At least, 22 people have recently been arrested and their cases are currently in court. Kenya Power has now started a nationwide awareness campaign about the dangers of vandalising the grid, and this comes as the company struggles with constant power blackouts. In January, a national blackout seen as the worst in years was blamed on the vandalism of steel pylons for scrap metal, which led to the collapse of the power grid. Source: energynewsafrica.comOf chips mwitu and the likes…stay woke!
— The Kenya Power & Lighting Company Plc. (@KenyaPower) March 31, 2022
Transformer oil contains polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) which pose a major health risk to consumers.
TOGETHER we can eliminate vandalism! Dial Toll-free 991 today. #KomeshaUhalifu pic.twitter.com/6zpJnP5Noq
Kenya: Danger As Thieves Steal Electric Transformer Fluid And Sell As Cooking Oil
Kenya’s electricity company, Kenya Power, has made a startling revelation that criminals in the Eastern African nation have been vandalising its electric transformers and extracting the fluid in them and selling it to restaurants and roadside stalls as cooking oil for food preparation.
This criminal activity has been making the company lose millions of dollars.
The increase in vandalism of transformers in Kenya has been linked to the rising cost of cooking oil, which has forced some businesses to turn to unorthodox methods to try and keep afloat.
Health experts warn that transformer oil, which looks like cooking oil, is unsafe for human consumption and poses serious health risks.
A statement issued by Kenya Power noted that there has been a sharp increase in vandalism in central Kenya, where nearly 20 transformers were either destroyed or interfered with.
Harrison Kamau, the company’s business manager in Murang’a County, cited an incident where a vandal “was electrocuted on top of a transformer while attempting to remove/return fuses.
“He is currently admitted to the Thika General Hospital with life-threatening injuries,” the Kenya Power official said.
Ghana To Announce New Tariff For Electricity, Water In July
Ghana is expected to review its electricity and water tariffs in July this year.
The last time the West African nation reviewed its utility tariff was in July 2019 when electricity saw an 11.7 per cent upward review.
This was after electricity cost was reduced by 17.5 per cent for residential consumers, while non-residential consumers enjoyed 30 per cent reduction.
Special load tariff customers (those who use more power, such as industries) also enjoyed a 25 per cent tariff reduction, while the mines had a 10 per cent reduction.
Speaking to journalists in the Western Region of Ghana, the Executive Secretary of the Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), a regulator of utilities, Dr. Ishmael Ackah, said the Commission is currently reviewing all the proposals received from the utilities and would arrive at a decision and follow it with an announcement in July.
According to him, the announcement would depend on the Ghana Utility Performance Index satisfaction which the PURC would publish this year.
“This year is a major tariff review year. Before we start, we develop guidelines, and in these guidelines, we go around to engage utilities, consumers and other groups after which we ask utilities to submit proposals. These proposals have been submitted. In coming out with the tariff, we look at the proposals; we look at microeconomic indicators, exchange rates and others. We look at customer services, which is how utilities over the period have also responded to customer concerns.
“Let me add that this year, PURC is going to start publishing what we call the Ghana Utility Performance Index looking at the regional performance based on customer satisfaction and the number of indicators. So, we look at all these things before we come out with the tariff. Where we are now is that all utilities have submitted their proposals to PURC. We have started doing the initial analysis, and as we speak, it will be very difficult to tell you whether it will go up or come down, but we hope to announce the tariff in July,’’ he said.
Dr. Ackah said the Commission would engage all consumers, the media and civil society before coming out with the new tariff.
He, however, said he did not foresee much impact on the tariffs from the increment in the prices of petroleum products.
“When we look at the generation mix, we have the hydro and we have thermal plants, but most of them use natural gas. I think we have only one plant using petrol now, and then, we have the solar system contributing about one per cent. So if there are any changes in gas price, then, it is going to affect the tariff because we have only one plant using petrol…yes, petrol can have some effect, but it is just one plant, so it may not be as much as gas if there are changes in gas price,“ he added.
Source: energynewsafrica.com
Oil Giant Shell To Take £3.8bn Hit By Leaving Russia
Oil giant Shell has confirmed it will take a hit of up to $5bn (£3.8bn) from offloading its Russian assets as part of plans to withdraw from the country.
