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Nigeria: Lagos High Court Blocks Powercom’s Acquisition Of KEDCO
A High Court in Lagos in the Federal Republic of Nigeria has restrained Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Bureau of Public Enterprises and Sahelian Power SPV Limited, from naming Powercom or any other investor as a core shareholder in Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO).
The court presided over by Justice Nicholas Oweibi, also barred the respondents from conducting or recognising any other bidding process for selling Sahelian’s 60 per cent shares in the Kano Electricity Distribution Company.
Other respondents affected by the orders are Fidelity Bank, the receiver manager, Patrick Ikwueto SAN, Kano Electricity Distribution Company Plc. and Powercom Smart Grid Nigeria Limited.
The applicant, Future Energies Africa (FEA) Limited, which is a consortium of local and international investors, told the court that the process that produced Powercom Smart Grid Nigeria (PSGN) as the preferred company to take over the Kano Electricity Distribution Plc (KEDCO) was flawed.
The applicant had also claimed that NERC and Powercom failed to comply with the guidelines and requirements of the federal government, as laid down by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and NERC itself.
BPE is the agency in the custody of the government’s 40 per cent stake in the electricity distribution asset, leaving Fidelity Bank with the temporary ownership stake of the remaining 60 per cent.
Through a receiver manager, in collaboration with the BPE, Fidelity Bank initiated a bidding process to get a technically sound and financially competent buyer to acquire the bank’s stake in KEDCO.
A few days ago, Powercom had, via a statement, announced its acquisition of KEDCO.
Speaking to the press, Adam Ibrahim (an investor and consortium member of FEA), however, faulted the premise of Powercom’s acquisition announcement with the revelation that the company could not claim to have acquired KEDCO when Future Energies had already completed the execution of contracts and agreements through a share sale and purchase agreement to acquire the shares that both BPE and NERC are aware of.
Ibrahim stated that FEA had “no recourse than to seek legal action having filed a complaint to BPE and NERC that fell on deaf ears. FEA is further surprised that NERC, despite (a) its knowledge of a signed share sale and purchase agreement, (b) agreed on transaction terms as forwarded to it by BPE and Fidelity’s representative, and (c) a subsequent complaint by Future Energies regarding Fidelity Bank’s attempt to scuttle the completed process, still issued a ‘No Objection’ for PowerCom.”
Future Energies claimed that it had won the earlier bid after a rigorous review and screening process that lasted almost a year, alongside other bidders, and was given a ‘No Objection’ approval by the BPE after meeting the requirements for acquisition as laid down in guidelines set by BPE and NERC.
However, FEA revealed that for some undisclosed reasons, Fidelity Bank, which is the interim owner of the 60 per cent stake in the entity, decided to halt the process and approve another bidder after having already signed a valid and binding contract to sell the shares to Future Energies.
Ibrahim said, “My consortium—Future Energies Africa Limited (FEA)—was interested in the Kano Distribution Company, and we put in a bid through Fidelity (and its receiver manager) and BPE, which is the entity responsible for approving the guidelines and overseeing the bid process.
“The guidelines were communicated to us by BPE through Fidelity Bank. Shockingly, there is an attempt to destroy the investment and time we spent putting together a competent bid with no explanation.
“We went through the process, sent in an expression of interest alongside other bidders that were interested in the asset. After a long process and evaluation of us and other bidders, we emerged as the new core investor and got approval from Fidelity Bank through the receiver manager, to take over the asset. We also obtained a ‘No Objection’ from BPE.
“We negotiated the core contract that guides the sale of a company, which is the sale and purchase agreement (SPA). We negotiated the document, signed it and Fidelity Bank sent it over to BPE for the BPE to sign the shareholders’ agreement, which is the document that guides all the shareholders in an entity.
“In the process of negotiating the shareholders’ agreement, we understood that a call was placed by Fidelity Bank, telling BPE to halt the process of signing the shareholders’ agreement, even though we had signed the sale and purchase agreement to acquire the asset.
“They (Fidelity Bank) decided to secretly reopen the bid, and they hired PwC to begin a fresh bid process. They also secretly introduced other new companies in the process. We were told to just resubmit our documents, and we had no idea there was a new competitive process after we had already concluded our transaction. We assumed this submission of documents was just for internal purposes. Nonetheless, we reserved all of our rights under the binding contract.”
He added, “The second bidding process doesn’t conform with all of the government’s guidelines and requirements. The risk is that we may end up in the same situation whereby you are selling assets to entities that do not have the technical or financial capabilities to turn around the business.”
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
African Journalists Tour Russia’s Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant In St. Petersburg
Some selected journalists from Africa have visited Russia’s Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant in St. Petersburg to familiarise themselves with the operations of the facility.
The journalists were selected from Ghana, South Africa, Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Nigeria.
The visit was facilitated by Rosatom, the state atomic energy corporation of Russia.
The reporters were first briefed by Mr. Kashin Nikolai, Head of the Information Department, and Mr Belyaev Alexander, Chief Engineer, and were later conducted around the facility.
