Endless opportunities in power sector, says MOMAS boss

Mr Kola Balogun, Chairman, Momas Electrical Meters Manufacturing Company Ltd. (MEMMCOL), Metering School, Mrs Helen Maiyegun, Chairperson, Keystone Bank Women Economic Empowerment Committee and Mr Ademola Olorunfemi, Chairman, Academic Board, Momas Metering School, in a group photograph with the students who graduated from the school on Friday in Mowe, Ogun.

By Solomon Asowata

 Mr Kola Balogun, Chairman, Momas Electrical Meters Manufacturing Company Ltd. (MEMMCOL), Metering School says opportunities in the power sector are endless for young Nigerians.

Such opportunities, according to him, can help in curbing unemployment in the country.

Balogun spoke on Friday during the graduation of 29 young Nigerians trained at the school in Mowe, Ogun.

They were trained on meter manufacturing, installation and maintenance as well as energy auditing.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 12 of the graduands who are female were sponsored by Keystone Bank under its Keystone Bank Women Economic Empowerment Committee (KWEEC).

Balogun said: ” The opportunities in the power sector are limitless. Meter installation is just one aspect and you know we have a huge metering gap in the country.

“We have a responsibility to address the unemployment situation in the country today and one of the ways we are doing that is to subsidise our training and partner with other organisations to give opportunities to Nigerians.

” We commend Keystone Bank for sponsoring some of the graduands and we are appealing to other corporate organisations as well as state and local governments to also key into this initiative to positively engage our women and youths.”

He said stakeholders in the power sector were working on developing a framework for meter auditors and inspectors to handle tariff dispute between customers and electricity Distribution Companies.

Balogun advised the graduands to adhere to the ethics of the industry by not conniving with customers to engage in meter bypass and energy theft which were inimical to the growth of the power sector.

Also, Mrs Helen Maiyegun, Chairperson, KWEEC, said the committee was set up in line with the directive of the Central Bank of Nigeria for commercial banks to support empowerment of women in Nigeria.

 

Maiyegun said the beneficiaries were selected from Lagos, Kwara and Nasarawa States.

She said that the training was aimed at giving them opportunities to thrive in the power sector.

 

The chairperson noted that the  metering gap in the country presented a huge opportunity for them, especially as the phase one of the National Mass Metering Programme would soon begin.

 

Maiyegun said: “The training for us (Keystone Bank) is critical because there are limitless opportunities here.

 

“We have been training women on skills acquisition such as catering, bead making, fashion design among others but this time we decided to think outside the box and see how we can bring more women into the energy sector.

 

“When you empower a woman, you are empowering the nation and we will continue to monitor the graduands to ensure they meet their goals and aspirations.”

 

She charged them to be good ambassadors of Keystone Bank and Momas Metering School and utilise the training to better their lives.

Maiyegun urged them to contribute to national development.

 

On his part, Mr Ademola Olorunfemi, Chairman, Academic Board, Momas Metering School, said the two-week intensive training had equipped the graduands to add value to Nigeria and its economy.

 

Olorunfemi commended Keystone Bank for providing this unique opportunities for the female graduands and solicited for the sustenance of the programme.

 

Speaking on behalf of the graduands, Mrs Marian Marcus-Johnson, thanked Keystone Bank and Momas for facilitating the training.

She promised to positively utilise the knowledge imparted on them by the school. (NAN)

Court declares restricting movement of Pearl Garden Estate homeowners by property developer as unlawful

By Solomon Asowata

A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has declared that the restriction of movement of homeowners within the Pearl Garden Estate situated at Sangotedo Village in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of the state by  CMB Building Maintenance and Investment Company Limited as unlawful.

Justice Mufutau Olokoba made the declaration while delivering judgment in a suit filed by some of the homeowners against CMB(property and the estate management agents) and  the Oyetubo Jokotade Estate Resource Limited (previous landowners).

According to a Certified True Copy of  the judgement obtained by newsmen in Lagos on Wednesday, the judgment was delivered by the judge on Dec. 1, 2021.

The N100 million suit was filed by the claimants on Feb. 9, 2015 following their dispute with the property developer.

It was filed by Messrs Francis Adesuyi, Felix Obiakor, Martin Ajayi-Obe and Peter Afenotan in representative capacity on behalf of themselves and all interested homeowners within the Pearl Garden Estate.

In the judgment, the judge declared that the interference and Infringement on the claimants rights by barricade and restriction of movement of claimants and lawful residents in and out of the estate by the defendants and their 

and their agents was unlawful.

He held that the purported estate charge of N35,000.00 bonus been imposed by the second defendant on the claimants was declared null and void.