The firm has pledged to no longer buy oil, but contracts signed before the invasion of Ukraine will be fulfilled.
The costs of Shell no longer doing business in Russia include quitting joint ventures with Gazprom.
Shell was criticised when it bought Russian crude oil at a cheap price shortly after the war began.
In response to the outrage, the company apologised and pledged to stop buying oil from Russia.
The company said it would cost between $4bn and $5bn to cut ties with the country.
“Shell has not renewed longer-term contracts for Russian oil, and will only do so under explicit government direction, but we are legally obliged to take delivery of crude bought under contracts that were signed before the invasion,” the company said.
The oil firm added that the state of the global oil markets remained “volatile”.
Brent Crude – the global benchmark for oil prices – was trading at about $100 a barrel early on Thursday, but its price has risen to record levels since the war in the Ukraine.
The rise in oil prices is due to Russia being one of the world’s largest exporters of the commodity and fears of supplies being disrupted because of the conflict.
Though the UK gets very little of its oil from Russia, it has been affected by the global rise in prices, which has seen petrol and diesel prices hit record levels.
As part of Shell’s withdrawal plans, the company said previously it would offload a 27.5% stake in a Russian liquefied natural gas facility, a 50% stake in an oilfield project in Siberia and an energy joint venture.
It will also end its involvement in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany, which has been put on hold by ministers in Berlin.
UK Plans Eight New Nuclear Reactors To Boost Production
Up to eight more nuclear reactors could be approved on existing sites as part of the UK’s new energy strategy.
The strategy, which aims to boost UK energy independence and tackle rising prices, also includes plans to increase wind, hydrogen and solar production.
But experts have called for a bigger focus on energy efficiency and improving home insulation.
Consumers are facing soaring energy bills after the Russian invasion of Ukraine pushed gas prices even higher. Under the government’s new plans, up to 95% of the UK’s electricity could come from low-carbon sources by 2030.
It outlines, for example, the hope of producing up to 50 gigawatts (GW) of energy through offshore wind farms, which the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (Beis) said would be more than enough to power every home in the UK.
The government’s energy strategy has been much-delayed, with one of the big points of contention reported to have been the construction of onshore wind turbines.
Key points of the new energy strategy
- Nuclear – The government plans to reduce the UK’s reliance on oil and gas by building as many as eight new nuclear reactors, including two at Sizewell in Suffolk. A new body will oversee the delivery of the new plants.
- Wind – The government aims to reform planning laws to speed up approvals for new offshore wind farms. For onshore wind farms it wants to develop partnerships with “supportive communities” who want to host turbines in exchange for guaranteed cheaper energy bills.
- Hydrogen – Targets for hydrogen production are being doubled to help provide cleaner energy for industry as well as for power, transport and potentially heating.
- Solar – The government will consider reforming rules for installing solar panels on homes and commercial buildings to help increase the current solar capacity by up to five times by 2035.
- Oil and gas – A new licensing round for North Sea projects is being launched in the summer on the basis that producing gas in the UK has a lower carbon footprint than doing so abroad.
- Heat pumps – There will be a £30m “heat pump investment accelerator competition” to make British heat pumps which reduce demand for gas.
Nuclear Plans
The new strategy says the government wants to “lead the world once again” in nuclear power, reversing what it describes as “decades of underinvestment”. The government announced that a new body called Great British Nuclear will be launched to bolster the UK’s nuclear capacity, with the hope that by 2050 up to 24 GW of electricity will come from that source – 25% of the projected electricity demand. The focus on nuclear could deliver up to eight new reactors to be built on existing sites. The government hopes to have a new reactor approved each year until 2030 with the aim to have them up and running by 2050. Source: BBCIt’s Time For Europe And Africa To Agree On A Green Gas Deal (Article)
It would be fair to say that when it comes to Africa’s energy industry, Africa and Europe have been at odds for the last several years.
Europe, which has valid concerns about protecting the climate and moving the world toward net-zero emissions goals, has been urging African oil- and gas-producing states not only to accelerate their transition to green energy sources, but also to send it into overdrive. The general sentiment in the European Union (EU) is that the time for new oil and gas projects in Africa has passed.
