Nigeria’s Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has announced plans to distribute about four million prepaid meters to electricity consumers in the West African nation in the shortest possible time.
There have been shortages of prepaid meters for electricity consumers, leaving many customers frustrated.
However, speaking at the Consumer Complaint Meeting in Jos on Tuesday, Aisha Mahmud, who is NERC’s Commissioner in charge of Consumers Affairs, assured the country that the current prepaid meters challenge would soon be a thing of the past.
She said that modalities had been put in place to provide the meters through the National Mass Metering Programme (NMP) of the Federal Government.
“Actually, metering is one of the biggest challenges that we have been facing in the last couple of years in the commission.
“I don’t think this is funny given that so much investment has been made in the power sector. It is said that in Nigeria, electricity generation started in Lagos as far back as 1826 with 20 megawatts. About 126 years down the line, we are still talking about basic things as metering, a phase we should have passed a long time ago.
“Aside many interventions in that regard, including the zero phase of the NMP, where over one million meters were provided, the first phase of the initiative will make available four million meters to customers,” she said as quoted by Vanguard, a local media.
Ms. Mahmud, who said that all preparations had been concluded for the mass metering programme, explained that funding for the project would come through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“We shall make available these meters to customers through the distribution companies and this is to show that the regulator is not just sitting but making efforts to see that all Nigerians have access to meters.
”So, we shall do all it takes as regulators to ensure that the issue of metering becomes a thing of the past. I strongly believe that with the plans ahead, we will overcome this challenge soon,” she said.
Ms Mahmud also attributed the increasing rate of electricity tariff to inflation, rising exchange rate, cost of gas, labour generation and other economic realities in the country.
”Inflation has gone up to double digit, exchange rate, even the official rate is crazy. Operators purchase most of their equipment abroad using the current exchange rate. The cost of labour keeps increasing, among other factors,” she explained.
On the meeting with customers, Ms Mahmud said the commission was in Jos to educate customers on their rights and listen to their complaints with a view to addressing them on the spot.
On his part, Abdu Mohammed, the Managing Director, Jos Electricity Distribution Plc. (JED), said that the concerns raised by the customers at the meeting would be addressed immediately.
”Quite a lot of issues, ranging from metering, billing, power quality, complaints about our staff, among others, were raised.
“I want to promise that all these issues will be addressed immediately and, in terms of metering, we are very much on track.
“Few days back, we purchased 12,000 meters and they are currently in our store. We are expecting 305,000 meters in the forthcoming NMP phase one and over 100,000 from the World Bank intervention.
“So, very soon, you will see traction in all our franchise states and all our customers will be metered,” Mr Mohammed said.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s Minister for Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has been dared to get the Managing Director of Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), Jerry Kofi Hinson, dismissed if it is true that US$2.5 million worth of condensate is missing from the refinery under the watch of the Managing Director.
Bernard Owusu, the National Chairman of the General Transport Petroleum and Chemical Workers Union, threw the challenge following claims by the Minister that condensate worth US$2.5 million has gone missing in the refinery in the last couple of weeks.
Bernard Owusu, National Chairman of General Transport Petroleum and Chemical Workers Union
“I gave TOR a new business opportunity in the premix fuel market that all the condensate from Ghana Gas should be used for blending premix fuel. The last time I heard, over US$2.5 million worth of condensate had gone missing from TOR. If we all want TOR to work, and we don’t want another ECG in TOR, [we should do the right thing else] it will break the back of government,” Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh stated on an Accra-based Citi FM.
Reacting to his comment on another Accra-based FM station, Kessben 87.7 MHz, Mr Bernard Owusu challenged the Minister to back his claim with evidence, stating that GTPCWU is prepared to support him to deal with any worker who is found to be involved in the missing product.
“Just yesterday, I heard the Minister say that about 2.5 million worth of condensate can’t be accounted for. I’m using your medium to tell the Honourable Minister that if that is what has happened, then, the head of the institution, that is, the MD, should be fired. He should be investigated, and any worker involved should be dealt with. The union is prepared to support the Minister in that direction.
