Nigeria: Boko Haram Group Bomb TCN Transmission Towers Leaving Over 800,000 People In Maiduguri Without ElectricityThe project, which commenced in November, last year, was carried out in phases in order to ameliorate the effect of scheduled outages on electricity consumers during the period. Some areas did not experience outage through the period as they were backfed through another line. “We are sincerely grateful to the government and good people of Sokoto State and Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company for their patience and cooperation during the period of the transmission line reconductoring,” the company said in a statement issued by Ndidi Mbah, General Manager in charge of Public Affairs. Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
Nigeria: Power Supply To Improve In Sokoto State As TCN Completes Transmission Line Project
Electricity supply in the Sokoto State and its environs in the Federal Republic of Nigeria is expected to improve in the coming days.
This is because the country’s power transmission company, TCN, has completed the reconductoring of its new 130 kilometres 132kV double circuit Sokoto-Birnin Kebbi transmission line.
This would transmit about 170MW, which is more than double the 70MW capacity previously transmitted by the decommissioned old 132kV transmission line.
The new 132kV transmission line has solved the low voltage and attendant poor power situation that used to be prevalent in the Sokoto axis, as TCN is now enabled to substantially transmit increased bulk power electricity to Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company’s distribution load centers in Sokoto State and environs.
This also means that Kaduna DisCo would equally be able to deliver more stable and quality power to its customers in that axis.
Prior to the reconductoring of the line, the Sokoto–Birnin Kebbi 132kV transmission line, was overloaded due to increased demand, arising from massive increase in human population and attendant socio-economic activities in the area.
The new line has solved the problem of overloading/ suppressed load and has ample capacity for anticipated load increase.
Senegal: Wärtsilä Gas Conversion Project Will Accelerate Senegal’s Move To Cleaner Energy Production
The technology group Wärtsilä will convert the almost 90 MW Bel-Air power plant in Dakar, Senegal to operate on liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The plant, which is owned by Senelec, Senegal’s public utility company, currently, operates on heavy fuel oil.
The conversion will future-proof the facility as Senegal’s long-term strategy is to lower the carbon footprint of energy production by switching to gas when a domestic supply is available.
This project is part of an interim LNG-to-Power ‘bridge’ solution, and is the first ever power plant gas conversion in Senegal. The order with Wärtsilä was booked in Q1 2021.
“Our two main aims were to improve the plant’s environmental profile and to lower the operating costs. By taking advantage of Wärtsilä’s deep experience and strong capabilities in power plant gas conversions, we can achieve both of these goals. At the same time, we are preparing the plant for the country’s future gas supply infrastructure,” Papa Mademba Biteye, Managing Director of Senelec said.
“Future-proofing the customer’s assets to meet the requirements over the lifecycle via a gas conversion is far more cost-effective than building a new plant. It also facilitates the greater use of energy from renewable sources, such as solar and wind, since the converted plant will be able to provide highly flexible, fast-starting baseload power for balancing the grid,” commented Marc Thiriet, Energy Business Director, Africa West, Wärtsilä.
The Bel-Air plant’s existing six Wärtsilä 46 engines will be converted to six Wärtsilä 50DF dual-fuel engines.
Wärtsilä’s current operation & maintenance agreement covering the existing engines is being renegotiated in view of the conversion. Wärtsilä’s dual-fuel engine technology allows the use of multiple fuels, providing the option to operate on gas with liquid fuels as back-up.
Besides the engine conversion, the project will cover all aspects to ensure successful operations on gas.
Everything from safety to operational reliability are taken into account, with control functions, mechanical auxiliary systems, as well as electrical and automation systems being changed or upgraded as required. As part of the engineering, procurement, and construction contract, Wärtsilä will manage all phases of the project, which is expected to be completed before the end of 2021.
In addition to the Bel-Air plant, Senelec also has three other Wärtsilä power plants in operation in Senegal. Wärtsilä has a leading position in supplying flexible power generation to West Africa with 4792 MW of capacity installed.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
India: Electricity Consumption Grows Nearly 45 Per Cent In First Half Of April
Power consumption in India grew nearly 45 per cent in the first half of April to 60.62 billion units (BU) over the corresponding period a year ago, showing robust recovery in industrial and commercial demand of electricity, according to power ministry data.
Power consumption in the first half of April last year (from April 1 to 15, 2020) was recorded at 41.91 BU.
On the other hand, the peak power demand met, which is the highest supply in a day, during the first half of this month remained well above the highest record of 132.20 GW in the same period in April 2020.
