The Arabian Gulf Oil Company, a subsidiary of Libya’s National Oil Corporation (NOC), has suspended oil production for lack of money, Arab News has reported, citing the company’s Facebook page.
AGOCO warned late on Thursday that it would stop oil-producing operations unless it gets its share of the budget allocations for last year and this year.
This is not the first time AGOCO stops pumping oil. In April, the company decided to halt production because of the delays in the budget which is planned to allocate money to the oil firm to repair and maintain infrastructure, and keep oil production online.
AGOCO is the operator of the oilfields Sarir, Mesla, al-Bayda, Nafoora, and Hamada, which, combined, can pump 300,000 barrels per day (bpd).
After AGOCO stopped production, NOC declared force majeure on the port of Hariga due to lack of funds for infrastructure repairs, pushing the country’s crude oil production below 1 million bpd for the first time in months as NOC was forced to suspend production at several fields. The company blamed the shortage of funds on Libya’s central bank.
A week later, NOC said it had lifted the force majeure on loadings from the Hariga oil terminal after reaching an agreement with the new unity government over the allocation of funds.
Currently, the North African oil producer exempted from the OPEC+ cuts pumps around 1.2 million bpd.
According to secondary sources in OPEC’s latest Monthly Oil Market Report, Libya’s crude oil production averaged 1.165 million bpd in July, up from 1.163 million bpd in June.
Libya will struggle to keep its oil production at current levels if the country fails to resolve a long-running dispute over its budget, Libya’s Oil Minister Mohamed Oun told Bloomberg earlier this month.
The success of Libyan plans to boost oil production remains in jeopardy, due to disagreements over the nation’s budget—the first national budget in nearly a decade.
Source: Oilprice.com
The Government of Ghana is considering lifting a ban it placed on the construction of new Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) outlets in the West African nation.
In view of this, the country’s Ministry of Energy is expected to meet with the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), the downstream petroleum regulator in September this year, to finalise a Cabinet memo on the issue.
The Government of Ghana, through NPA, placed a ban on the construction of new LPG outlets, following a gas explosion at Atomic Junction which resulted in the death of seven people including a cameraman with Accra-based NET 2 TV.
Several people also got injured in the explosion.
The ban has since caused discontent among marketers who claimed the move has stalled over US$600 million investment.
“Within the first week of September, we are going to finalise a Cabinet memo on the lifting of the ban on LPG refilling plants. We will meet with NPA and iron out the differences in it and roll it out,” the Chief Director at the Ministry of Energy, Mr Lawrence Apaalse revealed at Kpone near Tema, where he represented the sector Minister, Matthew Opoku Prempeh at the swearing-in ceremony of new executives for the Ghana National Petroleum Tanker Drivers’ Union.
According to him, with the Cylinder Re-circulation Model (CRM) coming in, there have been issues as to how to roll-out the programme with one of them being the new refilling plants.
He said LPG marketers have been appealing to the Ministry to lift the ban.
Meanwhile, the LPG Marketers Association has welcomed the new development, describing it as a good news.
“We have always respectfully disagreed with the government when it comes to this ban, especially the ban on stations under construction, before the Atomic incident occurred. We would have agreed if the government had said that the NPA should not issue new construction permits to our members.
“Prior to the Atomic incident, a lot of construction permits had been issued from 2014 to 2017, and some of these were in their various stages of constructions, while others were 70% to 90% complete. All these stations had to be put on hold,” Mr. Gabriel Kumi, Vice Chairman of LPG Marketers Association told Myjoyonline.com.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
By:Prince Yao Amevi
“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” -Steve Jobs, Apple co-founder
The above clearly identifies what the distinguishing factor is- Innovation. It might not emanate from bringing an entirely new process but changing the throughput definitely results into desirable outcomes.
It was a year ago this month (August 2020) that the Volta Regional PRO for ECG, Mr. Benjamin O. Antwi announced to major stakeholders in Volta Region that Mr. Emmanuel Lumor has been appointed as the General Manager (GM) of ECG Volta.