“We can’t sit down and allow people to do the wrong thing to affect the good people,” he stated.
An attempt to speak to the Managing Director of TOR has been unsuccessful as he failed to respond to our WhatsApp messages and phone calls.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana’s economic regulator for electricity, Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), hosted this year’s African Electricity Regulatory Peer Review and Learning Network (PRLN) from April 17-21, 2023.
The five-day programme saw the participation of Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Electricity Regulatory Institutions from Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Uganda and South Africa.
Regulatory experts and lead energy researchers from the Power Futures Laboratory, based in the University of Cape Town, South Africa, also participated.
Peer Review Learning and Network is an intercontinental platform designed to facilitate experiential learning and sharing between the CEOs of electricity regulatory institutions in Kenya, Namibia, Uganda, South Africa and Ghana.
The programme, which is hosted under the auspices of Energy Industry Captains, is supported by the University of Cape Town (UCT) Power Futures Lab, in collaboration with the European Global Energy Transformation Programme (GET-Transform).
The programme in Ghana comprised a one-week comprehensive review of the energy sector, which focused on engaging and interviewing major stakeholders—the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI); Trades Union Congress (TUC); Ghana National Chamber of Commerce; Ghana Chamber of Mines; Media; Ministry of Energy; Power generators, transmitters and distributors—in the sector; the overview of Ghana’s power sector; the strategic & policy environment; the regulatory governance and performance as well as regulatory substance and impacts.
The PRLN, which is rotational among the countries represented on the team, is of the firm belief that African electricity regulators can best learn from one another and improve on their performances through the conduct of periodic in-depth peer reviews of the electricity regulatory systems in each selected country.
The objectives of the PRLN, among others, are to enhance leadership and management capability among African electricity regulators, leading to increased credibility, transparency, and robustness of regulatory decisions.
It is also geared towards enhancing the overall investments and development outcomes through improved performances of the continent’s electricity industry.
The Peer Review and Learning Network in Ghana came at a time when Ghana’s Electricity Regulatory Framework, in 2022, was adjudged by the African Development Bank as the fourth (4th) best, improving three points from the previous 7th position in 2021 on the African Continent.
This exercise was carried out across several key metrics by the African Development Bank’s Electricity Regulatory Index for Africa.
The Chief Executive Officers present at the programme were Dr Ishmael Ackah (Public Utilities Regulatory Commission, Ghana), Ing. Ziria Tibalwa Waako, (Electricity Regulatory Authority, Uganda), Mr Daniel Kiptoo Bargoria (Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Kenya).
The others were Mr. Nhlanhla Gumede, (Member of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa) and Mr. Pinehas Mutota, (General Manager, Economic Regulation; Electricity Control Board of Namibia).
A timely regulatory overhaul of Africa’s fledgling electricity sector will attract private sector investment and ensure energy security on the continent, stakeholders meeting at an electricity dialogue, have agreed.
More than 600 million Africans have no access to electricity and Africa generates only 4% of the global energy. Despite vast opportunities in the development of the electricity sector in Africa, there is low private sector investment in energy infrastructure and service delivery, participants at the recent High-Level Public-Private Dialogue on Private Sector Investment in Electricity and Infrastructure Development in Africa, heard.
The two-day dialogue, hosted by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the RES4Africa Foundation brought together stakeholders from the public and private sectors, including policymakers, international organizations, and decision-makers working in energy and infrastructure. They discussed the changes needed in policy and regulatory frameworks to ensure adequate openness, attractiveness, and readiness of African markets to private investments.
Mr. Yohannes Hailu, an energy policy expert at ECA Private Sector Development and Finance Division, highlighted the work of ECA and RES4Africa in 16 African countries on the assessment of the regulatory environment and risks as an essential entry point to address regulatory barriers that limit effective private sector investment in energy infrastructure.