The guests visited the turbine room, control centre and cooling area.
Leningrad Nuclear Power Plant is one of ten nuclear power plants being operated by Russia’s state-owned utility Rosenergoatom, the world’s second-biggest nuclear power generating utility.
The plant is a major producer of electrical power in the Russian North-West and currently generates electricity for more than 50 per cent of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Oblast population.
It is the first Russian nuclear power plant to use the RBMK-1000 reactors (uranium–graphite nuclear reactors of channel type on thermal neutrons). Its construction started in July 1967 and the first unit was launched in December 1973.
In 2006, Rosenergoatom decided to build a power plant that uses the third generation VVER-1200 reactors to replace the RBMK-1000 units of the old plant.
Construction of the first unit of Leningrad NPP-2 began in October 2008, while start-up operations commenced in December 2017 with the loading of the first fuel assemblies into the reactor vessel.
Unit 1 achieved first criticality in December 2017. The unit was connected to the national grid and began producing electricity in March 2018. Unit 2 was commissioned in late 2020. This brings the total capacity of the two units to 2400 Megawatts.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Nigeria: Several Interest Groups Back NLC Mass Protest Tomorrow Over Fuel Subsidy Removal
Several groups in Nigeria have declared their intention to join the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to hit the streets tomorrow, Wednesday, to protest the hardship in Africa’s largest economy occasioned by the removal of fuel subsidies.
The NLC, last Sunday, in a statement, urged Nigerians to join them at the Unity Fountain, Abuja, on Wednesday, August 2, 2023, at 7 am to protest President Bola Tinubu’s removal of fuel subsidy.
“There is nowhere in the world where government leaves its citizens totally to the vagaries of the market without some measure of control and protection. The Federal Government should immediately deal decisively with the criminal content of subsidy instead of exposing ordinary citizens to avoidable pain and hardship.
“As a matter of national importance, it is imperative to fix all our refineries to be able to cater to domestic fuel consumption,” the NLC said.
The NLC said the Tinubu-led administration was playing games with the lives of Nigerians.
The congress also called on the government to be serious about the engagement with labour unions.
Meanwhile, academic unions such as the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities have also begun nationwide mobilisation of their members for the strike scheduled to commence on Wednesday.
The national presidents of the two unions, in separate interviews with local media in Abuja, noted that as affiliate members of the NLC, they would join in the strike.
The National President of SSANU, Muhammed Ibrahim said, “We are actively going to participate.”
Similarly, the National President of ASUP, Anderson Ezeibe said, “Of course, we will join the protest.”
Also, some northern youths, under the aegis of the Arewa Citizen Watch for Good Governance, on Sunday, said they were set to hit the streets of Abuja to protest the subsidy removal, which, they said, had inflicted pains and hunger on them.
The youths also called for the sacking of the Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Limited, Mele Kyari, for allegedly misleading the President on the subsidy removal.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
SolarAfrica, Starsight Energy Announces Merger Completion
The portfolio has led to a carbon offset of more than 360, 000 tonnes of CO 2 to date.
“This merger will enhance our current capabilities and allow us to deploy Energy and Cooling as a Service on a much larger scale. This is therefore a story of growth. Not only for Starsight Energy and SolarAfrica but also for the renewable energy landscape in Africa,” Van Zijl added.
Powering Africa Through Affordable, Clean Energy
In addition to key markets Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria and South Africa, the group is working on imminent expansion into Tanzania and Uganda. It brings a range of renewable energy solutions to the table, with solar energy, battery storage and cooling at the top of the list.
“We are excited about making a meaningful contribution to power supply on the continent through our on- and off-site solutions. This will help take pressure off national grids which have been under significant strain in many of the core African markets,” said Charl Alheit, Group Chief Investment Officer.
Providing these solutions to more businesses can also go a long way in developing distributed renewable energy frameworks in each region.
In-Country Focus Unlocks Continent-Wide Growth
The merged group will retain a strong presence within the various countries to further strengthen its footprint across Africa.
“We do not believe in a fly-in fly-out model and will have ‘boots on the ground’ in our geographies. Our country teams consist of dedicated in-country management as well as sales and technical teams who represent our ethos, whilst being supported by the wider group management,” said Van Zijl.
“It’s important to have strong representation in each geography with teams who know and understand their markets and are passionate about transforming these markets into green energy hubs. That’s something both SolarAfrica and Starsight Energy have always had in common: we know that the people in our business have always been the reason for our success, and this new chapter will be no different,” Alheit concluded.
Leveraging Existing Knowledge And Capabilities
Both Starsight Energy and SolarAfrica are represented in the group executive management team, combining their expertise and experience.