I received the news wondering who Mr. Lumor was because the PRO said good things about his boss and as always I thought it was him trying to praise his new boss but a PURC official commented on the PURC platform that the new GM is a fine gentleman.
I decided to take a keen interest in activities of ECG under his leadership in Volta and Oti Regions. Fast forward the new General Manager settles and embarks on stakeholder engagement tours to engage stakeholders like traditional authorities, customers, media, security agencies, PURC and some opinion leaders. In all his engagements, one message stood out. He said, “Together with my management team, we want to make ECG Volta, The Hub of Excellent Customer Service so we are here to seek your support and advice to make this vision a reality”.
This bold pronouncement by the General Manager was welcomed with joy by all stakeholders though they all agreed it was ambitious but Mr. Lumor assured them it was possible.
At one of the engagements that I witnessed at the palace of Togbe Afede XIV in Ho, Mr. Lumor actually backed his words with action by giving an instant response to a complaint lodged by the Agbogbomefia of Asogli State, Togbe Afede XIV. This led to words of commendation from all the traditional rulers present at the engagement and later a letter of commendation from the Asogli State to the General Manager and ECG Volta.
This sent a signal to all stakeholders that there is a new dawn in Volta Region but people were still skeptical about the attitude of ECG staff and Outages in the Region. A year after his appointment, it is evident for all to see that the outage situation in Volta Region has improved drastically. In fact, I listened to a radio program with Mr. Lumor as the guest discussing ECG news and many customers who called during the phone in session commended the ECG Volta for their hard work and reiterated that the outage situation in Volta region has improved tremendously.
The response time to faults by the ECG staff has improved. Hitherto, it takes longer hours for ECG staff to restore power supply or even attend to faults but the situation has improved since the arrival of Mr. Lumor.
Last year February, the ECG lost close to 1200 poles due to perennial bush fire which was worrying to me as I thought the ECG could have avoided this situation. On one of his radio programs, Mr. Lumor indicated that he intends to bring the number down drastically and my checks at the ECG revealed that the Volta Region lost 14 poles this year to perennial bush fires. During the Christmas break, most assembly members indicated they saw the ECG embarking on the creation of fire belts around their poles and I personally saw them do that with the help of some third parties. The momentum and zeal of the ECG during that period was very massive so I am not surprised that the company recorded lower numbers this year.
In Ho, one of the challenges that customers face has to do with challenge with their prepaid meters at night. At times customers had to sleep in the dark because their meter had a challenge and the ECG had closed. However, after a year in the Region, I have noticed that the ECG works till 10:00pm to resolve all challenges reported by customers on their prepaid meters. At times they go beyond that time to ensure all challenges are resolved to the delight of customers.
Personally, I had an encounter with him at Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) and shared my
Experience during my meter acquisition period (https://m.facebook.com/story.php story_fbid=10215953780955788&id=1785286535) and the many positive responses I received publicly and privately generated some amount of energy within me to observe and see whether the actions (positive) of the New Regional General Manager was not going to be a nine day wonder. It never was since it looks more of the way of life of this leader.
I have moved in and out of ECG either to buy prepaid credit or complain about a problem. The big office complex which was constructed in 2014 welcomes you with mostly a lady presumably from an outsourced security service who either pays no attention to you or responds to your salutation. New comers into the edifice will be most confused finding their way round the many offices. Couldn’t there have been a trained receptionist who directs customers to their various solution points? I thought to myself anytime I visited. This prayer got answered when to my surprise I met a lady who welcomed me at the entrance.
Lady (Receptionist): Good afternoon Sir and welcome
Me: with shock on my face, afternoon
Lady (Receptionist): What can we help you with?
I told her my challenge and she directed me to the officer who could offer solution. What shocked me more was her question whether my problem was solved on my way out of the office. I have met receptionists but the lady at ECG, Ho stands out. She has a beautifully built counter all to herself which adds some formal setting to her department.
My checks indicate that this innovation was by the same man in my Facebook post-The new General Manager.