The judge, however declined to grant the prayers of the claimants to order the defendants to pay them the sum of N100 million as damages and that the defendants should bear the cost of the action.

Remove petrol subsidy, expert urges FG

By Solomon Asowata

An oil and gas expert, Mr James Gooder, has advised the Federal Government to remove subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), petrol, in order to discourage smuggling of the product across Nigeria’s borders.

Gooder, Vice President, Crude and African Markets, Argus Media, United Kingdom, gave the advice while speaking at a virtual media workshop organised by the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) on Thursday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Federal Executive Council had approved N3 trillion for subsidy on PMS in 2022.

He said the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine had led to a surge in crude oil prices at the international market with Brent Crude currently trading at over 120 dollars per barrel.

According to him, while the landing cost of PMS, also known as petrol is currently above N400 per litre, the government is spending huge amounts subsidising the product to retail at N165 per litre.

He said: “Capped retail prices for PMS may be popular, or even expected,

among those that can afford to own a car.

“But current delivered prices for PMS are around three times as high as the pump price. Is this sustainable? Is financing this the best use of Nigerian taxpayers’ money?

“There is an unfortunate but clear incentive to smuggle subsidised

fuel out of Nigeria to neighbouring countries where retail prices are higher.”

Gooder said Nigeria and her West African neighbours lacked sufficient  regional refining capacity and imported majority of their PMS from Europe.

“In a global market, product flows are directed by price. Nigeria is competing with other destinations for products.

“But even if Nigeria had sufficient refining capacity with the coming on stream of the 650,000BPD Dangote Refinery and others, it  would still be in a competitive market and exposed to import parity prices,” he said.

Gooder said the government should engage the media and the citizens on the need to allow market forces to determine the price of petrol in the country.

He said in the longer term, government could improve public transport and attract investment for infrastructure – whether refining or storage and distribution.

Gooder, however, noted that the crude oil market was volatile and unpredictable, stressing that the measures were only aimed at mitigating its impact on the ordinary citizens.

He explained that the increase in prices of diesel and aviation fuel was higher than the increase in petrol prices globally because the supply of diesel and aviation fuel (middle distillates) was mainly from Russian refineries, which were currently under sanctions.

Gooder said petrol was from Northwestern Europe refineries, which was readily available.

He advised the Nigerian government to ensure that the right pricing benchmark was used to import PMS from Europe.

“In Europe, the Argus Eurobob daily price is the primary PMS benchmark

– ‘the Brent of gasoline.’

“80-90 per cent of Nigeria’s gasoline imports are priced on Argus Eurobob along the supply chain.

“Argus publishes prices in all other source regions for comparison, as

well as delivered to Nigeria.

“The price used for delivery into Nigeria is still often 95 RON – leading to price distortions.

“This may benefit international traders, but it never benefits importers, consumers or taxpayers because it is inflated,” said Gooder.

Mr Clement Isong, Executive Secretary, MOMAN, said the distribution margin for marketers was very small despite their huge investment in the oil and gas industry.

He said: “The backbone of distribution is based on diesel, from transport (vessels and trucks) to energy costs (depots and stations). This affects not just petrol distribution but also the distribution of aviation fuel.

“Total distribution margin under the current PMS pricing template accounts for 11.5 per cent of the PMS pump price despite significant increase in costs.

“Operators are struggling along the supply chain to get petrol out of the nuzzles into the cars, which is difficult to sustain.” (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

NBC promotes sustainable manufacturing, powers plants by solar

(L-R) Mr Matthieu Seguin, Managing Director, Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC)Ltd., Mrs Oluwatoyin Agbenle, Controller of Environment in Lagos State, Federal Ministry of Environment, Mrs Omotunde Adeola, Deputy Director, Pollution Control and Environment Health Department and Mr Ike Ekeleme, Plant Manager, NBC Ikeja Plant, during a tour of the facility on Wednesday.

By Solomon Asowata

 The Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Ltd. says all its manufacturing plants will be powered in part by solar energy by December as its contribution to sustainable manufacturing.

Mr Matthieu Seguin, Managing Director, NBC, said this during a media tour of the company’s plant at Agidingbi, Ikeja on Wednesday.

Seguin said: “NBC is part of the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company group (CCHBC), which has an uncompromising commitment to minimise our environmental footprint whilst enriching the communities where we operate

“In line with this, CCHBC has instigated a set of sustainability commitments ahead of 2025 that address six major areas.

“They include the reduction of emissions, water use and stewardship, working towards a world without waste, ingredients sourcing, nutrition, people and communities.