During the first half this month, peak power demand touched the highest level of 182.55 GW on April 8, 2021, and recorded a growth of 38 per cent over 132.20 GW recorded in the entire month of April last year.
Power consumption in April last year had dropped to 84.55 BU from 110.11 BU in the same month in 2019. This happened mainly because of fewer economic activities following imposition of lockdown by the government in the last week of March 2020 to contain the spread of deadly COVID-19.
Similarly, peak power demand met also slumped to 132.20 GW in April last year from 176.81 GW in the same month in 2019, showing the impact of lockdown on economic activities.
Experts are of the view that high growth in power consumption as well as demand in the first half this month is mainly because of base effect.
They said, “The power consumption remained low in April last year due to lockdown. Now the high growth rate of power consumption clearly indicates healthy recovery in commercial and industrial demand.”
However, they cautioned that local lockdowns across the country to curb the surge of COVID-19 positive cases may impact commercial and industrial power consumption adversely in coming days.
After a gap of six months, power consumption had recorded a 4.6 per cent year-on-year growth in September and 11.6 per cent in October. In November 2020, the power consumption growth slowed to 3.12 per cent, mainly due to the early onset of winters. In December, power consumption grew by 4.5 per cent while it was 4.4 per cent in January 2021.
Power consumption in February this year recorded higher at 104.11 BU compared to 103.81 BU last year despite the fact that 2020 was a leap year.
In March this year, the power consumption grew nearly 23 per cent to 121.51 BU compared to 98.95 BU in the same month of 2020.
During the entire fiscal of 2020-21, power consumption dipped by one per cent to 1,271.54 BU from 1,284.44 BU in 2019-20.
Nigeria: Federal Gov’t Is Working To End Power Outages-Power Minister
Nigeria’s Minister for Power, Eng. Sale Mamman says the Federal Government is aware of the power outages being experienced by Nigerians and is, therefore, working assiduously to resolve the challenges to ensure regular supply of power.
He noted that the problem has resulted in the breakdown of some National Integrated Power Plants supplying electricity to the national grid.
The plants are namely Sapele, Afam, Olonrunsogo, Omotosho, Ibom, Egbin, Alaoji and Ihovbor.
The Jebba Power Plant was shut down for annual maintenance.
Seven other integrated power plants namely Geregu, Sepele, Omotosho, Gbarain, Omuku, Paras and Alaoji are experiencing gas constraints while the Shiroro plant has water management problems.
In a statement issued by Aaron Artimas, Special Assistant, Media and Communications to the Minister, it said:
“This unfortunate development has drastically affected power generation, thus, effectively minimising the national grid.
“The Minister of Power, Eng. Sale Mamman, regrets this unfortunate situation and offers his sincere apology to all affected Nigerians on the inconveniences the power shortages are causing.”
He assured that the Ministry, through the appropriate agencies, is working assiduously to rectify the technical problems affecting the plants as well as resolving the gas issues to the others.
Eng. Sale Mamman further assured that the national grid would be restored to its previous historic distribution peak of about 5,600MW of electricity achieved early this year, so as to relieve Nigerians of the current harsh climatic conditions and restore full economic activities.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Facebook Sets Record As It Invests $8 Billion In Wind, Solar Projects
Leading social media platform, Facebook, has invested US$8 billion in renewable energy projects around the world.
In a post on his Facebook page, Thursday, ahead of the World Earth Day which falls on April 22, each year, CEO and Founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg said his company’s operations are now 100 percent supported by renewable energy.
“We’ve reached net zero emissions for our operations and we’re one of the largest buyers of renewable energy in the world, resulting in US$8 billion in 63 wind and solar projects around the world, creating tens of thousands of jobs,” he said.
“Thanks to our team and partners who helped reach this goal,” his post concluded.
The International Renewable Energy Agency estimates that investment in renewable energy is expected to reach 131 trillion by 2050.
This is aimed at addressing issues of climate change.
Ghana: Mother Weeps As Son Jailed 15 Years
A circuit court in Hohoe in the Volta Region of the Republic of Ghana has sentenced a former Manager of Star Oil into fifteen years’ jail term for stealing GH¢139,118 belonging to his employer.
The convict, Yussif Abubakar, was charged with stealing about two years ago.
He pleaded not guilty but was found guilty by the court after the full trial.
The trial judge, Mr Yaw Opoku Acheampong, in a 30-minute sentence, said he would have sentenced the convict to 20 years’ imprisonment but the convict, throughout the trial, showed remorse for his action.