Prior to this encounter I reported my faulty prepaid card in January 2021 and as always it was placed into small gadget by the engineer and I was asked to return home and get it slotted into my meter because the fault has been rectified. Two hours after I left the office, I received a call from someone who introduced himself as an engineer from ECG who was calling to check whether my meter was able to ‘pick’ the card as they indicated. Till now I cannot remember the answer I gave because I was dumbfounded by the gesture which I have never experienced with the power producer. A trace once more led me to the man in my Facebook post-The General Manager.
It is legitimate to condemn public sector workers who exhibit lackadaisical attitude towards service delivery but it will be an upfront on nation building if we do not celebrate those that innovate to the delight of customers.
Like the Toyota Production System (TPS) employed Kaizen to meet customer expectation, may you continually improve until all bottlenecks- especially meter contractors, new connection and fault reporting are finally eliminated to make the processes at Electricity Company of Ghana as customer friendly as ever . Let us also see sanctions on recalcitrant employees who continue to tarnish your hard work otherwise the one bad nut adage will wear flesh, until then keep improving keep innovating, Mr. Emmanuel Lumor.
Author,
Prince Yao Amevi
Journalist
The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), one of the electricity distribution companies in the Republic of Nigeria, has rejected claims that the privatization of the country’s power sector has turned out to be a failure, according to report filed by businesspost.ng.
Addressing journalists Tuesday, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of IBEDC, Mr. John Ayodele, said the company and others were making progress despite the challenges.
Describing the challenges faced by Discos, Mr. Ayodele noted that IBEDC records a deficit of N4 billion monthly stating that between January and July 2021, it has recorded 15,032 cases of vandalisation of distribution assets.
Mr. Ayodele said the money paid by customers to the company also goes to generating (GENCO) and transmission companies operating in the sector as well.
He maintained that IBEDC does not have the full power to reduce the tariff, stressing that stakeholders must unanimously agree to review power tariffs in the country.
On the efforts of the company towards effective service delivery, he said the electricity distributing company, has been investing heavily in the sector.
He disclosed that the company has added 2,632 distribution substations to its network, rehabilitated 39 dilapidated substations, replaced two failed power stations and 381 distribution transformers.
The company reconstructed six new 33 kilovolt (kV) and six new 11 kV outgoing feeders, rehabilitated 22 high tensions and 52 low tension overhead lines.
Mr Ayodele said the company has made progress on Asset and Customer Enumeration; an exercise that has made it possible to correctly capture the active consumer base of the company and aided the Distribution Transformer (DT) metering project.
According to him, the company has ensured that 50 per cent of IBEDC DT meters are smartly metered, adding that metering would aid management and solve problems of accountability of energy.
He explained that the organisation has been working on improving occupational and safety management systems and initiated e-billing which enables effective delivery of bills to postpaid customers via SMS and Email.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
OPEC Secretary General H.E. Mohammed Barkindo has met with African Petroleum Producers Organisation Secretary General Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim in Brazzaville, capital of Republic of Congo to discuss the role of hydrocarbons and bilateral cooperation in Africa’s energy transition.
Emphasizing the value of collaboration between the two organizations, H.E. Barkindo and Dr. Ibrahim agreed that the continent requires an adaptive, market-driven and inclusive approach to the energy transition, in which hydrocarbons will continue to play a significant role.
In sharing the APPO’s recent reforms and overall mission, Dr. Ibrahim emphasized the need for increased public-private sector cooperation and participation to harness Africa’s abundant resources and drive economic growth.
According to Dr. Ibrahim, “The APPO maintains a strong position in combating petroleum industry challenges and driving investment in both the Congo and other African states.”
As one of Africa’s most influential oil and gas organizations, the APPO is dedicated to pursuing accelerated growth across all member countries.
Accordingly, in addressing these challenges, Dr. Ibrahim stated that “a sustainable and durable approach is needed to drive Africa’s energy growth, with intra-African collaboration being a key driver.”
Meanwhile, the topic of Africa’s energy transition remained a key point of discussion between the two organization heads, with Dr. Ibrahim noting that “the APPO has taken the energy transition very seriously and will drive investment in projects that will change Africa.”
