A man falls on the ground following a drone attack in Kyiv on October 17, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP)
Kyiv’s energy operator said Sunday that scheduled “stabilisation” power cuts have been introduced in the Ukrainian capital after repeated Russian strikes on the country’s energy infrastructure.
“On October 23, stabilisation shutdowns were introduced in Kyiv by national energy operator Ukrenergo to avoid accidents,” energy company DTEK said in a statement on its website.
The blackouts started from 11:13 am (0813 GMT) with consumers in Kyiv divided into three groups that will be “disconnected for a certain period of time”, DTEK said.
It added that the blackouts should last “no more than four hours” but may be longer “due to the scale of damage to the power supply system”.
DTEK reiterated calls for residents to use electricity “sparingly” and for businesses to limit their use of external lighting.
Over a million households in Ukraine were left without electricity following Russian strikes on energy facilities across the country on Saturday, the Ukrainian presidency said.
Russia in recent days has repeatedly targeted Ukraine’s energy grid, destroying at least a third of the country’s power stations ahead of winter.
Chairman House Committee on Power and Member Representing Birninkudu/Buji Federal Constituency, Honourable Da’u Aliyu, is of the opinion that privatization of Nigeria’s power sector will not solve Nigeria’s power problem.
According to Hon Da’u Aliyu, when one looks at the previous privatization policy of the sector that saw the emergence of distribution companies, then one can tell that some other idea beyond privatization is needed.
The lawmaker told reporters in his hometown Birninkudu, in Jigawa state that despite the privatization policy, Nigerians have not seen any improvement in power supply.
“I’m not a fan of privatization because it has failed in Nigeria. Look at the Discos and the level they are operating today,” he stressed.
According to him, the Transmission Company of Nigeria has inherited dilapidated infrastructure hence the incessant collapse of the National Grid.
“We are going to have a public hearing on the 22nd of this month where we will interrogate the Management of the Transmission Company of Nigeria on this issue.
“However, I’m not defending the TCN but we all know they inherited dilapidated infrastructure and this makes it difficult for them”.
The legislator who on Sunday received thousands of supporters in his house – who come to welcome him back from his two months of study abroad, said he has already won his election but is only waiting for the votes to be cast.
“In terms of representation, we have done well to the people in Jigawa state, where developments were done to the desired constituents to make sure that APC wins the election in 2023,” he buttressed.
The Hydro Electric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC) has commenced a 4-day training and its levels four to seven workforce to enhance their capacity, efficiency, and productivity
HYPPADEC Managing Director Abubakar Yelwa made this known at the training workshop in partnership with the Kano Area Office of Industrial Training Fund (ITF). The programme had the theme: Skills Development For Organizational Productivity for Staff of HYPPADEC and was held in Minna, Niger State.
Yelwa reiterated the commitment of the Commission to training and retraining the staff of the lower cadres which he said is a continuous process.
He stated that no fewer than 50 staff were expected to participate in the training across the six states of the Commission. He, however, warned them to obey rules and regulations as well as to pay attention hence the recognition of performance and promotion based on merits.
The ITF Area Manager Engr. Mohammed Tukur appreciated the Commission for the opportunity to impact knowledge, especially through the training program which will help develop their skills to achieve the organization’s goals.
He assured that the workshop would be participatory and practical to achieve the capacity of the staff which must be all-inclusive for optimal results and productivity.
A file photo of members of the House of Representatives attending a plenary at the lower chamber of the National Assembly in Abuja on November 24, 2020.
The House of Representatives adjourned plenary on Tuesday over an interruption of power in the lower chamber.
Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, was compelled to call for an adjournment after the power went out.
The situation forced the lawmakers to exit the chamber in darkness, using their phone torchlights.
This is coming a day after major cities in Nigeria including the commercial nerve centre Lagos and the nation’s political capital Abuja were thrown into a blackout as the national grid collapsed for the umpteenth time in 2022.
Various electricity distribution companies confirmed the development in statements directed to their customers.
Ikeja Electric said the national grid collapsed at 10:50 am on Monday, noting that “this has affected the transmission stations within our network and resulted in the loss of power supply to our customers.”
Also, the Eko Electricity Distribution Company said, it regrets to “inform you of a system collapse on the national grid at precisely 10:52 am. Presently, all our injection substations are out of supply.