“Advancing electricity market regulatory improvement and reform is a significant part of the solution towards de-risking investment in Africa’s energy infrastructure,” Mr. Hailu said, emphasizing that credible regulatory framework and policy remained key instruments for member countries striving to crowd-in private capital in their electricity markets via generation, transmission, distribution, and off-grid system development.
The ECA and AUC continental framework, which was validated during the Dialogue, offers guidance on mainstreaming the key regulatory instruments at regional and national levels to crowd-in private investment. In addition, representatives from Ministries of Energy and Regional Energy Regulatory institutions provided feedback on regulatory areas for technical cooperation with ECA and the RES4Africa Foundation.
They also identified areas of regulatory technical cooperation including green hydrogen, storage of batteries, standardization of contracts, development of grid codes and risk-mapping. The Dialogue also discussed developing a regional framework for private sector participation in electricity markets.
Mr. Andrea Renzulli, head of policy and regulation at RES4Africa, commended the partnership with the ECA in raising awareness and sharing knowledge on the electricity reform agenda across African markets.
He reaffirmed the commitment of RES4Africa Foundation and its members in collaboration with ECA and interested African countries to advance policy and regulatory reforms towards better market openness, attractiveness and readiness for private sector participation.
Mr. Renzulli acknowledged the importance of continued exchanges of knowledge between energy regulatory authorities across the Continent and the private sector.
At the closing of the technical training on regulation and private sector investment session held on the margins of the Dialogue, Mr. Robert Lisinge, Officer-in-Charge of the Private Sector Development and Finance Division at the ECA said an enabling environment is essential to meeting the major investment needs for national and regional infrastructure in Africa through public private sector partnerships.
“Our aim at ECA is to stay close to the continental, regional and national infrastructure agenda guided by Agenda 2063 and SDGs,” said Mr. Lisinge, explaining that the ECA was providing capacity development and technical cooperation related to private sector participation to close the large financing gap in infrastructure development in the continent.
“The high-level dialogue this week highlighted the commitment of member States and the private sector to work together through facilitation of a conducive business environment for private investment and developing the right PPP framework for successful application of PPP in infrastructure finance,” he said.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
A senior Nigerian minister has urged the country’s president to end a long-running dispute with Eni SpA and Shell Plc to allow the companies to finally develop a prized deepwater oil license.
Investigations and lawsuits relating to the energy giants’ acquisition of the permit 12 years ago should be halted so Africa’s largest crude producer can “take advantage of the fast-disappearing opportunities in the global oil exploration industry,” Attorney General Abubakar Malami wrote in a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari dated Feb. 6, 2023, and seen by Bloomberg. Delays to the development of the block have had “negative economic consequences” for Nigeria, he said.
While Buhari’s administration has alleged that much of the $1.1 billion paid by Eni and Shell to the Nigerian government for the rights to Oil Prospecting License 245 was subsequently diverted to bribes and kickbacks, it has suffered high-profile defeats in courts in Italy and the UK.
Eni initiated arbitration proceedings against Nigeria in 2020, accusing the government of breaching its obligations by refusing to convert the permit into one that allows the production of hydrocarbons.
Malami advised Buhari to direct the termination of a lawsuit brought against the two companies in Nigeria by the nation’s anti-corruption agency and of all investigations concerning the license, according to the letter, which was first reported by Lagos-based news website The Cable.
The oil industry regulator should “expedite conversion of OPL 245,” said Malami, who also serves as justice minister.
After the firms and serving and former executives were acquitted of corruption charges in Milan, Buhari – who doubles as Nigeria’s oil minister – consented in May 2022 to the conversion of the permit pending the conclusion of all disputes between the parties, according to Malami’s letter.
Malami’s spokesman declined to comment on the contents of the letter. Eni also declined to comment. Spokespeople for Buhari, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
Shell has “always maintained that the 2011 settlement related to OPL 245 was legal,” a company spokeswoman said by email.
