CBN assures EKEDC of support to improve power sector

By Solomon Asowata

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) visited Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) on Wednesday as part of its monitoring and evaluation tour of the CBN-funded Capex intervention facilities for electricity distribution companies in Nigeria. 

The apex bank team was led by the Director of Development Finance, Yusuf Philip Yila; Director of Strategy Management, Clement Buari; and the Director of Trade and Exchange, Ozoemena Nnaji.

In a statement by the EKEDC spokesperson, Godwin Idemudia, the CBN has embarked on several performance improvement projects to reduce the various challenges plaguing the electricity industry in Nigeria.

 The apex bank intervened by funding the procurement, installation, rehabilitation, and replacement of some electricity distribution infrastructure such as 11kv and 33kv feeders, switchgear, and many more to assist the Discos' capacity in the delivery of adequate and reliable power supply to Nigerians. 

In addition to this, the CBN commenced phase zero of the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) in 2020 to address the problem of metering. 

As a result, the CBN monitoring and evaluation team visited the Disco for progress reports on these projects.

In her address, the MD/CEO of Eko Disco, Dr Tinuade Sanda expressed her appreciation to CBN for its effort in improving the power sector. 

She pointed out that CBN-funded Capex projects have aided the Disco in improving its supply to meet the high demand for electricity in its network.

 According to her, the projects have brought about the rehabilitation and replacement of obsolete equipment.

 Concerning metering, Dr. Sanda said, 'the NMMP came at the appropriate time to reduce our losses and cushion the effect of the Service Reflective Tariff.’

Reacting to the progress reports delivered by EKEDC, Mr Phillp Yila commended the Disco for its sheer effort towards the achievement of the Federal Government/CBN intervention schemes.

 He said, 'we are here to ensure that the funds disbursed are adequately utilised, and to listen to the challenges that have emanated in the course of implementing these projects.' 

Yila also emphasised that the National Mass Metering Scheme is very important to the CBN as the tour was also meant to carry out due diligence on the execution of phase zero of the scheme and how the apex bank and the Disco can collaborate better in proceeding to the next phase.

The EKEDC MD/CEO assured CBN that EKEDC is fully committed to the achievement of the projects in which some of which are still ongoing.

 According to her, the rationales for these projects are aligned with Disco's corporate goals and objectives.

 Sanda further explained how EKEDC is diligently working to ensure that these projects are contributing to the company's growth via the establishment of a market review committee that evaluates the performance of the company monthly as well as a prepaid meter monitoring team that ensures meters installed are not bypassed.

NLNG leads stride to gas-powered economy

An analysis by Solomon Asowata, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

 

A cardinal goal of the federal government is to transform the Nigerian economy into a gas-powered economy by 2030.

Ancillary to that is the hope to align the country with the global push for transition to cleaner sources of energy.

To achieve that lofty goal, the federal government adopted gas as the vehicle for its energy transition journey, declaring January 2021 to December 2030 as the Decade of Gas Initiative.

No doubt, the country is blessed with abundant gas resources; 208.62 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of proven gas reserves valued at over 803.9 trillion dollars, and potential upside of 600TCF of gas.

This has fueled the overarching objective of the federal government to utilise the nation’s abundant gas resources for socio-economic growth and development.

In order to actualise this objective, it is imperative for the government to leverage the achievements of the Nigerian LNG Company Ltd. in the global Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) space.

Indeed, experts believe that NLNG, which marked its 33rd anniversary on May 17, has shown by its developmental strides, that the objective is achievable.

Apart from deepening domestic gas utilisation, the NLNG is said to have contributed significantly to the country financially.

According to information on the company’s website, it has so far contributed 100 billion dollars to the federal government’s coffers, and 6.5 billion dollars in taxes since it started operations.

It also paid 13 billion dollars to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd. for feed-gas purchase, and 16 billion dollars in dividends to the federal government.

Acknowledging these achievements, the Federal Inland Revenue Service in a statement signed by its Executive Chairman, Mr Muhammad Nami, on May 16, recognised the NLNG as the Most Supportive Tax Payer in the country.