African Oil and Gas Producers and the African Energy Chamber (AEC) have been outspoken in our objection to European environmental groups, leaders, and financial institutions interfering in our energy industry, particularly when it discourages funding for new African petroleum projects. We even called for a boycott last July of European firms that cut off African oil and gas investments.
As you might expect, African countries have been equally frustrated with the EU’s interference. They are less than keen about turning their backs on the benefits their fossil fuel resources have to offer, particularly natural gas. When you consider that natural gas can ease the continent’s widespread energy poverty, help provide reliable electricity for nearly 600 million people in sub-Saharan Africa without reliable electricity, and be monetized to create the funds Africa will need for a successful energy transition, it’s easy to see why.
Nevertheless, the EU has been relentless in its push to halt Africa’s natural gas production. Until recently, that is.
A seismic shift began late last summer when Europe was faced with rising commodity prices and low natural gas supplies. Output from renewables wasn’t able to fill the gap, making coal use a necessary evil to meet their needs. European leaders started recognizing that the increased use of natural gas, which emits the least carbon dioxide of all fossil fuels, was their best strategy for sustainably protecting Europe’s energy security in the short term. By early 2022, the EU declared that natural gas (along with nuclear power) can be considered green energy — as long as it emits less than 270 grams of carbon dioxide per kilowatt-hour.
Perspectives evolved further after Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Currently, the European Union relies on Russia for 45% of its imported gas, which totaled about 155 billion cubic meters last year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates. But earlier this month, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU would release proposals for phasing out its dependency on Russian fossil fuels by 2027.
Today, the world is starting to recognize the critical role Africa’s vast natural gas resources could play in meeting Europe’s needs. The EU is also eying Africa’s potential for the production of green hydrogen, that is, hydrogen produced with renewable energy sources. Countries like Germany have already determined that they cannot produce the large quantities of green hydrogen they’ll need to achieve their zero-emissions goals on their own. As a result, they’ve started setting the stage for successful import agreements with African producers by investing in infrastructure and African capacity-building programs. I was in Berlin Last week when Namibian Mines and Energy Minister Tom Alweendo and German Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck, signed a Joint Declaration of Intent on cooperation in the field of green hydrogen during the Berlin Energy Transition Dialogue. Namibia has a Green Hydrogen project that has advanced a lot thanks to the work of James Mnyupe, Namibia’s presidential economic adviser and hydrogen commissioner and his team but more work is needed. Frankfurt based, Emerging Energy Corporation has signed an agreement with the government of Niger to work on Green Hydrogen and also reduce carbon emissions in the oil fields and at the same time seek ways to get gas and hydrogen through pipelines into Europe.
Clearly, Africa has an important role to play in meeting European energy needs today and tomorrow. The question is, can European leaders and organizations let go of the dynamics that have dictated their dealings with Africa in the past — actions that prioritized climate objectives above Africa’s most pressing needs — and begin embracing the many benefits natural gas has to offer both continents?
Can we forge an alliance of mutual respect and cooperation, a “Green Gas Deal” of cooperation so to speak? I believe we can, and we must.
If we do, if European governments and businesses start ramping up their investments in African natural gas projects, they’ll accelerate the infrastructure development necessary for African countries to start exporting more gas and hydrogen to Europe, freeing countries there from reliance on Russia.
What’s more, European investments in Africa will open the doors to more gas-to-power projects with the potential to ease African energy poverty. The investments will open the door to industrial projects that use gas as a feedstock, such as chemical and fertilizer plants, that will diversify African economies. And they’ll foster the revenue generation that African countries will need to grow their energy mix and set the stage for a successful energy transition.
Now Is the Time to Invest in Africa
Besides, investing in African gas is a sound business move.
For one thing, the African Energy Chamber’s efforts to foster a positive investment environment in Africa have already been productive. African governments like Nigeria, Uganda, and Namibia have been working to create business-friendly policies, from fair local content policies to improved fiscal regimes that enhance international oil companies’ (IOCs’) ability to operate profitably within their borders.