Buhari is due to leave office at the end of May and be replaced by his ally Bola Tinubu, who won a presidential election held in February.
The government’s defense against Eni’s arbitration claim “becomes doubtful particularly when viewed in the context of serial losses already recorded,” while the Nigerian suit does not offer “any prospect of success,” Malami said in the letter.
Source:Bloomberg
Petroleum product losses within the state-owned Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) in the Republic of Ghana appear not to be ending anytime soon as condensate worth US$2.5 million is said to have gone missing in the refinery in the last couple of weeks.
Condensate is a mixture of light liquid hydrocarbons, similar to a very light (high API) crude oil. It is typically separated out of a natural gas stream at the point of production (field separation) when the temperature and pressure of the gas is dropped to atmospheric conditions.
It is not clear how the product got missing but Ghana’s Minister for Energy, Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, who broke the latest news from the refinery on Accra-based Citi FM, said his outfit directed the Ghana National Gas Company to push all the condensate to the refinery for them to blend it with premix fuel but said $2.5 million worth of the product has been unaccounted for.
“I gave TOR a new business opportunity in the premix fuel market that all the condensate from Ghana Gas should be used for blending premix fuel. The last time I heard, over 2.5 million dollars worth of condensate had gone missing from TOR. If we all want TOR to work, and we don’t want another ECG in TOR, [we should do the right thing else] it will break the back of government.
“TOR has over $500 million worth of debt sitting on its books and go and look at how the debt is accumulated– people bring their crude to refine and then they record crude losses.
“You don’t pay taxes for it to go down the drain. You pay taxes for an efficient running of government. The government, I can tell you, is doing so much work to bring TOR to work. Proposals are lying up in TOR, SIGA, Attorney General and Finance Ministry all having a look. Getting it right is a difficult proposition we are working on. And we will work diligently to get Ghanaians what is good,” the Energy Minister added.
Workers of the refinery, last Tuesday, accused the Akufo-Addo administration of failing to revive the 45,000 per stream day refinery built in the 1960s by the Nkrumah administration.
To recall, in 2022, 14 staff of the refinery were interdicted for product losses running into over US$ 14 million.
The interdicted staff were, however, cleared by an internal committee and were made to assume their post.
The company has been struggling to get a strategic partner due to over $500 million in digests sitting on its books.
An attempt to reach the Managing Director of TOR to speak to the latest development has proven futile.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Norwegian oil firm, Aker ASA and The Resource Group TRG AS have sold their shares in Aker Energy to AFC Equity Investment Ltd, a company owned by Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).
Aker ASA holds 50.79 per cent of the shares in Aker Energy and TRG holds 49.21 per cent.
Per the transaction, AFC is now the 100 per cent owner of Aker Energy and a 50 per cent owner of the Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points (DWT/CTP) block offshore the Republic of Ghana.
The block comprises discoveries of 450-550 million barrels of oil equivalents, including the Pecan field.
Africa Finance Corporation has previously invested USD200 million in senior secured bonds in the DWT/CTP block development and AFC’s CEO currently serves on the Aker Energy board.
A statement issued by Aker Energy said the management team of Aker Energy would remain unchanged despite the sale of their shares to AFC.
“Aker still believes in the resource potential of the DWT/CTP block in Ghana. AFC is already invested in this field development and is well-positioned to continue this development. In line with Aker’s capital allocation priorities, we have, thus, made a strategic decision to sell our stake in the Ghana assets with an earn-out model as a consideration. This way, we share the risk and reward of this future development,” said Øyvind Eriksen, President and CEO of Aker ASA.
“The sale to a reputable African institution such as the AFC, was considered to be the best way forward to ensure the development of the Pecan field, as well as the whole DWT/CTP block. We are, therefore, very pleased to have reached this agreement with AFC.”