Prompted by this accolade, Dr Muda Yusuf, Chief Executive Officer, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the NLNG model should be adopted by the government in other public-private-partnership arrangements.

“The NLNG model has worked very well. It might not be perfect but of all the public private partnership arrangements that we have had, the NLNG model seems to be the best so far.

“The beauty of it is that there is practically no interference or very minimum interference in the management of the place. 

“So, there is professionalism in the management, in the allocation of resources, in the recruitment and that has resulted in high level of performance,” he said.

Similarly, Mr Nuhu Yakubu, President, Nigeria Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (NLPGA) and Managing Director, Banner Energy, said the NLNG was a pride to all Nigerians.

“Not only has the NLNG project endured for 33 years but it is a trail blazer for other similar projects that the Federal Government of Nigeria should mirror in the way NLNG is being administered and managed.

“Aside the huge revenue being generated from the NLNG for the Nigerian government, the company has brought human capital development to bear,” Yakubu said.

He said Nigerians working in NLNG were thorough professionals who were capable of competing with their peers globally.

Yakubu said the impact being made by the NLNG to deepen domestic gas utilisation in Nigeria could not be overemphasised.

“NLNG has gradually progressed from a 150,000MT intervention to the domestic LPG market to 250,000MT to N350,000MT and now to 450,000MT, which is maxing out their entire domestic LPG production to the Nigerian market.

“It is unprecedented and it means NLNG is meeting the yearnings of Nigerians. It is gauging the pulse of Nigerians and responding to it and we wish other corporations of that magnitude can do the same thing.

“We will be able to close the energy gap that we have in Nigeria because we have pervasive domestic energy poverty and need lot of interventions to address the issue so that at least every home in Nigeria will have access to gas.

“The NLNG intervention in the domestic market has catalysed growth and development in infrastructure on the supply side.

“From 2007 when the NLNG intervention started, we had only one terminal in Apapa, Lagos owned by the Pipelines Products Marketing Company.

“Today we have many privately owned coastal terminals across the country and there is also a lot of capital flow for infrastructure development because of the confidence brought in by NLNG,” he said.

However, Mr Michael Umudu, National Chairman, the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Retailers (LPGAR), branch of National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), said NLNG needed to do more to ensure supply of LPG in the domestic market.

Umudu said the total amount allocated to the domestic market was insufficient as about 60 per cent of LPG being consumed in Nigeria was imported.

Mr Philip Mshelbila, Chief Executive Officer, NLNG, said the NLNG had for the past 33 years vigorously pursued its vision of being “a globally competitive LNG company, helping to build a better Nigeria.

“Our company has touched lives in significant areas such as economic empowerment, health, education, infrastructure development and sustainable community development.

“Over the years, it harnessed natural gas that would have otherwise been flared, thereby contributing immensely to a cleaner environment. 

“And by delivering 100 per cent of its LPG production into the domestic market, it helps Nigerians transition to cleaner cooking fuels.”

Also, the NLNG said the ongoingTrain 7 project would help the company increase its allocation to the domestic market.

It said the project was expected to ramp up NLNG’s production capacity by 35 per cent from 22mtpa to around 30mtpa.

The company noted that the project would form part of the investment of over 10 billion dollars, including the upstream scope of the LNG value chain, thereby increasing dividends and taxes accruing to the government.

Incorporated as a Limited Liability company on May 17, 1989, the NLNG was set up to harness Nigeria’s vast natural gas resources and produce Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) and Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) for export. 

The establishment of NLNG is backed by the Nigeria LNG (Fiscal Incentives, Guarantees and Assurances) Act. Cap N87, Laws of Federation of Nigeria 2004.

The law, amongst other things, provides for the guarantees and assurances by the federal government to the company and its shareholders.

The NLNG is an incorporated Joint-Venture owned by four shareholders: the federal government, represented by NNPC Ltd. (49 per cent), Shell Gas B.V. (25.6 per cent), Total Gaz Electricite Holdings France (15 per cent) and Eni International N.A. N. V. S.àr.l (10.4 per cent). 

Today, NLNG has a total production capacity of 22 Million Tons Per Annum (mtpa) of LNG and 5mtpa of Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) from its six-train plant complex. 