This October, the AEC plans to highlight Africa’s downstream, midstream, and upstream oil and gas opportunities with our Africa Energy Week (https://bit.ly/3K84PlT), which will take place in Cape Town Oct. 18-21. It’s important to remember that Africa remains under-explored and still has vast stores of oil and gas. During the last year alone, there have been major discoveries in South Africa, Namibia, Gabon, and off the coast of Cote d’Ivoire, to name a few.
Not only do solid investment opportunities for Europe exist in exploration and production, but also in gas infrastructure. European governments, businesses, and organizations can facilitate African natural gas imports to their countries by investing in African gas infrastructure including pipelines, LNG export terminals, and maritime logistics operations. We hope to see businesses join forces, along with the creation of public-private partnerships, to drive these infrastructure projects forward.
Promising Steps
When it comes to a new era of energy cooperation, Europe and Africa are already moving in the right direction.
For example, I’m extremely encouraged by the commitment of Frans Timmermans, executive vice president of the European Commission, to participate in the AEC’s 2022 African Energy Week (AEW) (https://bit.ly/37eKnAV) in Cape Town this October. Timmermans will take part in investor forums, panel discussions, and meetings with African energy ministers, Presidents, Team Energy Africa and Oil and Gas industry stakeholders.
Meanwhile, the African Energy Chamber has met with the European Commission in Brussels and spoken to German leaders in Berlin about the role African hydrogen can play in Europe’s energy transition with great thanks and credit to the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and particularly Anja Beretta, the Director of the Energy Security and Climate Change Program for convincing us to be on the table and speak up our views. She never tried to muscle us and it was respectful.
I only hope this pattern of open, respectful communication continues.
To build on this moment, we will need strong leadership. As I’ve said more than once,
Africa and the EU need to think about our energy relationship not in terms of a binary choice between oil, natural gas, and coal production and climate change mitigation but rather in the context of energy security and a just energy transition. Rising energy prices and the conflicts underscore the urgency to do both.
That said, after my conversations with EU officials, I believe both Africa and Europe can rise to the challenge.
Africa can help Europe ease its dependence on Russian natural gas and produce the hydrogen it will need to meet its net-zero ambitions. And at the same time, Europe can support Africa’s goals for a just energy transition on our own timeline, one that allows us to use our oil and gas resources to build renewable energy infrastructure, skills, and technologies. One that will not negate our efforts to alleviate energy poverty.
We can, as allies, create the energy futures we both need and want. Now let’s change our mindset and get to work.
Source: NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman, African Energy Chamber
Trina Solar Breaks World Record Yet Again By Setting I-Topcon Cell Efficiency At 25.5%
Trina Solar, the leading global PV and smart energy total solutions provider, has announced that its 210×210mm i-TOPCon cell has achieved maximum efficiency of 25.5%, setting a world record for the 23rd time.
The result was certified by the National Institute of Metrology of China, the preeminent metrology scientific research center and national legal metrology technical institution.
At the company’s State Key Laboratory of PV Science and Technology, Trina Solar researchers solved technical problems related to selective boron emitter, large-area tunneling silicon oxide and doped polysilicon preparation, and high-efficiency hydrogen passivation. By using mass production cell equipment, they brought the maximum efficiency of large 210mm N-type monocrystalline cells to 25.5%. This new efficiency, the result of the company’s continuing innovation and research efforts, demonstrates once again Trina Solar’s prowess in cell 210×210mm i-TOPCon cell technology.
Commenting Dr Chen Yifeng, head of the company’s high efficiency cell and module R&D center, said: “We are extremely proud of these latest achievements. Trina Solar is thoroughly committed to cutting-edge research and development and has been a pioneer in technological production and manufacturing, helping it to maintain its leading position with its efficient products.”
The achievements have been vital as the company has pressed on with its 210mm N-type i-TOPCon high efficiency cell project and paves the way for follow-up development in the high-end market.
Trina Solar’s achievements have been widely welcomed in the industry, including by authorities and renowned institutions. In February Trina Solar was named by Reuters Events as one of the top 100 innovators in Global Energy Transition 2022. The company was the only listed company in China in the list and among only a few others in the Asia and Pacific region to figure on it.