“Advancing towards these commitments, NBC has mainstreamed sustainability into every aspect of our operations.”

He said NBC was committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2040 and had so far reduced 3,600 tons from its annual carbon footprint.

Seguin said the NBC plants in Challawa, Maiduguri, Abuja and Asijere were being powered in part by solar energy and were delivering up to 3,640-Kilowatt peak (KWp)power output to the facilities.

He said Ikeja, Benin, Owerri and Port Harcourt plants would be powered by solar energy by Dec. 2022, noting that the company was targeting to increase its solar generation capacity to 15,947KWp.

“Beyond the direct impact on reduced emissions, another indirect positive outcome of this project is that over 167,000 trees have been saved.

“The evolution and the implementation has supported the creation of 300 jobs with an additional 480 jobs forecast to be created in support of the system this year,” Seguin said.

He said NBC was also optimising its operations through heavy investments in Combined Heat and Power Plants (CHP) plants.

“With the technology of the CHP, after electricity is generated using gas to power the gas generators in the plant, the resultant exhaust gas and

heat is redirected from going into the atmosphere to generate steam.

“The heat from the steam is used as a secondary energy source to further power some aspects of our manufacturing operations.

“Today, we have six CHP plants in five of our eight manufacturing plants including Port-Harcourt, Ikeja, Benin, Owerri and Asejire Plants, all resulting in a significant reduction of our carbon footprints across the country.

“Overall, the six CHP plants generate 25.5MW of power delivering 125,267MWh of electrical energy including 68,267MWh as steam energy, as a bye product, which without the CHP would have been produced with fossil fuel.

“Collectively, the business invests over N1.7 billion in running the six CHPs annually,” Seguin said.

He added that the company had also embarked on fleet conversion/replacement to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG trucks) and already had 10 CNG trucks in its fleet.

Seguin said the constraint was the availability of CNG, and that government should encourage the setting up of more CNG filling stations across the country.

He said NBC had also started transitioning its diesel-powered forklifts to models powered by electricity; contributing further to our CO2 emissions savings as a business.

“So far 109 forklifts have transitioned, with a plan for all 200 forklifts used in the business to be transitioned by the end of this year, 2022,” Seguin said.

On her part, Mrs Oluwatoyin Agbenle, Controller of Environment in Lagos State, Federal Ministry of Environment, lauded NBC for taking the bold step to promote sustainable manufacturing.

She said the ministry would continue to encourage manufacturers to optimise use of natural resources and raw materials to reduce environmental impact in their operations. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

FG, stakeholders intensifying efforts to address power challenges – NERC

By Solomon Asowata

Lagos, March 21, 2022 (NAN) Mr Sanusi Garba, Chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), says the Federal Government and stakeholders in the power industry have intensified efforts to address the current challenges facing the sector.

Garba made this known during an interactive session with journalists after the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) meeting on Monday in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the meeting was attended by top officials of NERC, Transmission Company of Nigeria, Generation Companies (GenCos) and electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos).

He said the meeting was in line with the directive of the Minister of Power, Mr Abubakar Aliyu, for stakeholders to work together not only to restore normal supply of electricity but to improve on supply nationwide.

Garba said the issue of shortage gas supply to power plants, collapse of the national grid, illiquidity of the industry, huge metering gap and infrastructure deficit were some of the challenges confronting the sector.

He said the plan of the government was to ensure that the thermal power plants were working optimally and to ensure that there was stability in the grid.

Garba said NERC had approved a special gas pricing for emergency contracting of gas from the Nigerian Gas Marketing Company Ltd., for the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NPDHC), to optimise utilisation of its power plants.

According to him, it is expected that about 800MW will be generated from the NDPHC plants.

Garba said the gas pipeline affected by acts of vandalism had been restored and the Okpai Power Plant had resumed power generation and currently contributing an average of 300MW.

He added that the “pigging” of the gas pipeline supplying gas to the Odukpani Power Plant was scheduled for completion on March 21 thus ramping up generation by about 400MW.

On metering, Garba said about 900,000 prepaid meters were installed for customers under the Phase Zero of the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) of the Federal Government.

He said engagement was already ongoing with local meter manufacturers for the implementation of the phase one of the programme which had a target of four million meters.

Garba said the World Bank was also providing finance for another four million meters which would help the nation close the metering gap with about eight million meters in the next three years.

He added thatvNERC had approved a five-year Performance Improvement Plans for the DisCos which would lead to more investments in electricity distribution to end-users.

Garba explained that the minor tariff review approved for the DisCos was in line with the tariff methodology adopted by NERC for periodic adjustments of tariffs based on inflation, exchange rates and gas pricing.