The consideration for the share purchase by AFC is an earn-out model based on potential future sales and/or production proceeds from the Pecan project. Aker will, on an ongoing basis, assess the value of the potential earn-out consideration compared to its current book value, which forms part of Aker’s Net Asset Value reporting.
AFC is a pan-African multilateral development finance institution with a proven track record in providing pragmatic solutions to Africa’s infrastructure deficit, having assembled a USD10.5 billion portfolio of loans and other investments across six sectors, and accession to the Corporation by 40 member countries.
The Republic of Ghana became an AFC sovereign shareholder in 2018, having acceded to membership in 2011.
AFC has invested in several projects in Ghana across various real sectors over the last 15 years, both as equity and debt providers.
“AFC reaffirms its commitment to catalyzing economic growth and development in Africa. AFC will continue to ensure that Africa’s natural resources including its vast oil and gas reserves, are developed sustainably within the global framework on energy transition and the UN Sustainable Development Goals,” said Samaila Zubairu, President and CEO of AFC.
“The DWT/CTP Project, which aims to develop Ghana’s proven resources, has the potential to create jobs, increase government revenues and spur development in the country. Our continuing collaboration with Aker entities for technical support to the development will ensure that the PoD is submitted on time and in line with the framework agreed with the Government of Ghana. This is a positive step toward achieving the project’s goals and significantly contributing value to the Ghanaian economy.”
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) says Africa is energy poor and requires a significant inflow of infrastructure investment and funds to achieve its energy goal.
“Lack of energy security poses an existential threat to human security. Consequently, many countries are prioritising energy security even as increased fossil fuel use impairs climate action; with their energy security plans centred on gas as a transition fuel,” Akinwumi Adesina, President of AfDB, said in an address read for him by Lamin Barrow, the Director-General of AfDB, at the 2023 Nigeria International Energy Summit (NIES) in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria.
The summit, which started on April 16 and ended on April 20, 2023, was on the theme: ‘Global perspectives for a sustainable energy future’.
In his address which focused on ‘security versus energy transition—global perspectives for a sustainable energy future’, Adesina said despite the crucial need for energy security, access to finance for developing countries was increasingly being made contingent to net zero commitment.
He added that Africa’s energy transition required US$100 billion annually in investments between 2020 and 2040.
According to the AfDB boss, many Asian countries have prioritised energy security by increasing purchases above price caps and in non-dollar denominated contracts while Germany and the UK have turned back to coal for power generation.
Taking a cue from this, Adesina said that through a combination of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, green hydrogen etc and the pragmatic utilisation of gas as a transition fuel, the continent was well positioned to achieve net zero target.
“To guarantee food and energy security, Africa must build a domestic economy resilient to global and regional shocks which have increased in intensity and frequency. To meet SDG7, African countries need to connect 90 million people annually to electricity over the next eight years and move 130 million people to use clean cooking fuels,” he added.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
A rainstorm on the evening of Saturday, April 15th, 2023, has caused an interruption in power supply to some areas within the Yilo and Lower Manya Krobo areas in the Eastern Region of the Republic of Ghana.
The major destruction had to do with a roof that ripped off and fell on parts of ECG’s overhead line conductors, as a result, damaging a pole in the process at Kpong junction. That affected one of the two main network lines that supplied power to these two municipal areas.
Due to this rainstorm accident, customers in Kpong Quarters, Makrosec, Nuaso (New and Old Town), Kpongunor, Abanse, Agormenya Market and the township had their power supply curtailed.
According to a release by the Tema Public Relations Officer of ECG, Sakyiwa Mensah, “On the evening of the accident, some customers were migrated onto the other supply line which had not been affected, while work was ongoing to restore the broken pole and conductors.”
She explained that due to the extent of damage and its attendant repair works, some customers remained off supply since the incident, as they could not be migrated onto the unaffected supply line.
“The ECG Tema Region and Krobo District have been working assiduously to fix the problem and to restore supply to all customers. It is hoped that all repair works will be completed by the close of day Monday, 17th April 2023.