Abubakar, whose lawyer was not present in court when judgment was pronounced, was also ordered to pay back the money to the company.
He is said to have used the money for sports betting but did not win any of the bets to enable him repay the money he took from the company’s coffers.
The jail term shocked his mother, who wept uncontrollably as she made her way out of the court room.
Facts
Presenting the facts of the case, the prosecution indicated that the convict was employed at Star Oil Company in Hohoe on November 17, 2012, as a washing bay manager and a pump attendant before rising through the ranks to become a Branch Supervisor for the same company on March 3, 2018.
According to prosecution, on November 19, 2019, Abubakar was asked by the company’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Setor Alorwu, to produce receipts of payment of sales made from November 11, 2019, to November 19, 2019, but he failed to do so.
That raised a suspicion of discrepancies in his accounts at the company.
A report was then lodged at the Hohoe Police Station on November 19, 2019, which led to Abubakar’s detention.
An audit was subsequently conducted into the company’s accounts and it was revealed that proceeds from sales to the tune of GH¢139,118 made from November 8-19, 2019, were missing from the sales records.
Abubakar, when questioned on the whereabouts of the money, admitted his inability to deposit the money into the company’s account, explaining that he used the money for sports betting.
Powerships: A solution For Africa’s Energy Short-Term Supply?
By: Andres Vega
Energy poverty represents one of the most critical challenges for development in Africa.
According to the International Energy Agency, in 2019, the continent had more than 580 million people without electricity access, with that number expected to grow to 660 million people by 2030.
Energy poverty is catastrophic not only on a macroeconomic level, but it also profoundly impacts people’s daily lives, as without energy, infrastructure, schools, hospitals, and other essential services cannot be developed.
Imagine a hospital losing power in the middle of a pandemic? It could cost lives. However, the South African government is currently implementing an excellent short-term option in a solid attempt to address this problem.
It is not new that Eskom faces difficulties providing adequate services, as load shedding on its network has become a regular occurrence. A report issued by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (“CSIR”) stated that South Africa had 859 hours of load shedding in 2020, representing roughly 10% of the year spent without electricity.
Even though load shedding stops country-wide blackouts, it still comes with a hefty cost, as estimations indicate that load shedding had an impact on South Africa’s economy of between R60 billion and R120 billion in 2019, with an estimated total impact as high as R338 billion since 2007.
Unfortunately, load shedding will continue to be a common occurrence in the near future as power generation in South Africa is not expected to meet demand. According to the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (“DMRE”), South Africa’s total domestic electricity generation capacity is 58,095 MW from all sources, produced chiefly by state-owned power company Eskom and primarily generated from coal. However, according to Eskom’s CEO, André de Ruyter, there is still an estimated 4,000MW shortfall in the amount the power utility will supply in the next half-decade.
However, the country has been making efforts to reach demand and address energy transition. The South African government approved the Integrated Resource Plan 2019 (“IRP”) outlining the energy mix for the next decade in an attempt to add more energy sources to the mix and the decommissioning of some of Eskom’s coal-fired power plants.
Also, to increase renewable capacity, the government has been allowing private companies to develop capacity under the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (“REIPPP”), which, despite some setbacks and a long awaited fifth bid, has been a good program. By March 2020, the REIPPP had procured a total of 6,422MW, with 4,201MW of generation capacity operational and made available to the grid.
These capacity-building efforts have not reached the required demand, and load shedding keeps happening to this date. However, to immediately meet the supply gap and avoid load shedding, in 2020, the South African government launched the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (“RMIPPPP”), aiming to procure 2000MW by Q3 2022, with preferred bidders required to reach financial close by the end of July 2021. The RMIPPPP attracted much interest from independent power producers, as the DMRE received 28 offers with a potential contracted capacity of approximately 5,117MW. The DMRE selected eight preferred bidders for a total amount of 1,845 MW. While not being addressed in such a manner, the RMIPPPP is an “emergency” program to access electricity in the short term. It should be beneficial to South Africa and its people.
Of the offers received under the RMIPPPP, more than half (1,220MW) of the capacity from the preferred bidders will be generated by three power ships that will be supplied by Karpowership, a subsidiary of Turkey’s Karadeniz Energy Group, in the ports of Coega (450MW), Richards Bay (450MW) and Saldanha (320MW), under 20-year PPAs. These power ships will produce energy from liquified natural gas (“LNG”). According to Business Insider South Africa, they will feed energy back into the grid at a cheaper cost than Eskom’s current diesel-burn rate.