However, both H.E. Barkindo and Dr. Ibrahim firmly emphasized the critical role that oil and gas will play as Africa transitions to a cleaner energy future.
“We will not allow billions of barrels of oil to go to waste and we will not be bamboozled into projects that we don’t need – ones which will not address energy poverty. We need to sit down and have an honest conversation about the energy transition,” continued Dr. Ibrahim.
“We in OPEC also categorically reject the narrative that the energy transition is from hydrocarbons to renewables because this narrative is completely misrepresenting science. We believe that all sources of energy are required today and in the future to meet the challenges of climate change and future demand for energy. According to our World Oil Outlook at OPEC, energy demand will grow by a minimum of 25% between now and 2045. Therefore, we have to promote all energy resources in an efficient and sustainable manner. Our industry, therefore, is part of the solution to climate change,” stated H.E. Barkindo.
Additionally, with the oil and gas industry offering a catalyst for wider energy and economic growth, Dr. Ibrahim and H.E. Barkindo insisted on the role that women have to play in Africa’s energy transition. Notably, as women comprise the most affected demographic regarding clean cooking and energy poverty in Africa, they will be key drivers of the energy transition and must be included in discourse. In addition to female inclusivity, the meeting highlighted the role that African enterprises will play in the transition, in which collaboration between local companies, international oil companies and host governments can significantly accelerate progress.
Meanwhile, the role of cooperation, not only among African nations, but also between influential organizations such as OPEC and APPO, was brought to light. Notably, the meeting emphasized the role that OPEC and APPO will play as a unified force. H.E. Barkindo implored Dr. Ibrahim to “not compete with OPEC, but rather, the two organizations must strengthen each other, driving energy sector development and improving the lives of millions of Africans.”
Both OPEC and APPO have an integral role to play in advancing Africa’s energy sector, with Congolese Minister H.E. Itoua stating, “Energy is vital for development, and a strong relationship between the APPO and OPEC is crucial for Africa.”
With OPEC having hosted the first-ever Energy Dialogue with Africa Summit in June 2021, in collaboration with the African Energy Commission, the APPO and African Refiners and Distributors Association, the meeting between the two Secretary Generals served to further enhance existing collaboration between the two organizations. By leveraging this productive working relationship, as well as promoting unity, cooperation and partnerships across Africa, both the APPO and OPEC will drive Africa’s energy future.
“The Republic of the Congo is well-known for embracing cooperation and multi-stakeholder engagement, which is underscored through the hosting of the APPO in Brazzaville. The Triumvirate of OPEC, APPO and the Congo are in a strong position to not only highlight the vital role of oil and gas, but also to help push the agenda of African countries, and the challenges they face as developing nations,” stated H.E. Barkindo.
With both OPEC and the APPO calling for a platform whereby an inclusive and productive discussion can be initiated regarding Africa’s energy transition, the African Energy Chamber has stepped up, providing the most suitable event for dialogue, deal-making and engagement. Through the African Energy Week 2021 interactive conference and networking event, organizations such as OPEC and APPO will be able to meet and engage with global stakeholders, collaboratively making the decisions that will drive Africa’s energy transition and future.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Global emissions from power generation bounced back above pre-pandemic levels as the growth in clean power generation wasn’t enough to meet soaring electricity demand, climate and energy think tank Ember said in a report on Wednesday.
CO2 emissions from the power sector globally were 5 percent higher in the first half of 2021, compared to the first half of 2019, prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to Ember’s estimates.
Electricity demand also rose by 5 percent globally. Early last year, power demand was 3 percent lower than in 2019, and emissions were 7 percent lower, but this was due to the lockdowns in almost every economy in the world.
As lockdowns eased and economies rebounded, global CO2 emissions had returned to pre-pandemic levels by the second half of 2020 as electricity demand jumped, Ember noted.
CO2 emissions rose because growth in clean power generation did not match the rise in demand. While wind and solar power met 57 percent of the demand increase, coal met the remaining 43 percent, especially in developing Asia, according to Ember.