“We are working with our TCN partners to restore supply as soon as possible. We apologise for the inconvenience.”
The Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc equally released a similar statement but said the grid collapsed in the nation’s political capital at 10:55 am.
In the southern part of Nigeria, the Benin Electricity Distribution Company said the development took place at 10:51 am, causing disruption to the power supply in the coverage area which includes Delta, Edo, Ekiti, and Ondo.
Also, the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company Plc said the system collapse caused an outage in the South-East states of Anambra, Enugu, Abia, Imo, and Ebonyi.
The Federal Government says it has started making moves to resolve tariff shortfalls in the power sector.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) disclosed this in his remarks delivered virtually on Friday at the inauguration of a board for the Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Company (NELMCO).
In the VP’s opinion, NELMCO will enhance ongoing efforts to resolve liabilities relating to tariff shortfalls for distribution companies, among other challenges plaguing Nigeria’s power sector.
The company has been running without a duly constituted board since the first one was inaugurated in 2013 and dissolved shortly after.
According to the Vice President, “today’s inauguration marks an important milestone in the bid to resolve the liabilities relating to tariff shortfalls in the power sector (specifically for Distribution Companies), and to provide a veritable mechanism for managing the very dynamic nature of the liquidity challenges of the power sector in Nigeria.”
Continuing, Prof. Osinbajo said, “this ceremony formally brings on board the invaluable skills and experience of notable and highly respected personalities as members of the Board of NELMCO.”
On the expectations for the new board, the Vice President told the members that, “as a board, you are expected to make conscious and deliberate efforts to develop appropriate strategies to facilitate the successful conclusion of the outstanding pre-privatisation issues of the defunct PHCN, and ensure an effective implementation of NELMCO’s additional mandate to resolve the tariff shortfall problems of the Electricity Distribution Companies.”
“In view of the challenges ahead, you are expected to draw extensively on our experience over the years, to continue to give credence to the Federal Government of Nigeria’s economic development programme in a transparent, sustainable, credible and acceptable manner.
“The Board is required to take appropriate steps to also ensure that the interests of the various segments of our society, particularly the ordinary citizens, are protected in the implementation of NELMCO’s mandate,” the VP added.
On the board’s mandate, Prof. Osinbajo charged members “to diligently carry out the responsibilities assigned to the board in accordance with the provisions of the Memorandum and Articles of Association (MEMART) of the Company.”
Some of the provisions of the MEMART of the Company include:
To assume and administer the stranded debts of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) Plc pursuant to the provisions of Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005.
To manage post-privatisation liabilities in the power sector as may be directed by the National Council on Privatisation, or any authorized agency of the Federal Government from time to time in line with the power sector reform act 2005.
Responding on behalf of the members, the Board Chairperson and Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. (Dr.) Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, assured the Vice President of the board’s preparedness to ensure quick resolution of tariff shortfalls and related issues in the power sector in the most efficient manner.
Other members of the board include the: Minister of Power, Engr. Abubakar Aliyu, Director General of Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex Okoh, Director General of Debt Management Office (DMO), Ms. Patience Oniha Managing Director of NELMCO, Mr. Bayo Fagbemi, Mr. Muhammad Aliyu Jumma’a, Mr. Olufunso Olutola Olukoga, Dr. Chinedum Orisakwe, Mojoyinoluwa Dekalu-Thomas and Dr. Nurain Hassan Ibrahim.
In a related development, the BPE Director General, Mr. Alex Okoh, has said the take-over of 4 electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) namely; Kaduna, Kano, Ibadan and Port Harcourt DISCOs has been concluded successfully.
Mr. Okoh, who disclosed this in a presentation made at a virtual meeting of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) held earlier last week Tuesday, added that the challenge in the takeover of the Benin DISCO is being addressed.
The NCP is chaired by the Vice President who was represented at the meeting by the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, who is the Vice Chair of Council.
In his report to the Council, the BPE DG also made a presentation on the concession of the Zungeru Hydroelectric Power Plant, inviting NCP to note steps taken by the Bureau to fast track the process.
Mr. Okoh then presented for approval a proposal to amend the Procedures Manual of the BPE, especially in the areas of legal framework; reform activities; pre-transaction activities; project advisory and delivery team; receipt of technical and financial transaction strategies, and opening and evaluation of technical proposals, among others.