These power ships have the advantage of providing almost immediate electricity, so they are an excellent option to meet the supply gap in the short term compared to the years it takes to design, award, and commission other types of power generation projects. Also, as the power ships generate energy from LNG, they are a viable option for most coastal countries, especially countries with access to such resource. Finally, power ships do not require any land or significant development. A connection to the LNG, either from a ship or onshore, is sufficient to get the power ships running.
Some West African countries as Ghana and Senegal, are currently analyzing this option. It should not stop there, as this could be a short-term solution to meet most coastal African countries’ energy supply, especially to gas producing countries as Nigeria, Mozambique, and Equatorial Guinea. While doing so, governments should not lose sight that this is only a short-term solution and should carefully plan for the projects’ economics and their power capacity building plans. Also, these countries should not forget other crucial matters as local content, black ownership (in the case of South Africa), and guarantees from the generators to mitigate any event in the duration of these type of projects.
This is not a proposal for African countries to stop developing long-term energy projects or abandon their goals of reducing greenhouse emissions by developing large-scale renewable energy projects. On the contrary, power ships should be considered a viable solution to address energy insecurity issues in the continent in the following years.
Africa and its people cannot wait for governments and companies to agree on the design, pricing, and financing of energy projects with a long development time. African countries need energy now. To grow their economies. To power their industries. And to achieve the most precise and laudable goal of every government: provide for their people.
Andres Vega is an International Associate at Centurion Law Group and has extensive experience in the implementation, development and financing of oil and gas and energy projects in some of the most important energy markets in the world. Andres obtained his LL.M. degree from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law in 2016, with a Certificate in Energy and Clean Technology. He received his law degree from the Universidad Iberoamericana, Mexico, in 2012. Andres is admitted to practice in Mexico (2012) and in the State of New York (2018).
Ghana: Energy Minister, LPG Marketers Association Agree On Roadmap To Resolve Grievances
Ghana’s Minister for Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh, has assured the leadership of LPG Marketers’ Association of his resolve to address their grievances.
The LPG Marketers’ Association has been lamenting over the 18 pesewas addition on LPG, arguing that the increment would overburden consumers and consequently lead to decline in consumption.
According to data available to energynewsafrica.com, LPG consumption has witnessed a consistent decline over the last four months.
The data shows that LPG consumption in November 2021 was 35,000 metric tonnes, but the figure declined to 29,000 metric tonnes in December and reduced to 28,000 metric tonnes and 26,000 metric tonnes in January and February respectively in 2021.
The sector Minister, on Wednesday, invited the leadership of the LPG association to a meeting to listen to their concerns.
The meeting was also attended by the leadership of the Association of Oil Marketing Companies and some officials of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA).
In his Facebook post sighted by energynewsafrica.com, the Minister said the purpose of the meeting was to discuss pertinent matters relating to the pricing regime of LPG and the gas cylinder recirculation project.
He said there was frank and open discussions in a bid to find common ground on these important subjects.
According the Minister, “We concluded the meeting with a clear roadmap on addressing outstanding issues.”
“The Ministry remains committed to ensuring that LPG is affordable as a viable source of energy for both domestic and industrial use and will continue to pursue the national conversation in that direction,” he concluded.
A source at the LPG Marketers Association told energynewsafrica.com that the Minister requested that they document all their concerns on paper and forwarded it to his office within a week for further discussions and way forward.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
South Africa: Total Postpones Further Drilling Offshore
French oil major Total has decided to postpone its application for additional drilling in Block 11B/12B offshore South Africa.
According to Reuters, SLR Consulting, a consultancy conducting the environmental and social assessment, sent a letter to stakeholders on Tuesday notifying them of Total’s decision.
“This letter serves to notify you that Total E&P South Africa has decided to postpone their application for the additional drilling and associated activities in Block 11B/12B at this time. Thus, the application for environmental authorisation of the additional drilling and associated activities in Block 11B/12B has been withdrawn”, SLR Consulting stated in the letter.
Reuters did get a confirmation of authenticity for the letter from an official at SLR Consulting confirmed the authenticity of the letter, but he did not disclose reasons for the delay.
The delay is a hit to South Africa as it looking to increase the use of natural gas and renewables in its energy mix. Currently, more than 80 per cent of the power supplied in South Africa comes from coal-fired plants, making it one of the world’s biggest CO2 emitters.