“The Company wishes to apologise for the inconvenience that this outage has caused and to also caution the public to be careful as we enter the rainy season which could have some storms as well.
“Roofs of buildings should be checked to ensure their integrity is intact to avoid such incidents and outages resulting from such incidents, as happened in Kpong on Saturday,” she concluded.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in the Republic of Ghana have adjusted their pump prices upward with some increasing petrol price by Gh¢1 while diesel saw a 15 pesewas increment.
Unlike other parts of Africa where fuel prices are reviewed monthly, in Ghana, fuel prices are reviewed every two weeks.
Given this, Oil Marketing Companies, on Monday, started increasing their pump prices.
A litre of petrol is now selling between Gh¢12.99 and Gh¢13.10 while diesel is sold between GH¢12.99 and GH¢12.99.
As of Monday morning, leading indigenous Oil Marketing Company, GOIL PLc and Shell, adjusted their pump prices with petrol selling at Gh¢13.10 per litre while diesel is sold at Gh¢12.99 per litre.
TotalEnergies adjusted its pump prices with both petrol and diesel selling at Gh¢12.99 per litre.
Petrosol Ghana adjusted its pump prices with petrol selling at Gh¢12.97 and diesel selling at Gh¢12.84 per litre.
Quantum adjusted its pump prices with petrol selling at Gh¢12.69 and diesel selling at Gh¢12.84 per litre.
Star Oil is selling both petrol and diesel at GH¢12.69 per litre.
Goodness is selling both petrol and diesel at Gh¢12.59 per litre.
Alinco is selling petrol at Gh¢ 11.50 while diesel is sold at Gh¢12.25 per litre.
Zen Petroleum is selling petrol at Gh¢12.58 while diesel is sold at Gh¢12.67 per litre.
Other OMCs are yet to adjust their pump prices.
During the first pricing window which ended on Saturday, April 15, 2023, petrol was sold between Gh¢11.69 and Gh¢12.65 while diesel was sold between Gh¢11.79 and Gh¢12.84 per litre.
Fuel prices started falling in February as a result of the fall in crude oil prices on the international market and the stability of the local currency, Cedi, as well as the implementation of gold for oil programme implemented by the government.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
South Africa’s cabinet approved a bill on electricity regulation designed to clear the path for private generation projects and power trading.
State-owned Eskom has provided more than 90% of electricity used by the most industrialized nation on the continent for a century.
The Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill outlines an entity to buy power as a step toward establishing a competitive market.
The Draft Electricity Amendment Bill has been approved for submission to parliament and will be prioritized, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni told reporters in Pretoria, the capital, last Thursday.
Eskom has become an unprofitable utility, despite its monopoly, and is moving ahead with a plan to separate the business into generation, transmission and distribution units.
The bill will strengthen the role of the National Energy Regulator of South Africa and allow measures to create a transmission system operator that includes the “provision of an electricity trading platform on a multi-market basis, and provide access to the transmission network on a non-discriminatory basis,” Ntshavheni said in a statement.
Ghana has signed the first take-and-pay power purchase agreement with Aksa Energy Company Ghana Limited, a Turkish power firm, for the construction of a 205MW capacity combined cycle gas turbine plant in Anwomaso in the Ashanti Region.
Previously, all power purchase agreements signed with independent power producers were take-or-pay.
The Akufo-Addo administration raised concerns about how the cost of electricity had become very expensive as a result of the ‘Take-or-Pay’ clauses in the PPAs signed during the previous regime.
To address the issue, the Energy and Finance Ministries came up with new criteria by ensuring that, going forward, all PPAs for new projects are signed under ‘Take-and-Pay’ clauses.
A take-or-pay contract clause obligates a buyer to pay for a contracted quantity of a commodity, regardless of whether the buyer takes the entire quantity agreed or not while take-and-pay is an agreement where the buyer’s obligation to pay is not unconditional, but is contingent on either upon the delivery of purchased goods or services or upon the buyer’s consent to take the delivery.