Not a single country in the world has yet achieved a truly ‘green recovery’ for their power sector, with structural change in both higher electricity demand and lower CO2 power sector emissions, according to the think tank.
The U.S., the EU, Japan, and South Korea saw last year lower power sector CO2 emissions compared to pre-pandemic levels—with wind and solar replacing coal—but only in the context of suppressed demand growth.
“Catapulting emissions in 2021 should send alarm bells across the world. We are not building back better, we are building back badly,” Dave Jones, Global Programme Lead, Ember, said in a statement.
“Rising CO2 emissions right now is a huge red flag that the world is off-course for 1.5 degrees,” Ember said.
Earlier this year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that global energy-related CO2 emissions are on course to see this year the second-largest increase in history, driven by the resurgence of coal use in the power sector.
“This is a dire warning that the economic recovery from the Covid crisis is currently anything but sustainable for our climate,” said Fatih Birol, the IEA Executive Director.
Source:Oilprice.com
Frontier and TotalEnergies has announced that TotalEnergies will take a leading position at the upcoming Africa E&P Summit – Africa’s Premier Global Oil, Gas & Energy Conference set to take place on the 22nd and 23rd September in London & Online.
By partnering with Frontier, TotalEnergies is showing leadership in the African oil, gas & energy industry and it is an opportunity for the company to present its energy strategy to Africa’s upstream community as well as strengthen ties with industry partners, stakeholders and African governments.
Emmanuelle Garinet, TotalEnergies’ VP Exploration Africa will speak to the industry for the first time in her new role at the Summit. Emmanuelle’s career spans the globe incorporating the last 20 years with TotalEnergies in strategy, planning, portfolio and performance, as well as time on South America, Nigeria, Gabon and Angola for the leading international energy company.
Commenting on the partnership, Gayle Meikle, CEO of Frontier, declared: “I am delighted to have TotalEnergies, with its know-how and its expertise, among our Official Sponsors. We feel certain that their involvement at this level will significantly contribute to the success of the Summit. It is a privilege to provide a C-suite platform for TotalEnergies to address the industry and to introduce Emmanuelle Garinet in her new role as VP Exploration Africa.
She has had an illustrious career to date and I have no doubt will have a positive impact on the Continent in this important leadership position.”
The Board Chairman of Ghana Grid Company, Ambassador Kabral Blay-Amihere, has challenged the Ghanaian media practitioners to develop interest in energy reporting instead of leaving the sector unattended to by journalists.
According to the seasoned veteran journalist and former Chairman of National Media Commission (NMC), there was the need for the media to develop interest in energy reporting, “because it is the new frontier and rich source of news.”
He said most media practitioners were taught in the journalism school that if they were looking for news, they should go to the police station, hospital etc.
This, he believes has restricted media practitioners from looking beyond and reporting on new frontiers such as energy.
Ambassador Kabral Amihere, speaking at the opening of a three-day workshop for Regional Managers and Editors of the Ghana News Agency (GNA), noted that though there are challenges in the energy sector, there are also positive stories that journalists need to develop interest and highlight.
The workshop was on the theme: ‘Strengthening and sustaining public trust through Accountable Reporting’
“I’m challenging the media to consider the energy sector as a potential source of news and give it the necessary attention. You should begin to specialise in energy reporting just as you do for sports, finance and banking sector,” he suggested.
He commended Nuclear Power Ghana (NPG) for partnering with the Ghana News Agency, saying NPG has shown that for them to succeed, there is the need for them to embark on public education to inform Ghanaians about the importance of having nuclear power in the country’s energy mix.
Speaking to energynewsafrica.com, Ambassador Blay-Amihere underscored the need for journalism training institutions to study the trend in the energy sector and respond by developing courses tailored towards energy reporting in the area of renewable, oil and gas and energy transition.
The Executive Director of Nuclear Power Ghana, Dr Stephen Yamoah reiterated the NPG’s commitment to building the capacity of the media to enable them understand the nuclear power operations and report very well.
Dr. Stephen Yamoah, Executive Director of Nuclear Power Ghana
General Manager for GNA, Albert Kofi Owusu charged participants of the workshop to take advantage of the opportunity to get themselves equipped on nuclear power to aid them whenever nuclear power stories come before them.