Over the years Trina Solar has applied for 2,200 patents, making it an industry leader in this respect. It has played a key role in 107 industry standards and published 96 standards, making a tremendous contribution to advances in the photovoltaic technology.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana On The Verge Of Hitting Load Shedding If-Donkor Warns
Ghana is likely to face power supply challenges within the next two years if the current government fails to take any remedial measures to avert it.
This is according to Dr Kwabena Donkor, a former Ghana’s Minister for Power under the National Democratic Congress-led administration.
“This country is likely to face load shedding in the next two years if urgent steps are not taken from this moment to increase our power generation,” Dr Kwabena Donkor cautioned in a report filed by parliamentnews360.com
While expressing his fears about the power sector, the former Minister advised that “we encourage and finance Volta River Authority (VRA) to put on additional thermal plant or we contract the private sector (IPPs) to increase their thermal capacity, otherwise, there is no other way.”
In his view, the West African nation was dangerously close to matching peak demand with available power supply just a couple of weeks ago in February when power consumption in the country surged to its highest peak.
“On the 15th of February 2022, our peak power demand was 3,343 Megawatts, on that day, our available power was 3,527 Megawatts. We had a surplus of only 180 Megawatts. So, we were dangerously close to matching peak demand with total available supply,” he explained.
He observed that the situation confronting the nation in its power sector demands urgent national attention and he felt he owed it as a duty to caution the government since he was in charge as the minister during the country’s last severe power challenges.
“I happen to have been the Minister in charge of power when this country went through a very tremendous period in terms of power supply. Today, we are gradually creeping into a situation that if I don’t draw the nation’s attention, I would not have been doing my diligent duty to the people of Ghana,” he said.
Dr Kwabena Donkor, therefore, urged the government of President Akufo Addo to take urgent steps to increase the country’s generation capacity immediately by setting up new power plants in order not to create power shortage challenges for the next government in case there is a change in Government.
“It is possible there would be a new government in the next three years and the retort will be that these people have come again and there is load shedding. But load shedding would have come out of our inaction today and that is why I am drawing attention because our inaction today will create a load shedding tomorrow,” he further observed.
Ghana’s total installed capacity for existing plants is 5,134 Megawatt (MW), with a dependable capacity of 4,710 MW.
Source: energynewsafrica.com
South Africa: Fuel Prices Go Up Wednesday
South Africans will be paying more for petrol and diesel effective tomorrow, Wednesday, 6th April 2022, despite a reduction in tax components on the commodity.
Petrol (95) will sell at R21.96 ($1.51) while diesel (0.05%) will sell at R21.01 ($1.45) tomorrow.
Currently, petrol (93) is sold at R21.35 per litre, while diesel (0.05) is sold at R19.49 per litre.
Also, petrol (95) is sold at 21.60, while diesel (0.005) is sold at R13.19.
A statement issued by the Minister for Mineral Resources and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, announced the adjustments in fuel prices effective tomorrow.
According to him, petrol (both 93 ULP and LRP) will go up 28 cents per litre while petrol (both 95 ULP and LRP) will also go up by 36 cents per litre.
Additionally, diesel (0.05% sulphur) will go up by 152.56 per litre while diesel (0.005% sulphur) will go up by 168.56 cents per litre.
Also, illuminating paraffin (wholesale) will go up by 266.00 cents while the single maximum national retail price for LPG will go up by 355 cents per kilogramme.
Last week, Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana, announced an R1.50 per litre reduction on fuel from April to the end of May.
The move was to provide some form of relief to consumers who are feeling the biting effects of rising fuel prices amidst the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: PURC’s Intervention Saves Electricity, Water Consumers Gh¢9.45Million
The Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), Ghana’s electricity and water utilities regulator, has saved consumers from paying a whopping GH¢9,459,627.65 to utility companies for electricity and water they did not consume over four years.
The breakdown of the figure shows that in 2018 alone, the PURC’s intervention by way of investigating and settling complaints between consumers and utility companies in line with their core functions saved consumers Gh¢580,526.82 and Gh¢ 2,527,356.62 in 2019.