Last week, energynewsafrica.com, reported that ECG had signed a power purchase agreement with Aksa Energy.
Details of the agreement were scanty but in a post on ECG’s Facebook on Tuesday and sighted by energynewsafrica.com, ECG said the agreement with Aksa Energy was Take-and-Pay with a 40 per cent guaranteed dispatch.
According to ECG, there would be no buyer guarantee and no government guarantee.
The project is expected to reach commercial operations in the 4th quarter of 2024.
According to ECG, the project would enhance power generation capacity and voltage stability for customers in the middle belt of Ghana and the export market.
The responsibility for fuel supply would lie with Aksa.
The Northern Electricity Distribution Company Ltd (NEDCo) has announced that it will undertake a general revenue mobilisation exercise across its operational areas effective Tuesday, April 18, 2023.
The exercise is expected to last for more than a month, and it hopes to collect about Gh¢500 million out of Gh¢1.27 billion owed by customers.
According to a statement issued by the power distribution company, the exercise would cover all categories of customers in arrears, including State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
NEDCo is responsible for power distribution in Sunyani, Techiman, Tamale, Wa, Bolgatanga and Oti.
NEDCo said special security arrangements would be put in place to arrest and prosecute anyone who interfered with the exercise.
“Any persons identified to be engaged in illegal connections or reconnections will equally be dealt with by the law.
“We wish to further notify the general public that recalcitrant customers who have refused to redeem their indebtedness to the company after they have been served with Demand Notices will be arraigned before Court.
“Customers in arrears are entreated to pay their bills immediately to avoid disconnection and payment of reconnection fees.
“NEDCo urges all to cooperate for this exercise to be successful, bearing in mind that we can only serve you well when you pay your bills,” the statement concluded.
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Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
The government has reversed its decision to increase the Fuel Marking Margin from Ghp4 to Ghp9 per litre on petroleum products.
A notice issued by Curtis Perry Kwabla Okudzeto, Deputy CEO of NPA, to Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in the West African nation indicated that the Governing Board of NPA had approved an increase in the Fuel Marking Margin from Ghp4 to Ghp9.
The NPA, therefore, advised the OMCs to implement it in Price Build Up effective Sunday, April 16, 2023.
However, the increment was met with stiff opposition by the Minority in Ghana’s Parliament.
Two ministers in the former administration of John Dramani Mahama, Emmanuel Armah Kofi Buah (a former Minister for Petroleum) and John Abdulai Jinapor (a former Deputy Minister for Power) in a series of comments on Twitter and Facebook accused the Akufo-Addo administration of being insensitive to the plight of Ghanaians.
“The reported increase in fuel marking margins by the board of NPA, if true, is a clear example of a government that cares less about the excruciating hardships of its citizens.
“It is even worse when such an exercise is undertaken at a time when Ghanaians have already been compounded with burdensome taxes imposed by this same insensitive government in recent times.
“This is going to affect the prices of fuel at the pump which will unavoidably have cascading effects on other goods and services. The latest increment of the fuel marking margin is unjustified & must therefore be reversed forthwith,” Hon. Armah Kofi Buah tweeted.
However, barely 24 hours when the duo went public to lash at the government, the NPA, in a statement to the Oil Marketing Companies ( OMCs), informed them about the government’s decision to reverse the increment.
“We wish to, hereby, withdraw the increment. Hence, the FMM will remain Ghp4.00/Lt until further notice,” it said.
Fuel Marking Margin means a margin incorporated into the buildup of petroleum prices to pay for the marking of petroleum products to prevent tax revenue loss, smuggling and adulteration of petroleum products.
The increment in FMM would have resulted in increases in fuel prices from tomorrow.
Currently, a litre of petrol is sold between Gh¢11. 64 and Gh¢12.65 while diesel is sold between Gh¢11.99 and Gh¢12.84.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