The Executive Director for African Centre for Energy Policy (ACEP), in the Republic of Ghana, Benjamin Boakye is accusing the government for deliberately refusing taking right decision regarding the controversial GNPC-Aker Energy deal.
According to him, “the CSOs who have been critical of the GNPC-Aker transaction are blunt in our position that the justifications provided by GNPC contain deliberate misrepresentations anchored on the guise of energy transition, stranded assets and operator capacity development to short-change the country.
“We are firm in our belief that the government is capable of making the right decisions but has been unwilling to do so in many high-value transactions in the public’s interest, and that raises questions about incentives,” Mr Benjamin Boakye said in a seven-page article he wrote to respond to proponents of the GNPC, Aker Energy deal.
The Government of Ghana, through the country’s national oil company, GNPC, is seeking parliamentary approval for a loan of US$1.65 billion to acquire 37 percent stake in the Deep Water Cape Three Point(DWT/CTP) oil block and 70 percent stake in the South Deep Water Tano (SDWT).
This move has, however, been met with stiff opposition by about 15 civil society groups working in the extractive sector, anti-corruption and good governance.
The group is of the view that the analysis being done by GNPC and Aker Energy was poor and deliberate for the benefit of few people in the government.
The ACEP boss said GNPC and Aker started engaging CSOs before the transaction emerged in its current form.
“When they were asked to provide the specific details of the transaction, they did not show up again. Again, after the presentation by Lambert to CSOs, we requested a meeting with GNPC for a technical conversation on issues Lambert had no answers to. That has not been granted.
“I can conclude that it is not a mere coincidence that every high-value transaction is rushed through Parliament and requires the suspension of Order 80(1), the Standing Order which requires that a committee’s report is delayed for, at least, 48 hours to allow other MPs to take a closer look at a laid committee’s report before it is approved. Therefore, when a memo dated 30th July (Friday) is submitted to parliament, a committee meets on the Memo on Monday, 2nd of August and produces a report for approval on the 5th of August, CSOs cannot be less suspicious. Could it be that the processes in Parliament are so oiled like a relay race, that as soon as the Memo got to the desk of the Speaker, the Committee Chairman was on hand to pick it up and summon all his members to act the next working day while many parliamentarians were completely unaware? How can anybody argue that CSOs are not engaging when most parliamentarians do not have the opportunity to participate in debates on such high-value transactions?” Benjamin Boakye said.
Ben Boakye’s Responds to Prof and Gabby
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) Limited in the Tema Region has invested GHC989,800 in some major projects in the first half of the year to improve electricity supply in its operational areas.
The amount covers five major projects undertaken within the period covering January to June 2021.
“The projects include the construction of a link between two of their main overhead sub-transmission cables which has now enabled the transfer of load from one feeder to the other in case of repair works, and to ensure continuous power supply,” Ing. Emmanuel Appoe, the Tema Regional Engineer of ECG, explained.
The project benefited Communities 12, 11 and parts of Community 6.
The other project had to do with the restoration of faulty underground sub-transmission link cables between two substations.
This was to ensure that Communities 5, 6 and 10 would have better supply of power.
In some areas, the company realised that the load on the available transformers were getting too high, hence, resulting in low voltage to customers in the catchment area. A number of transformers were added to the existing ones serving Power City and surrounding areas in Prampram, Community 19 and behind the Emef Estate.
An amount of GHC142,141.92, out of the total amount above, was invested in the upgrading of undersized conductors serving Community 8 and its environs.
Speaking on these projects, Ing. Emmanuel Appoe, who also doubles as the current Acting General Manager for Tema Region, mentioned that the company is committed to its “mission of providing safe, quality and reliable electricity services in order to support Ghanaians and to live up to our mandate.”
Ing. Appoe also added a plea that developers and the general public should desist from encroaching on the right of way where electricity network installations are concerned.
This, he said, often leads to unnecessary delays in case of faults repairing, which eventually leads to delayed outage periods.