The company has 16 long-term Sale and Purchase Agreements (SPAs) with 10 buyers and controls about six per cent of global LNG trade. 

By the strides of NLNG in its 33 years of existence, and the groundswell of goodwill, many Nigerians, and experts, believe that the company has the wherewithal to lead Nigeria’s march towards a gas-powered economy

EKEDC, NERC engage customers to improve service delivery

Dr Tinuade Sanda, Managing Director, EKEDC and other management staff at the stakeholders engagement forum on Thursday in Ojo,Lagos.

By  Solomon Asowata

Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) on Thursday  held a town hall meeting with customers under its Ojo Business District.

The electricity Distribution Company said the meeting was a continuation of the strategic plan by the Company to engage the electricity consumers across its franchise area for improved service delivery based on feedbacks.

 Also on Wednesday, May 11, EKEDC also commenced its participation in a three-day customer engagement forum organised by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for electricity consumers in Lagos at the Golden Tulip Hotel in Festac.

The company in a statement issued by its spokesperson, Mr Godwin Idemudia, Eko DisCo stated that EKEDC boss, Dr Tinuade Sanda and her Management team visited Ojo, Agbara and Festac districts.

The statement said it was in continuation of her districts and stakeholder engagement to get on the spot feedback and review for possible solution challenges in the areas of power supply, vandalism and other factors mitigating against service delivery to customers.

Sanda and her team later joined the Ojo district management at the town hall meeting to engage with the customers of the district the areas before engaging the customers in the town hall to listen to their issues and challenges with a bid to proffer speedy resolutions. 

The  team addressed the issues raised by customers and promised to get them resolved and subsequently improve DisCo’s customer satisfaction index.

At the NERC customer engagement forum, the NERC Commissioner for Consumer Engagement, Mrs Aisha Mahmud explained that the exercise is part of the nationwide engagement by the Commission to enlighten the public about electricity consumers’ rights and obligations.

She said it was also to create more awareness about NERC to customers across the networks of all the DisCos.

According to her, the forum also provided an avenue for Discos to engage customers and representatives of various CDAs within their coverage network for them to air their complaints and make enquiries as well as having opportunity for on the spot issues resolution.

Mahmud highlighted that in addition to enlightening the customers about their rights and obligations, the Commission has also organised the forum to address issues such as estimated billing (capping order), metering, electricity tariffs, and investment plan by the DisCo. 

"The Regulator has made several efforts to resolve these issues, but they persist, and that is why we are here with Eko DisCo to engage the customers," she said.

Eko DisCo was represented by its Dr Tinuade Sanda; Chief Commercial Officer, Mrs Rekhiat Mommoh; Chief Customer Experience Officer, Mrs Catherine Ezeafulukwe, and other members of the management team. 

Sanda assured the customers that the Company has already embarked on many projects to improve power supply and prompt resolutions to complaints.

She encouraged them to embrace the metering scheme (MAP) to put the issue of estimated billing to rest.

 Sanda further advised customers against patronising unauthorised entities to get meters and report any case of unscrupulous elements to the Company’s whistleblowing channels.  

On his part, Idemudia equally reiterated that customers should desist from illegal activities such as meter bypass, meter tampering, vandalism, and assault of staff, which do not only affect the DisCo but the entire power industry.

 According to him, NERC has approved penalties for these criminal offences and EKEDC will ensure that offenders face the wrath of the law for any of these crimes. 

"Every customer has a responsibility of protecting the industry," he added.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Rainoil marks 25th anniversary, pledges commitment to development of downstream sector

By Solomon Asowata

Mr Gabriel Ogbechie, Group Managing Director, Rainoil Ltd., says the company is committed to the development of the petroleum downstream value chain, which is critical to Nigeria’s economic growth.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ogbechie made this known in an interactive session with newsmen on Thursday in Lagos to mark the company’s 25th anniversary.

Ogbechie said Rainoil Ltd. which started operations in May 1997 had grown to become a prominent player in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, providing employment opportunities for about 2,000 Nigerians.