The Minister of Power Abubakar Aliyu has blamed gas supply shortage for the country’s inability to generate up to 5,000 megawatts of electricity.
He made the comment on Wednesday after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, about one month after the ministry promised that the country’s power generation will hit 5,000mw.
“Regarding the drop of electricity, yes, you know, the supply has so many players, gas, the cost that drops, issues of gas to some power plants, they cannot switch on their plant if they do you will experience some drop once they switch on, the electricity will increase,” the minister added.
“There may be a drop due to the fault of the generator and the electricity may drop. It’s mostly generation. I’ve been watching since like yesterday (Tuesday) evening, we had a generation of around 4,600 megawatts. And you know, we told you since 1st July, that we’ll be able to raise it to 5000 when we activated the contract.
“And we have not been able to do so, due to some issues around gas contracts, gas to power, which we are trying to take care of. And we have gone very far with that, and I believe, is for that reason that we’re able to reach up to 4,600 as of yesterday.
“This morning, it dropped to 4,100. So, this is what is happening, you will be experiencing this fluctuation due to all these issues around gas to power because gas is not something that we control directly; you have to pay them; they will not give you gas until you pay. So, we are looking at ways to solve that issue.
“It is the reason we are unable to reach that 5,000 we promised you by July 1 of this year. But as you will see from that date, July 1st, we have been around 4,000 megawatts since then.
“Even if you experience a drop, it may not be like throughout the day, you will see by evening it will rise again, just like I saw 4600 megawatts yesterday evening. So, this is the situation. So, we’re working around the clock to ensure that we raised the capacity to the required level.”
The minister, who rued the development despite the government’s signing of a contract with the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc, noted that the “necessary ingredient has been obtained to resolve the problem”.
The Federal Government has stated that it is holding discussions with the organized labour in order to proffer resolution to various issues which have led electricity workers in the country to embark on a strike.
The Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu disclosed this to State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting chaired by the President on Wednesday.
He stated that the issues in contention center around employment which is largely under the purview of the Head of Service and not the Ministry of Power.
The Mr Aliyu noted that the discussions have reached an advanced stage and it is for this reason that the Minister of Labour as well as the Minister of State for power were absent at the executive council meeting.
He further asserted that a quick resolution is expected in no time.
The power minister equally explained that the country is unable to reach its promised target of 5,000 megawatts of electricity generation because of a shortage in gas supply.
He noted that the government is equally intensifying discussions on the challenge and has also entered into a firm contract with the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc.
The minister, however, stressed that power fluctuation would continue until the gas contract issues which has inhibited the 5,000 MW target by Q2 of 2022, are resolved.
Nigeria’s electricity supply crisis could worsen from Wednesday as the organised labour has directed workers in the power sector to down tools and commence an indefinite strike over pending labour issues with the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
The National Union of Electricity Employees on Tuesday picketed the headquarters of the Transmission Company of Nigeria in Abuja.
They complained about the alleged failure of the Federal Government to pay the entitlement of former staff of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) in December 2019.
The aggrieved workers under the aegis of the national union of electricity employees NUEE said this is a prelude to an indefinite strike action expected to commence on August 17.
In a circular entitled “call to action”, the general secretary of NUEE, Joe Ajaero, directed them to ensure total compliance, vowing to paralyse operations of TCN nationwide over anti-masses activities.
This means the nation’s electricity supply crisis could worsen from Wednesday following this impasse.
“You are hereby enjoined to mobilise immediately for a serious picketing of TCN Headquarters and stations nationwide over the directive by the TCN Board that all PMs in acting capacity going to AGM must appear for a promotion interview,” the circular read.
“This directive is in contravention of our conditions of service and career progression paths, and unilaterally done without the relevant stakeholders.
‘’This action takes effect from Tuesday 16th August 2022 and total withdrawal of services commences on Wednesday 17th August 2022. Ensure full compliance in all the stations nationwide.”
On May 18, the union issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, MD/CEO.
In the circular titled “Unresolved issues on the year 2021 promotion exercise and others,” the union threatened to down tools at the expiration of the ultimatum if its grievances were not addressed.
LP presidential candidate, Peter Obi, speaks during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on July 25, 2022.
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has revealed his plans to apply the knowledge gathered from his trip to Egypt if elected as Nigeria’s President in 2023.