Speaking particularly on the projects which had to do with overloaded transformers being eased, he admonished the public to stop illegal connections and urged people to report suspected cases of illegal connection.
He added that “illegal connections are one of the main reasons for transformer overloads, which leads to low voltages for consumers and sometimes, a total breakdown of the transformers, hence, plunging customers into outages till the transformers are replaced.”
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Nigerians are sleeping in darkness as the country’s power transmission system collapses the second time in less than a month.
Media report suggests that the West African nation’s transmission system collapsed at about 1:00pm Monday.
The grid had, on July 28, 2021, suffered a total collapse, which the transmission company of Nigeria attributed to the loss of 611 megawatts at two power stations.
Eko Electricity Distribution Company, in a message to its customers on its Facebook page, said: “We regret to inform you of a system collapse on the national grid that’s causing outages across our network.
“We are working with our TCN partners to restore supply as soon as possible. Please bear with us.”
Kaduna Electricity said: “We sincerely apologise for the power outage in our franchise states which is due to a system collapse from the national grid. Supply shall be restored as soon as the grid is back up.
“We regret any inconvenience this may cause all our customers.”
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
Consumers of Liquified Petroleum Gas LPG in the Republic of Nigeria are facing a difficult time as the price of the commodity, otherwise known as cooking gas, has risen by over 33 percent month-on-month from N360/kg in July to N480/kg in August.
According to report filed by Vanguard, a 12.5kg cylinder, which sold in Lagos for 4,500 Naira and 4,800 in Abuja in June and July, is now selling for 6,000 Naira.
The new prices come at the backdrop of the recent Federal Government’s efforts aimed at promoting more use of gas in Nigeria and its declaration of 2021-2030 as Nigeria’s decade of gas, meaning more demand for the commodity.
The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, had recently set up a N250 billion fund to expand the usage of gas.
Gas prices had recorded steady rise in recent months with market price at N4,400 in June and N3,200 in November/December 2020.
A resident of Agbado, Ogun State, Mr Obatomi Ajewole said the increase in the price of cooking gas has affected the measure of plate of food sold to customers by food vendors.
The Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers, NALPGAM, has attributed the latest rise in the price of cooking gas to Federal Government’s re-imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT) on imported LPG.
In a press statement, NALPGAM explained that Nigerians may have to pay up to N10,000 in the nearest future to refill 12.5 kilogram cylinder of cooking gas.
“It is unfortunate that the Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Federal Ministry of Finance have gone to resuscitate a product that has been exempted and gazetted from VAT.
“This was gazetted in 2019 and has encouraged domestic gas utilisation. Nigerians are already complaining about the prices of cooking gas across the country, and this would further worsen the situation.”
He cautioned that the initial objective of domestic availability would be defeated if cooking gas goes out of the reach of ordinary Nigerians due to the current increment in prices of the commodity.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
South African Police Service (SAPS) is on high alert following threats by some citizens to shut down electricity, water and other sensitive installations in the country.
SAPs has indicated that it is deploying more than 5,500 law enforcement officers and law enforcement agencies to monitor the unrest, which is carried on under the ‘Ramaphosa Must Fall’ campaign.
Last month, the country witnessed nationwide unrest that left 300 people dead and several businesses looted and destroyed.
Meanwhile, in a tweet, Lirandru Themba, who is the Police Ministry Spokesperson, said: “Law abiding citizens should be at ease knowing that the NatJOINTS is not taking these threats lightly. Security forces are on high alert and ready to maintain stability in the country and ensure the safety and security of South Africans.
‘’Some messages also doing the rounds where people are mobilising to respond to the #Nationalshutdown. The public is urged not to respond to calls for violence and criminality & discouraged from participating in activities that seek to defy the rule of law,” she added.
Law abiding citizens should be at ease knowing that the NatJOINTS is not taking these threats lightly. Security forces are on high alert and ready to maintain stability in the country, and ensure the safety and security of South Africans. https://t.co/Ktl2XSa92E
The Institute for Energy Policies Research ( INSTEPR) is questioning the long delay in the conclusion of investigation and prosecuting of officials involved in the US$36 million electric meters acquisition fraud.