The media outlet also stated that the government had suggested that gas from Total’s fields could eventually be used as feedstock at South Africa’s 45,000 barrel per day gas-to-liquid refinery at Mossel Bay which has run out of domestic gas feedstock.
As for Block 11B/12B, it holds two large gas fields discovered by Total in 2019 and 2020 – Brulpadda and Luiperd – located some 175 kilometres off the southern coast. The block covers an area of 19,000 square kilometres with water depths ranging from 200 to 1,800 meters.
It is operated by Total with a 45 per cent working interest, alongside Qatar Petroleum (25 per cent), CNR international (20 per cent), and Main Street, a South African consortium (10 per cent), where Africa Energy holds interest.
Ghana: Energy Minister, LPG Marketers Hold Crunch Meeting Tomorrow
Ghana’s Minister for Energy, Dr. Matthew Opoku Prempeh and officials of the Ministry are expected to meet the leadership of the LPG Marketers’ Association on Wednesday, April 14, 2021.
The meeting, energynewsafrica.com understands, will discuss the concerns arising out of the purported additional 18 pesewas tax on LPG.
The leadership of the LPG Marketers’ Association has expressed grave concern following a revelation by a former Deputy Minister of Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, that the Finance Ministry had used the back door to introduce 18 pesewas tax on LPG even though it was not captured in the 2021 Budget and Economic Policy of the government which was presented in parliament recently.
The association noted that the move defeats the Government of Ghana’s policy on LPG of targeting an increasing LPG penetration access from the current 25 percent to 50 percent by 2030.
In view of this, the LPG marketers believe the continuous addition of taxes on the commodity would make it difficult for the country to achieve its target.
Vice Chairman of the LPG Marketing Companies Association of Ghana, Gabriel Kumi explained that LPG is presently sold in Ghana at GH¢6.30 per kilogramme and it is about the highest in West Africa.
“In the whole of West Africa, Ghana’s LPG is the highest. In Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Togo and Nigeria, the government subsidises LPG because they see it as fuel of choice,” he said.
“As an association, over the past three years, we’ve been calling on the government to consider removing the existing…about two percent tax on LPG to make it much more affordable to the ordinary Ghanaian,” he emphasised.
The LPG Marketing Association appealed to the government to reconsider the decision to introduce the new tax on the kilogramme of gas since that is the only way that the industry can expand.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: Workers Union Warns Of Possible Job Losses If Power Outages Continue
A labour union in the Republic of Ghana, the Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU), is worried the current power outages being experienced in some parts of the West African nation could lead to shutdown of businesses and eventual potential job losses.
The union has, therefore, charged Ghana’s Energy Ministry to ensure that challenges in the power sector are resolved as soon as possible to avert job losses.
The West African nation has been experiencing power outages with the power transmission company, GRIDCo, blaming it on a number of factors including upgrading of their transmission network.
Commenting on the power situation in an interview with TV3, a television network in Ghana, the General Secretary of the ICU, Mr Solomon Kotei said the union was concerned about the current power outages, noting that it could lead to shutting down of businesses.
The ICU has since asked the government and the Energy Ministry to be truthful with the challenges in the power sector and if possible roll-out a timetable to guide the operations of industries.
“The government, through the Ministry of Energy, should be [truthful] with Ghanaians because all employers do long term planning so if the planning is that this thing is going on till the end of the year, we should know,” he said.
Meanwhile, the country’s Energy Minister, Dr Mathew Opoku Prempeh, has assured Ghanaians that the technical issues that have resulted in power cuts to some areas especially in the capital city would be fully resolved soon.
Dr. Prempeh told journalists on Tuesday April 6 when he paid a working visit to the Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCo) that “we are working feverishly to resolve the challenges which have arisen as a result of technical difficulties with our transmission lines and it is our hope that, that issue will be resolved by the end of the year,” he said.
He further said that most of the transmission lines are old and have not seen any changes.
“These lines that we have just been informed about were strung in the 50s and some in the 60s. The power it was supposed to transmit to Accra has increased tremendously due to the expansion of Accra yet the lines have remained the same.
“They are now giving us lines that can improve the power situation in Accra,” he said.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Uganda, Tanzania Seal $3.5-Bln Oil Pipeline Deal
Uganda, Tanzania, and two oil majors inked a deal for the construction of a $3.5-billion pipeline that will carry Ugandan oil to the Tanzanian coast, from where it will reach international markets.
The governments of the two countries signed the relevant agreements with French Total and Chinese CNOOC, which are operators of Uganda’s oilfields, after they bought them from Tullow Oil last year.