Obi had on June 14 embarked on a three-day trip to Egypt where he understudied the country’s power, education, planning and finance sectors.
I just departed for Egypt on a 3-day visit as part of my detailed study of comparable countries to Nigeria. In Egypt, I am expected to understudy, among others, the Egyptian Power Sector, Education, Planning and Finance Sectors. -PO pic.twitter.com/GzH8Gl7977
He was hailed by his supporters for embarking on the trip to Egypt, while some others bashed the LP presidential candidate, saying it was too late to make such moves.
Appearing during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, he shared some of the lessons shared from the visit to the North African country.
The presidential hopeful said South Africa and Egypt each produce over 50,000 megawatts of electricity, despite not being as populated as Nigeria.
According to him, Africa’s most populous country has the ability to generate, transmit and distribute 15,000 megawatts of electricity within a four-year period for any serious government.
“I go to where people have done the right thing to learn. Egypt, Vietnam and India have deployed the fastest electricity programme in the past five years,” he said.
“The experience of Egypt I decided to go and learn. I visited the power plant to see what they were able to do within those five years. I visited the company that executed the project, had a very useful meeting, and visited the Power Holding Company of Egypt and other agencies involved to learn what they did.
“Egypt moved their power generation, transmission and distribution from about 20,000 to over 55,000 (megawatt of electricity) today within five years. In a country like ours of 200 million people generating only about 4,000 megawatts when the second biggest economy in Africa – South Africa – is generating over 50,000 and Egypt is generating over 50,000.”
Electricity supply is a major challenge for Nigeria as it currently generates about 6,000 megawatts for the huge population of about 200 million people.
Ahead of the 2023 general elections, the presidential candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Prince Malik Ado-Ibrahim, has pledged to revamp Nigeria’s power, saying he will ensure a steady electricity supply if elected into office.
Since Nigeria’s return to civilian government in 1999, over N11 trillion is believed to have been spent to provide regular electricity supply for Nigerians, with little to show for it.
The situation has forced many Nigerians to call for an independent probe, with many government officials prosecuted, especially with the collapse of the national grid that plunged Nigerian cities into darkness.
YPP presidential candidate, Malik Ado-Ibrahim, speaks during an interview on Channels Television’s Political Paradigm on June 14, 2022.
But speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Political Paradigm, Ado-Ibrahim said he will change the narrative for the better.
A file photo of a powerline.
“We have had people trying to build power in this country, but they have never done it. Billions and billions of dollars have been spent on the power sector and nothing has been developed,” he said, seven months to the presidential and National Assembly elections.
“If you take that as part of governance, they have all paid. We have had roads since 1960, the same ones.”
If elected next year, the presidential hopeful said he will boost the nation’s economy while attracting more foreign and local investors.
This is even as he criticised the nation’s political elites for not doing their best for the citizens.
His remarks come a week after he emerged as the party’s presidential candidate.
“Further to our earlier press release, we wish to apprise the general public that the immediate cause of national blackout (system collapse) was an act of vandalism on a transmission tower on the Odukpani Ikot Ekpene 330kV double circuit transmission line thus resulting in a sudden loss of about 400MW of generation,” the Ministry’s statement said.
“This consequently led to a cascade of plant shut down across the country.
“We wish to notify the public that power on the grid is being restored sequentially by the System Operator as other on-grid power plants are being dispatched to cover the lost generation capacity from the Calabar power plant owned by the Niger Power Holding Company Ltd.”
The Ministry of Power on Saturday said it is investigating the collapse of the national grid.
The grid collapsed on Friday for the third time in as many weeks, plunging parts of the country into darkness.
In a statement, the Ministry said the process of restoration has already commenced.
“We wish to notify the general public of the incidence of a system collapse which occurred at 1830hrs on April 8th, 2022 resulting in power outages in many parts of the country,” the statement said.
“While a detailed investigation into the immediate and remote causes of the recurring grid failure is currently ongoing by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission and System Operator (the operator of the national grid), the process of restoring supply is ongoing with some sections of the national grid already energised and supply restored to consumers.
“We wish to assure Nigerians that the Federal Government is working assiduously to deliver on the much-needed reforms and investments, including SCADA, that are critical to improving the capacity and reliability of the national grid. This is in line with the Mr. President’s directives on closing infrastructure deficits in critical sectors of the Nigerian economy.”