In 2020, the Commission’s intervention saved consumers from paying Gh¢888,304.25 while Gh¢6,459,627.65 was saved by consumers in 2021.
These figures were contained in a presentation by Alhaji Jabaru Abukari, Director, Regional Operations of Public Utilities Regulatory Commission (PURC), last Thursday, under the topic: ‘Post Tariff Complaints and PURC Complaints Management Process’ at a Webinar hosted by the USAID funded Power Africa West Africa Energy Program (WAEP) in collaboration with the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The webinar was part of a series of planned capacity building programs aimed at increasing the understanding of Social Accountability Actors and Civil Society Organizations on the electricity tariff processes in Ghana.
“Prudent complaints investigations by the Commission have impacted positively on the finances of complaints through credit sales adjustments and utilities as revenue recovery. This is a result of over-billing and damages caused by the utilities and non-payment of bills,” Alhaji Jabaru explained.
In 2021, PURC’s intervention also help the utilities to recover Gh¢548,383 as revenue.
A trend analysis of complaints lodged to the Commission and resolved from 2016 to 2021 showed that there was a decrease in the number of complaints lodged from 3,202 in 2016 to 2,713 representing a 15.27 per cent decrease.
However, this increased to 5,226 in 2018, representing a 92.63 per cent increase.
The complaints again increased to 9,550 in 2019 by 82.74 per cent.
This increase, the Commission said, as a result of innovation introduced that allowed complaints to lodge complaints via WhatsApp.
The Commission noted that another reason that accounted for the increase in complaints in 2019 was the problem between ECG and Kroboland.
There was, however, a decrease in complaints lodged from 9,550 in 2019 to 7,067 in 2020 representing a decrease of 26 per cent. This is was mainly due to the outbreak of Covid-19 and its related lockdown of the country as well as restrictions on movement.
In 2021, complaints lodged with the Commission increased to 10,987 from 7,067 in 2020 representing an increase of 55.47 per cent.
According to the Commission, the increase was a result of the increase in the number of regional offices of the Commission as well as the increase in WhatsApp platforms.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Liberia: Electricity Corporation, Word Bank Install 31 Transformers, Over 5000 Meters To Residents In Gardnersville
Amidst the growing wave of demand for community’s electrification, the Liberia Accelerated Electricity Expansion Project-additional Financing (LACEEP-AF), through the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC), with support from the World Bank, has turned over 31 installed transformers and light-poles to several communities across electoral districts #11 and #13 in Montserrado County with the objective of creating easy access to affordable and reliable energy supply.
Over five thousand beneficiaries in Barnersville, Tusa Field and New Georgia Communities amongst others, are currently benefiting electricity from the World Bank-LACEEP-AF Funded project which is being implemented by an engineering company MBH Power Limited, through the Liberia Electricity CoIt followed the installation of thirty-one transformers and distribution of 5,048 meters in the two districts aimed at addressing some of the growing challenges being experience by residents in accessing the national electricity grid.
Speaking at the handover ceremony of the transformers to LEC management on Wednesday, March 30, LEC-World Bank Project Supervisor, Mr. Ezekiel Sampson said, the project is aimed at increasing citizens’ access to the national power grid.
He added that it will also decrease criminal rate and enable residents of the areas to move about smoothly.
Mr. Sampson disclosed that additional funding has been secured for the extension of the project to other parts of Monrovia.
“The World Bank is one of our biggest implementing partners that gives support to the Liberia Electricity Corporation. There are plans to extend to other communities and counties. As we speak, additional funding has been approved and signed,” Sampson asserted.
He noted that procurement and other formalities are ongoing to begin the project as soon as possible.
Turning the transformers over to LEC and the community earlier, MBH project Engineer, Christian Fiagbezi, said MBH has done its portion and it is now left with LEC and the community for use and effective management.
“We have done with the MV/LV network and we are handing it over to LEC and the community to ensure it is effectively managed. We carried out assessment which showed that we only needed 31 transformers,” Fiagbezi disclosed.
The transformers are expected to last for over twenty-five years if effectively and properly managed without no load growth.
He said in the instance where there is load growth, LEC will need to upgrade the transformers to meet the customers’ demands.