Paul van Zijl assumes the role of Group Chief Executive Officer (formerly Group Chief Financial Officer of Starsight Energy), Charl Alheit assumes the role of Group Chief Investment Officer (formerly Chief Investment Officer for SolarAfrica), Max Rieg assumes the role of Group Commercial Director (formerly Commercial Director of Starsight Energy)
The group will also retain its regional management structures, with David McDonald (Southern Africa), Emmanuel Ayifa Baah (Ghana), Ladi Sanni (Nigeria) and Rupesh Hindocha (East Africa) leading their respective regions. Ghana: Eni Ghana And VIS Give Scholarship To Students Of Charlotte Dolphyne School In Ellembelle District
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Nigeria: Dangote Refinery Recruited 40,000 Skilled Nigerians, Indians And Chinese—Management
Dangote Refinery, a privately-owned refinery in the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has disclosed that it recruited almost 40,000 workers including expatriates from India and China to execute Africa’s largest refinery located in Lekki Free Zone.
The Dangote Refinery said to be the world’s largest single –train refinery has a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.
It was built at the cost of US$19 billion.
Giving the breakdown of the skilled work workforce recruited for the construction of the refinery, the company mentioned that it recruited 6,400 Indians, 3,250 Chinese and 30,000 Nigerians.
The company disclosed this in a statement issued in response to a media report suggesting that the company neglected youth from Nigeria and other African countries and recruited expatriates.
Dangote Group’s Chief Branding & Communications Officer, Anthony Chiejina said the report was written with malicious intent, as it did not reflect the number of skilled Nigerians on site.
He also said Nigerians on the project demonstrated a high level of technical competence as many hidden skills were discovered among them.
Chiejina advised the public to discountenance such malicious and twisted reports, and instead, focus on the potential impact of the project on the overall economy and well-being of Nigerians.
He said Dangote Group would continue to be the leading light in employment generation.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
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Ghana: Namibian Legislators Understudy Operations Of NPA
Ghana’s petroleum downstream regulator, National Petroleum Authority (NPA), has hosted a delegation from the Namibian Upper House of Parliament who are in the West African nation to understudy how the Authority regulates the petroleum downstream industry.
The delegation, drawn from the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources particularly, wants to understand the petroleum downstream industry in Ghana, specifically areas where they can avoid corruption in their emerging petroleum industry.
The delegation was led by the Vice-Chairman of the committee, Mr Elder Filipe, with Mr Mbangu Paulus, Mr Nicodemus Motinga, Mr Richard Gaoseb and Mr Kennedy Haoseb as the other members.
Welcoming the delegation to the NPA on Wednesday, 26th July 2023, the Chief Executive of the NPA, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid said relations between Ghana and Namibia stretched back to the days of Namibian first President, Dr Samuel Shafiishuna Daniel Nujoma.
He, therefore, expressed excitement that the two countries—Ghana located in West Africa, and Namibia, located on the Southwestern coast of Africa—were making moves to deepen relations by learning from each other to help the African course.
The NPA Boss said the Authority had, through the implementation of the Petroleum Product Marking Scheme (PPMS), succeeded in effectively monitoring and ensuring the quality of petroleum products along the supply and distribution chain.
It has also helped to curb fuel smuggling, ensured the payment of the right taxes and availability of quality petroleum products on the market.
Dr Abdul-Hamid indicated that NPA quality assurance officers visit depots and retail outlets regularly to check the marker concentration in petroleum products to establish whether the products meet the required specifications or not.
He said penalties are meted out to defaulting Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to discourage the practice and protect the interest of consumers.
Besides, Dr Abdul-Hamid said the implementation of the Unified Petroleum Price Fund (UPPF) Margin has ensured uniformity in the price of petroleum products across the country.
He said that but for the UPPF, the five regions of the North and the Central, which are considered to be the poorest, would have been paying more for fuel, saying that “But for UPPF, the situation would have been precarious.“
Dr. Abdul-Hamid said the use of the electronic cargo tracking system had ensured effective monitoring of the transportation of petroleum products across the country.
He said the system had made it possible for the NPA to verify the locations where bulk road vehicles claimed to have transported fuel to.
Touching on local content policy, the NPA Boss said the Authority was before Parliament to amend the NPA Act, 2005 (Act 691) to allow for the implementation of the local (Ghanaian) content policy in the petroleum downstream sector.
He said the policy seeks to restrict operations in the petroleum downstream industry to local players.
Dr. Abdul-Hamid, who is the President of the African Refiners and Distributors Association (ARDA), said Ghana’s sulphur content standard of 50 parts per million (ppm) is the best in West Africa.
He said the goal of ARDA was to harmonise fuel specifications in the face of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
In his remarks, Mr Filipe lauded Ghana for its pacesetter role, recalling that Ghana’s first President, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, had been instrumental in the liberation of Namibia.
He said Namibia had discovered oil and expected to start production within the next three years.
Mr Filipe said the delegation was, therefore, in the country to learn from Ghana’s experience and pitfalls “so that we can avoid that.”
He said the team wanted the issue of value addition to become part of the Namibian policy “so that we can start on the right track.”
Present at the meeting were a Deputy CE of NPA, Mr Perry Okudzeto; Directors, and Heads of Department.
The Director of Policy Coordination, Dr. Sheila Addo; the Head of Economic Regulation, Mr Abass Tasunti, and the Head of PPMS, Mr. Setso Agbenoto, gave presentations on the general operations of the Authority.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com