He said: “In the last 25 years, we have been able to achieve great feats in the downstream sector of the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

“From the retail business, where we now have presence in 26 states with over 130 stations, to being the only player in the downstream sector with bulk storage facilities strategically located in three key locations in the country.

“We equally established the company, Rainoil Logistics Services Ltd., which drives the delivery of our energy products to our esteemed customers nationwide.

“We have also recently deepened Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) penetration in the country with the launch of our ultra-modern 8,000MT LPG storage facility in Ijegun, Lagos.”

According to him, Rainoil Ltd. has continued its upward trajectory through strategic planning, innovation and creating a conducive working environment for its employees.

Ogbechie said the company had also ensured that it gave back to the society and its host communities through its various Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives.

This, he said, included construction of a block of classroom at Oghareki Grammar School, Oghara, in Delta, distribution of educational materials to students, health care interventions and sports development among others.

He said going forward, the company would key into the ongoing transition to cleaner sources of energy including the Federal Government’s autogas plan, which was aimed at reducing Nigeria’s dependence on petrol.

Ogbechie, however, advised the government to remove subsidy on petrol, adding that the humungous amount spent on subsidy was draining the nation financially.

He said the money saved from the removal of subsidy could be channeled to funding other critical areas, especially education. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

EKEDC new boss assures customers of improved service delivery

(L-R) Mrs Veronica Ugbo, Business Manager Ijora District, EKEDC, Mr Joseph Esenwa, Chief Finance Officer; EKEDC, Dr Tinuade Sanda, Managing Director, EKEDC and Mr Olumide Jerome, General Manager,Commercial Loss Reduction at the EKEDC’s customer engagement forum on Thursday in Lagos.

By Solomon Asowata

Dr Tinuade Sanda, the Managing Director, Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), on Thursday assured the company’s customers of improved service delivery during her leadership.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Sanda made the assurance during a town hall meeting with customers from Ijora Badiya, Surulere, Tejuosho, Yaba and Ojuelegba areas of Lagos State.

The newly appointed managing director said her core responsibility was to steer the leadership of the company and the entire EKEDC team to ensure operational and service excellence to customers.

She said: “This is a top priority for me. The past few months have been challenging for us as a company and for you – our esteemed customers.

“We have experienced several grid collapses and vandalism of some of our facilities which have affected the quality of our services to you.”

According to her, the engagement with customers is aimed at listening to their concerns and challenges in order to work together and proffer lasting solutions to the issues.

Sanda said many of the DisCo’s customers were metered under the Phase Zero of the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP), adding that the next phase was yet to start.

She said customers who could not wait should take advantage of the ongoing Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme to procure prepaid meters for their premises to reduce cases of tariff disputes and estimated billing.

Sanda also charged the customers to report people engaging in energy theft and meter bypass within their localities to ensure right billing of customers.

On alleged unprofessional conduct of some EKEDC employees, she advised customers to forward such complaints to the electricity distribution company for them to be properly sanctioned.

A customer, Prince Adeleye Abolade, representing Surulere area, called for improved relationship between the DisCo and customers, especially in rectifying faults within the network.

Abolade noted that customers were willing to pay their electricity bills especially if they were getting quality power supply from EKEDC.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Minister’s aide harps on training of oil, gas professionals

Mr Justice Derefaka, Technical Adviser, Gas Business and Policy Implementation to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources.

By Solomon Asowata

Mr Justice Derefaka, Technical Adviser, Gas Business and Policy Implementation to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, has stressed the need for training and retraining of oil and gas professionals in the country.

Derefaka said this was the only way for them to cope and remain relevant as the world moves toward the fourth industrial revolution.

He spoke on Wednesday at the 2022 Annual General Meeting lecture series of the Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria ( OGTAN).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the theme of the lecture was theme: ‘Diversity and Inclusiveness in Human Capital Development.’

“The 2018 graduate skills ranking by the World Economic Forum placed Nigeria at 135 out of 140 countries.

“This ranking highlighted the shortage and/or lack of the requisite skills, experience and knowledge required by the employing industries.

“As a country, as a workforce, we will need to adapt to this rapidly changing world. Infact, Nigeria needs to do catch up. And this is where OGTAN comes in,” he said.

