Darius Ishaku, said that the withdrawal of the bill would allow the ministry to reactivate the agency which would serve as its vehicle for deepening access to electricity by people in the rural area. Ishaku, who did not state when the bill was withdrawn, also said at the closing session of the launch of the United Nation’s Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All) in Abuja, that the Federal Government had set aside N3 billion to offset the debts owed contractors on projects by REA.

Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, believed the agency could be reformed and used as a vehicle to extend access to electricity by those in rural areas since the private sector might not be interested in playing in the rural sector under the privatization of electricity owing to the poor development of that sector of the market.

The ministry had recommended the scrapping of the agency in the wake of the misappropriation of N5.2 billion intended for the agency that led to the indictment of a former Chairman, House Committee on Power, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, some members of the committee and some REA management staff, including its Managing Director, Mr. Sam Gekpe.

27 oil workers rescued

A combined team of naval and army forces stormed the hideout of a militant gang operating on the waters of oil-producing Cross River State and rescued 27 abducted oil workers, navy spokesman, Lt. Commander Ajibola Olabisi.

 According to Olabisi, "It was a joint military operation involving the navy and the army. Twenty-seven oil workers were rescued, while one is still missing”. He said 28 workers of Sinopec, an oil-servicing company, had been kidnapped in Ikang near the state capital Calabar by an armed gang called the Lactop Marine Force. Members of the gang had been terrorizing residents of the area for a long time before the troops moved in to dislodge them.

Olabisi said that "the criminals fled as soon as our men stormed their hideout. Nobody was either killed or injured during the operation," he said, adding that the military were on the trail of the kidnappers.

Oil rises more than $1 as tropical storm threatens supply

Oil futures rose more than a dollar with Brent climbing above $115 per barrel, on supply worries as Tropical Storm Isaac threatened to interrupt most U.S. offshore oil production in the Gulf of Mexico. Oil prices got a further boost from hopes of more U.S. stimulus measures, which would improve the outlook for demand from the world's top consumer of oil.

Brent crude futures had climbed $1.26 to $114.85 a barrel by 0824 GMT, after rising to a high of $115.50 earlier in the session. U.S. crude was up $1.13 at $97.28.

Oil prices fell on Friday after a report that the International Energy Agency is likely to tap strategic oil reserves as soon as September, dropping its resistance to a U.S.-led plan. But prices are now turning upwards ahead of the annual U.S. Jackson Hole meeting of central bankers and economists later this week, where Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will deliver a speech that will be scoured for clues on a third round of quantitative easing. The markets will also look for policy signals from the euro zone ahead of a September 6 meeting of the European Central Bank.

POWER: 5000MW by December 2012 is unrealistic

Chairman of the NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi has said that it was unrealistic to expect more than 5000MW by December and urged Nigerians not to be too hopeful about the recent improvement, stating that a massive haulage of power will come in the near future. He said this in an e-conference on power sector reforms, organised by Spaces for Change, a human rights organization.

Amadi said that power generation will drop by 300 megawatts after rainy season and this will partly cancel the improvement in electricity supply experienced recently in some parts of the country. Chairman of the NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi, said the recent improvement had been due to repairs of some power plants and high water volume occasioned by the rainy season.

 According to him, “the current improvement in generation is because of repairs on plants which resulted in the recovery of lost capacity, and of course, the rise in rainfall has helped us to recover about 200 to 300MW lost during the dry season”.

Amadi also noted the bane of the power sector has been corruption, which had continued to undermine the investments made in the sector. He said, but for corruption, the National Integrated Power Project initiated by the Olusegun Obasanjo administration would have provided at least an additional 5000MW of power.