Also speaking, the Managing Director, TCN, Mr Sule Abdulaziz, said the current administration had spent over N1 trillion on strengthening the transmission network.

Abdulaziz said the TCN had the capacity to wheel 8,000MW but was currently receiving 3,500MW from the GenCos.

While apologising for the recent system collapse of the national grid, he noted that grid collapse could be caused by a myriad of factors but the most important thing was the restoration period.

He noted that contrary to public perception, the collapse of the grid had reduced in the past few years.

The TCN boss recalled that the grid collapsed 12 times in 2018, nine times in 2019, four times in 2020, twice in 2021 and so far three times in 2022. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)
ASO/JNC
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Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

NUPRC to deploy modern technology to curb oil theft

Mr Gbenga Komolafe, Chief Executive, NUPRC

By Solomon Asowata

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says it is upgrading and deploying the National Production Monitoring System (NPMS) facility toward curbing crude oil theft in Nigeria.

Mr Gbenga Komolafe, Chief Executive, NUPRC, spoke recently in Abuja on efforts by the commission to address the menace of crude oil theft.

Komolafe said the deployment of  NPMS, which is an electronic system used in monitoring oil and gas production in Nigeria, was being carried out in collaboration with other relevant agencies.

According to him, this ensures accurate and reliable reporting of crude oil production.

He noted that the National Data Repository (NDR) within the NUPRC serves as the data warehouse for Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

Komolafe said, “The Value of Information (VOI) is for purpose of oil and gas investment decision.

“For example, NDR facilitates data for bid rounds in line with the statutory mandates of the NUPRC under the PIA to prospective investors, thus enabling informed investment decision and shortening upstream business lifecycles.”

He also said that NUPRC had taken technological advancements into consideration in its work processes.

Komolafe said that currently, the Technological Adaptation Unit within Engineering and Standards Department engages service providers on new technologies that could be implemented in the petroleum industry.

“In addition, we have established more data related initiatives in the NDR such as National Improved Oil Recovery Centre (NIORC).

“This focuses on utilising big data to drive reduction in cost per barrel.

“Also, the Integrated Data Mining and Analytics Centre (IDMAC) was setup to assess and analyse data for informed business decisions,” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Expert urges NASS to expedite legislation on decentralised national grid

Mr Kola Balogun,  Chairman, Momas Electricity Meter Manufacturing Company (MEMMCOL)

By Solomon Asowata

Lagos, March 16, 2022 (NAN) A power expert, Mr Kola Balogun, has urged the National Assembly to expedite action on its move to decentralise the National Grid due to incessant system collapse.

Balogun, who is the Chairman, Momas Electricity Meter Manufacturing Company (MEMMCOL), made the urge in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday, in Lagos.

NAN reports that the national grid had suffered two system collapses within the last three days, resulting in blackouts in some parts of the country.

Balogun commended the efforts by the national assembly to move electricity generation and distribution from Exclusive to the Concurrent List in the ongoing amendment of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Honestly, they have taken the right step. This has been my advocacy ever since, but it took them a long time to listen to us.

“We have over 30 years experience in the power sector downstream and we made recommendations that the grid should be decentralised as a matter of urgency.

“We have seen that the grid system has failed us. Everytime we have system collapse because of decayed infrastructure. We need a lot of replacement.

“We need substation enhancement, distribution substations, injection substations, transmission substations and network expansion of the transmission substations.

“So, it is good that we are now moving to separate the grid to allow state and local governments interested in the sector to come in.” he said.

Balogun, however, warned that it was not enough to clamour for the decentralisation of the national grid, stressing that past mistakes recorded in the power sector privatisation must be avoided.

He said, “We must ensure that only people with pedigree, right technical skills and financial competence will be allowed to manage the cascaded separation of grid.

“They are to manage the sub-sector of the network and this means we have to sit down and do a proper restructuring of decentralisation to ensure that the right people are given the task.”

According to him, even some personnel who have retired from the power sector but are still technically sound can be consulted in this regard.

Balogun said there should also be a time frame and deliverables to appraise the players from time to time.

“We can do an appraisal that will show that a particular local government or state has become a success story in managing its grid with the area having uninterrupted power supply.

“That will serve as a learning curve to others and will lead to adopting their methods.

“So, the national assembly has put in a remarkable effort to decentralise the grid and they should license people on kilowatt hour.

“Those businesses that are surviving in Nigeria today are licensed.

“Banks are licensed businesses,  so also are telecoms. We can have same in the power sector but they must be thoroughly scrutinised.” (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)