According to him, OGTAN training models need to reflect the demand for lifelong learning to cope with the technological and social changes brought by the fourth industrial revolution.

Derefaka said: “OGTAN need to do more as skills not degrees may be the reality of the future.

“In a future of unprecedented societal shifts, human capacity development/up-skilling is crucial to managing the challenges ahead.

“With more automated, digitised and fluid job markets, today’s higher education systems are quickly becoming incompatible with the future we are looking towards.

“Let us do a quick catch up with training and retraining the workforce by riding on the shoulders of OGTAN.”

He charged oil and gas companies to drive a culture of innovation and technology adoption: create digitally powered, multidisciplinary teams.

Derefaka urged them to invest in human capital and development programmes: promote new, digital thinking – re-skilling or retraining workforce for the transformation journey.

He also emphasised the need for Diversity and Inclusiveness (D&I) in the industry, noting that available statistics showed that companies that value D&I in their operations outperformed their competitors. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

FG, firm to deploy gas-powered mass transit buses in Abuja

Some of the CNG-powered mass transit buses.

 

Buses

By Solomon Asowata

Lagos, April 27, 2022 (NAN) Femadec Group in partnership with the Federal Government, will on May 5 begin the deployment of compressed natural gas-powered mass transit buses in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

Mr Fola Akinnola, the Chief Executive Officer, Femadec Group, confirmed the development in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos.

Akinnola said the move was part of the actualisation of the Federal Government’s autogas policy which was launched in December 2020 by President Muhammadu Buhari.

According to him, the mass transit scheme, which will be operated by Femadec Express, a division of the company, is starting with 20 buses manufactured by Hyundai in South Korea.

He said: “We intend to start on May 5, after the long holidays. Preparations are being put in place, drivers are being trained and also installation of the payment system in the buses is ongoing.

“We are partnering with Abuja Urban Mass Transport to ensure that we have a smooth take off.”

Akinnola explained that Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses were cheaper to operate and also environmental friendly as the world was moving toward cleaner sources of energy.

He said: “Part of our business plan and strategy is to key into the Federal Government’s gas penetration scheme which includes CNG and autogas.

“There is a lot of mass transportation in the country using diesel and petrol. Apart from being environmentally hazardous, diesel has become very expensive.

“We saw this a long time ago and even without being given any contract, we decided to bring in these first 20 buses because we envisaged that this time is going to come where people will likely want to switch to gas.”

Speaking on the company’s expansion plan, he disclosed that the company was planning to acquire a total of 100 CNG buses by the end of the year.

“Our plan this year is to hit 100 buses. Apart from these 20, we are in final conclusion of another 10 from the manufacturers, Hyundai in South Korea.

“They will be delivered in the next one month. Then by August or September,we plan to bring in another 30 while we are targeting a total of 100 buses in our fleet by December.

“We are also looking at September to kickstart the scheme in Lagos and we are engaging the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority.

” By then, the refueling centre would have been in place at our facility in Abijo on the Lekki-Epe Expressway, Lagos.

“We also intend to establish a CNG conversion centre there so that vehicle owners can convert their cars from petrol and diesel to autogas,” Akinnola said.

He noted that the gas penetration policy would create employment opportunities for young Nigerians and boost the nation’s economy.

Akinnola, however, called on the government to create an enabling environment by granting import waivers for those investing in the gas sector as a way of accelerating its development.

Also, Mr Oluwakayode Oyegoke, Head, Gas, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) said the government would continue to create the enabling environment to drive investment in the sector.

Oyegoke said the NMDPRA, as a business enabler , was available to guide investors to ensure that the gas penetration policy of the government and the National Gas Policy was effectively cascaded down to the masses.

He said: “The Federal Government has realised that keying into gas is one of the rapid and accelerated ways of improving the economy.

“The government in its wisdom has laid down policies to help not only electricity and industries but also transportation system.

“That is why we now have these buses that will be powered by CNG. This will reduce pressure on other white products like Premium Motor Spirit and Automotive Gas Oil.

“It will help diversification by giving options to consumers to improve their businesses.

“Above all, it is environmental friendly and part of the government’s plan to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2060.” (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)