Mr. Fiagbezi explained that the transformers are durable enough to serve the communities if the residents decide to protect the transformers by ensuring that power theft is curtailed.
For his part, LEC Bushrod Feeder Base Business Unit Electrical Engineer, Ben Fomba, said the installation of the transformers is a milestone for LEC and residents of the community.
“This is going to make us generate more revenue to increase our power generation if our customers will be sincere enough.”
He, at the same time called on the community to help protect the transformers. Mr. Fomba thanked the World Bank and MBH for the project and promised that LEC will do everything possible in terms of maintenance.
The Secretary General of JJY community, Thomas J. Kamara, expressed gratitude to LEC, MBH and the World Bank for the initiative.
“We have been suffering as a result of darkness, criminal rate on the increase and we believed that the provision of electricity is a great help – we don’t know how to even thank LEC and her partners, we are grateful.”
Mr. Kamara further said,” we have put in place a mechanism that will somehow decrease power theft because we don’t have the full capacity to stop power theft, but what we can promise LEC and others is that, we will try to limit it by educating our people.”
The JJY Community Secretary General added that the leadership of the community has begun a rigorous sensitization campaign to ensure that residents of the area serve as ambassadors to prevent power theft.
He maintained that the house-to-house campaign is gradually yielding fruitful result as there has been no sign of power theft in the community.
Mr. Kamara said anyone caught will be reported to the LEC and the Liberia National Police for prosecution.
According to him, since the installation of transformers and subsequent electrification of their communities, criminal rate which was on the Increase, has drastically reduced. “The places used to be dark, but for now, we see lights all over, so we appreciate LEC in collaboration with World Bank.”
Meanwhile, the Community Secretary General has vowed that as a means of taking ownership of the project, they will also monitor power theft operations.
Mr. Kamara further disclosed that “power theft reduces the load weight for legitimate users; we will monitor that also as a way of ensuring our community protection.”
Despite the low water shortage LEC is experiencing at the Mount Coffee Hydro Power plant, the management has affirmed its commitment to its primary objective aimed at expanding electricity to thousands of new customers through its donor founded projects across Monrovia and its environs.
At the same time, the LEC Management is rigorously involved with mass connections in communities under the Normalization Process which seeks to cover up the gaps with households that are not connected to the national electricity grid. The requirement under which one can obtains a meter through the Normalization Process are as follows: one should obtain a valid identification card, phone number, and place of location and must be a resident of said community.
Whereas, customers who are recruited under the Normalization process benefit a free Meter Installation for electricity and will only have to provide the necessary information to the LEC Customer Service Center for registration. The Customer Normalization process is being implemented by the LEC in collaboration with the community leadership.
South Africa Still Heavily Reliant On Coal For Electricity – Report
Most African countries are coal-free; however, South Africa still relies heavily on the fossil fuel for electricity production, a report shows.
Independent non-profit think tank Ember last week issued its Global Electricity Review 2022, which showed that globally clean energy sources accounted for 38% of electricity production, outweighing coal at 36%. Wind and solar are the fastest-growing sources of electricity and accounted for a tenth of global electricity production in 2021.
Domestically coal accounted for 84.4% electricity production in 2021, according to the Ember report. As a result, South Africa’s emissions in 2021 from electricity production still outpaces other African nations like Egypt and Kenya.
Clean energy sources accounted for only 13.7% of South Africa’s electricity production.
The report further highlighted that electricity access is still a problem across the continent.
“Most of the world’s population still without access to electricity is in Africa. For those that do have access, it’s unreliable, and use per person is far lower than the global average,” the report read.
Africa accounts for 18% of the global population but only 3% of the world’s electricity generation.
While electricity demand is growing, clean electricity growth to meet that demand is slow.
African nations might not be heavily dependent on coal, but they still rely on another fossil fuel – gas.
A third of Africa’s electricity demand growth in the past five years was met with renewables. The other two-thirds of demand growth were met by gas, the report read. While gas was always prevalent in northern Africa, it is becoming a more common energy source across the continent, the report added.