The East-African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project will be a 1,443-kilometer-long (897 miles) pipeline expected to transport oil from Uganda to the Tanga port in Tanzania.
Total’s subsidiary Total East Africa Midstream is the developer of the project, says the French supermajor, which continues to pursue advantaged oil and gas resources in Africa despite ambitions to become a net-zero emissions business in Europe by 2050.
Uganda’s oil fields could give Total and CNOOC access to more than a billion barrels of crude and will cost some $5.1 billion to develop.
The East-African Crude Oil Pipeline project, which has seen several delays over the past few years while the parties involved negotiated terms, will be the first piece of infrastructure of such magnitude not just in Africa but globally. It will be the longest pipeline for transporting heated crude oil and as such, has attracted a lot of criticism.
In March, a group of 260 organizations wrote an open letter to 25 banks calling on them to not take part in the $2.5-billion loan financing for the EACOP project, which, according to them, was “manifestly irresponsible”.
The signatories to the letter also noted the threats that the infrastructure would pose to local communities, water supplies, and biodiversity. Further, they said that the project would “either prove financially unviable or produce unacceptable climate harm.”
Nigeria: Stop Treating Us Unfairly-Angry Residents Of Magboro To IBEDC (Video)
Residents of Magboro, a border town between Lagos and Ogun State in Africa’s most populous country, Nigeria, are up in arms with the power distribution company in the area, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC).
The residents are accusing IBEDC of treating them unfairly.
According to the residents, although it is the responsibility of the Federal Government to connect the community with electricity, the failure of the government compelled them to mobilise resources to purchase all the electrical equipment for IBEDC to connect the community to electricity supply.
Unfortunately, after making these investments with the hope of getting regular supply of electricity, the residents said IBEDC is rather selling power to industries who were not part of the communal effort and denying them regular power supply.
The residents said IBEDC gives them light for two days in a week and gives industries in the area three days of electricity.
“Our grievance is that they are selling the light to industries that were not part of the communal effort and denying residents light.
“It used to be two days on (which was barely up to 10 hours a day) and one day off. Now, it has gone to one day on and three days off…so much audacity but the bill never reduces,” Mrs. Seyi Davies, spokesperson for the Residents’ Association in Magboro said in an interview with energynewsafrica.com after a protest march against IBEDC.
According to her, residents of the area would not want to see IBEDC continue operation in the area if they refuse to treat them fairly.
Responding to the concerns of the angry residents, Busolami Tunwase, who is the Lead Media Relations Officer of IBEDC, noted that her outfit is currently implementing a four-shift rotational load shedding formula in which some communities are given power in the morning while others have it at night.
This arrangement, she explained was as a result of exponential growth in population in the communities which have increased power demand in the area to about 35 megawatts as against the current 13 megawatts power transmitted to the area.
According to her, her outfit has requested TCN to divert excess load on another feeder to Ibafo’s 33kV but said the request was yet to be granted.
“IBEDC has commenced radiating another feeder from the recently commissioned Kobape Transmission Station in Abeokuta to Mowe/Ibafo to relieve the load demand of the area and that is expected to take effect later in the year.”
She assured that IBEDC and TCN are working to resolve the current situation in order to improve power supply to the affected communities.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com
Ghana: ECG Begins Mass Revenue Mobilisation Exercise
Ghana’s southern electricity distribution company, ECG, has commenced mass revenue mobilisation exercise across its operational areas from Monday, April 12, 2021.
This exercise will focus primarily on customers who owe bills.
Contained in a statement, the power distribution company said failure to settle bills by defaulters would lead to disconnections.
“The Electricity Company of Ghana Limited wishes to inform its cherished customers and the general public that it will be resuming its normal Revenue Mobilisation exercise, effective 12th April 2021,” the statement said.
Below is the full statement:
The Electricity Company of Ghana Limited wishes to inform its cherished customers and the general public that it will be resuming its normal Revenue Mobilisation exercise, effective 12th April, 2021.
The exercise will focus on all categories of customers in arrears. All customers who owe ECG are therefore advised to pay up their bills.
Revenue mobilisation teams will be identified by their staff identity cards, thus, customers are strongly advised to inspect their ID cards before allowing them into their premises to avoid imposters. All necessary Covid-19 protocols will be observed by our officials.
Customers may visit the nearest ECG office, call our contact centre on 0302611611, or visit our social media handles via @ECGghOfficial for further enquiries.
Source: www.energynewsafrica.com