Power sector reform is one agenda that has dominated discourse in the present administration. The administration, which met the process on ground, has pulled it through and has now claimed the credit of concluding it. But analysts say it’s not yet Uhuru as the conclusion of the process is more cosmetic than reality. MUSA ADAMU writes:
With the conclusion and handing over of the power sector to the private operators in November 1, 2013, government had ceded two third of power supplies duty to the private hands.
Out of the three-Disco, Genco, Tranco- companies that emerged from the balkanisation of the Power holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), government is now partly holding on to the transmission of arm electricity supply chain.
Incidentally, the transmission arm, christened Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), which is outsourced to a Canadian energy company, Manitoba Hydro International (MHI), is the backbone of the chain. Although, all the links are important for the assurance of electricity availability, unless, the TCN evacuates all that is generated by the Gencos, no action is ignited, hence, cannot afford to be the weak link.
Industry watchers have expressed uneasiness on the readiness of the TCN to play its all important role. They say the inability of the private operators to make maximum impact on the industry since their take over could largely be blamed on the TCN.
They say for a company that can only wheel 3,500mw and sometimes even much less of the generated 4,500mw, they see no hope of the county coming out of darkness anytime soon.
They say unlike the Gencos, where a lot of activities are taking place all geared towards improving the electricity generation in the country, nothing much is heard from the transmission arm.
They cited the recent announcement by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) which said its 10 national integrated power projects (NIPPs), will be adding about 4,774mw to the national grid by June this year.
True to their fears, apart from these thermal plants, there are also currently two independent power plants (IPPs) in Aba, Abia state and another in Edo state.
The coordinator of the second IPP, Azura Power, David Ladipo, his company was building $700 million to build a 450mw plant. Azura is the first Greenfield IPP in the country. By these two plants come on stream, almost 6000mw would have been added to 4500mw, to become about 10,000mw.
These developments, even as they are a cause for celebration also give cause for worry as the transmission arm of the chain is not tagging along. Public analysts say nothing is happening in the transmission end to show that it was equal to the task.
They say there is going to be a feeling of disappointment and frustration by middle of this year when most of these outstanding megawatts would begin to role in only to find the transmission lines not ready.
Bearing his mind on this challenge recently, chairman of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr. Sam Amadi said he was scared of possible risks from the sluggish attitude of the TCN to its tasks.
He noted that the TCN and its staff were yet to come to terms with the obvious paradigm shift in Nigeria’s power sector as a result of the privatisation exercise.
He expressed concern over the slow pace at which the board of the TCN was handling the federal government’s mandate to swiftly attain sustainable efficiency in Nigeria’s emerging electricity sector.
He expressed concern that the TCN’s inefficiency and sluggish attitude to its responsibilities could undermine further investments in power generation and distribution.
“Funding is a big deal or a risk because it is still government-owned, but because its inefficiency will undermine further investments in generation and distribution and what is paramount now is to allow transmission to be regulated, which means you don’t appoint people without approval but appoint based on competency,” he said.
Coupled with this obvious sluggishness on the part of the TCN, the company is also grappling with incessant system collapses and failures do to human and natural causes.
The latest of these problems was the inferno that gutted its 150MVA, 330/132/33kV power transformer in the Osogbo Sub- regional/ Work Center office.
This unfortunate development threw parts of Akure, Ilesha, Ife, Ondo, Osogbo Complex, Ado-Ekiti and Iwo into darkness.
Before this, 12 TCN towers went under in Delta state as a result of petroleum Tanker fire, resulting in the loss of its 330kV transmission lines from Sapele to Ughelli.
In addition to this, the company’s facilities have been object of attacks from vandals across the country, wrecking unquantifiable damages on the company.
According to Engr. Samson Ebubedike, government has not really been forthcoming with the needed funding of the company.
“I don’t know government plans. But whatever they are, I believe it is missing the point. Yes, it is commendable it was able to drive the privatisation through and the generation and probably the distribution arms of the electricity supplies are receiving better attentions now, but this is not enough. Unless, the transmission company gets strengthen alongside its sisters, government will wake up one day and find that its efforts have gone to waste,” he said.
But the minister of information, LabaranMaku, has recently defended the government efforts in improving the transmission company so far.
Giving a breakdown of what government has been doing, he said the federal government was set to spend $2.86bn (N457.6bn) between now and 2017, to give the nation a power transmission infrastructure that can carry 16,000 mw of electricity.
He said this figure emanated from a transmission expansion blue print prepared by the presidential action committee (PAC) on power which committed the government to a transmission capacity of 16,000 mw.
According to him, government is committed to funding the programme, which will cost $2.86billion, listing the sources of funding as the African Development Bank (ADB), $150 million; World Bank, $290 million; and Eurobond of $150 million.
He further listed other funding sources to include a $500 million loan from the China Export Import Bank; proceeds from the sale of the NIPPs, $1.6 billion; and budgetary appropriation, $170 million.
Also responding to our inquest to know if the NDPHC was bothered about lack of progress on the part of the TCN even as it was set to release about 5,000mw into the national grid, the DGM/head communications & public relations, NDPHC, Mr.YakubuLawal, said they had confidence in the ability of the TCN.
“We do have absolute confidence in the TCN that given the available resources and capacity that TCN has, it will manage the facilities such that power will be wheeled from power stations to the national control centre and ultimately distribution networks for the benefit of all Nigerians,” he said.
He said in any case, the NDPHC intervention extends to the transmission arm of the electricity supplies chain.
“NDPHC intervention involves capacity building for TCN in the phase one with over 125 high voltage network projects, reinforcement of various segments of the national grid network to increase capacity to wheel 10,000mw of electricity around the country at 330KV and 132KV voltage levels. In phase two project of NDPHC, Hydro power stations and expansion of transmission network under the TCN will be a major focus.”
He assured that: “All our transmission projects both substations and high tension lines will be handed over to TCN to manage on completion.”