Domestically, there are plans to increase reliance on gas as a transition fuel to balance the electricity system as the country incorporates more renewables. Civil society organisations and other environmental activists have objected to and even legally challenged gas and oil exploration.
Most recently, West Coast fishing communities won a court battle to block a seismic survey off its shores.
However, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has spoken out against those objecting to the development of the oil and gas industry, which he believes will boost investment in South Africa.
The Ember report indicates that to limit global temperature rising beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius, in line with the Paris Agreement on climate change, South Africa must rapidly transition out of coal generation, and northern African countries must rely less on gas power generation.
Globally wind and solar energy need to grow at 20% every year until 2030 – which equates to their average growth over the past decade.
Solar and wind are quick to deploy and are cost-competitive. Countries such as US, Germany, UK and Canada intend to shift their grids to be dependent on clean electricity within the next 15 years, the report indicated.
Source:News24.com
Shift To Clean Energy Must Speed Up To Avoid Worst Of Climate Change-U.N. Panel Says
The world needs to rapidly accelerate its transition away from coal and other fossil fuels to avoid extreme climate change, according to a report by the U.N. climate science panel.
The report justifies the growing concern among scientists, activists and governments that promises to slash greenhouse gas emissions so far are inadequate to keep global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 or 2 degrees Celsius – the level at which researchers say climate change risks spinning out of control.
“In order to meet these targets, you need credible commitments on public policy, private investment, innovation, all happening quickly and then being sustained over several decades,” said John Bistline, a climate expert for the non-profit Electric Power Research Institute and a contributing author to the IPCC report.
To keep warming in check, global consumption of coal, for example, must drop by at least 67% by 2030 and 95% by 2050, while oil and gas use must also decline sharply, according to the report. That would mean retiring and replacing fossil fuel power plants and other facilities potentially decades earlier than planned and cancelling new construction.
“Without early retirements, or reductions in utilisation, the current fossil infrastructure will emit more GHGs than is compatible with limiting warming to 1.5 degrees C,” the report said.
The pace of the decline in fossil fuel consumption could be somewhat slower if facilities install carbon capture equipment to keep their emissions from reaching the atmosphere, the report said, while also acknowledging that the technology is not yet proven to be commercially viable at scale.
The rapid shift away from fossil fuels needed to limit warming poses a multi-trillion dollar risk to investors and resource-rich nations, because it could leave infrastructure idle and untapped resources in the ground.
“About 30% of oil, 50% of gas, and 80% of coal reserves will remain unburnable if warming is limited to 2 degrees C,” the report said, adding that the loss of wealth from such “stranded assets” could create risks for financial markets.
But there are economic opportunities as well, both for investors looking to profit from the growing solar, wind and other clean energy industries, and businesses keen to benefit from their falling costs and improved technology, it said.
The report said transitioning to low-carbon energy is already economical in some cases.
Despite decades of international climate negotiations, carbon emissions and fossil fuel energy demand have been rising steadily, with current emissions projections putting 1.5 degrees C well out of reach.
Tight global energy markets and high fuel prices, meanwhile, have led big energy consumer nations like the United States to call for increased oil and gas drilling in the near term – reflecting a shift in priorities from tackling climate change to shoring up energy security.
Source: Reuters
Kenya: KPC Assures Of Adequate Fuel Stocks Amidst Reports Of Fuel Shortages
Kenya’s Pipeline Company (KPC) has assured consumers of sufficient fuel stocks across all their depots in the East African nation.
This comes on the back of reports of shortages of fuel in the country.
Reports suggest there are winding queues at most fuel stations in the country.
However, KPC, in a statement issued last weekend, stated that their current stock position at all their facilities indicate that there are over 69 million litres of super (petrol), more than 94 million litres of diesel, more than 13 million litres of kerosene and over 23 million litres of jet fuel available.
“Kenya Pipeline Company would like to confirm that there are ample stocks of petroleum products in our system throughout the country to meet demand,” KPC’s Managing Director, Dr. Macharia Irungu, said.
“Our global stock holding is adequate to serve the region with more ships in Mombasa queued for discharge,” he added.
Some Kenyans have been expressing their concerns with energynewsafrica.com and on social media and here are some of the comments:
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com