According to the Energy think-tank, its checks at the ECG revealed that all relevant documents regarding the fraudulent transactions have been submitted to the Economic and Organised Crime Office and National Security since 2017 but the two state investigative bodies are yet to prosecute the culprit involved.
“Why has it taken four years for the State Security Agencies in investigating this transaction? Who are the people behind L & R Investment and Trading Company in Ghana? The initial USD$12 million was paid to First Grace Limited. Who are the people behind this company? Why is the management of Capital Bank Limited not being prosecuted for the illegal discounting of the Letter of Credit?” INSTEPR raised these questions.
In a statement signed by the Executive Director of INSTEPR, Kwadwo Poku said: “We do not want to draw any conclusion since this matter is still under investigation, but I am sure every Ghanaian will agree with me that we need some answers and accountability now from our leaders on this fraudulent transaction. There is no way this transaction was done by the average Joe on the street.”
In 2016, the Ministry of Power, through the Ministry of Finance, made a payment of USD $36 million to L & R Investment and Trading Company Limited for the supply of single phase and three phase electric meters to ECG.
The total contract price for the supply of these meters were USD $39,999,566.44, to be supplied over a period of twenty-six (26) weeks.
When the contract was signed, an advanced payment of USD$12 million was paid to L & R Investments plus a Letter of Credit (LC) of USD$24 million.
The ECG has come under public scrutiny following revelations in the 2020 Auditor General’s Report which made damning findings about the power distribution company.
According to INSTEPR, it was doing an investigation into procurement lapses at the ECG after the recently published Auditor-General’s report.
“Electric meters procured for customers were found in the warehouse of ECG while customers across the country are in dire need of these meters. We learnt that not all the meters in the ECG warehouse are ready to be supplied to the customer, so we asked why?” Mr. Kwadwo quizzed.
The statement explained that in September 2016, the then Ministry of Power wrote to the Managing Director of ECG, informing him of a USD$80 million financing secured by the Government for the procurement of electric meters.
The said letter stated that local Ghanaian companies would be given USD$40 million and Messrs. L & R Investments and Trading Company, whose local representatives are Messrs. First Grace Limited, be given USD$40 million.
“The Ministry’s letter instructed the Managing Director of ECG to initiate discussion with the said suppliers with the view of entering into contract for the supply of these electric meters.
“The Ministry also asked for immediate response to their letter to facilitate cabinet and parliamentary approval.”
It added that the Management of ECG on their part, upon receipt of the Ministry’s letter, engaged Messrs. L & R Investments and six local Ghanaian companies.
After ECG had and evaluated the proposal from L & R Investment, a pre-contract meeting was held in October 2016 between the technical team of ECG and the Managing Director, in the name of Mr. Tao Wenhui for L & R Investment.
It said at the meeting, the Scope of Supply, Technical Classification, Due Diligence, Pilot Studies, Factory Acceptance Tests (FAT) and Training of ECG metering Staff were discussed and agreed.
The two key conditions before the supply of the meters, after signing the contract, were the pilot study to assess the meters for two months and the Factory Acceptance Tests (FAT).
After the contract was signed and L & R given an initial payment of USD$12 million, the meters that were to be provided as samples (200 electric meters) for the pilot studies were not sent to ECG and the agreed travel of three representative from ECG to undertake the Factory Acceptance Tests in China before the manufacturing of the said meters did not take place.
“Without any of these conditions being met, the management of ECG was sent shipping documents for containers of meters at Tema Port. ECG informed L & R Investment that they cannot accept the containers because they have not followed the process agreed to as per their contract. After months of back and forth with L & R Investments, the containers of meters were cleared from the Tema Port to stop the accrual of demurrage.
“The meters in the containers were not the specification as per the supply contract.
“INSTEPR was told that the said contract was terminated in 2017 after legal consultations on non-performance by L & R Investment. This company, after months of not conforming to the agreed conditions of their contract, went ahead to discount the USD$24 million Letter of Credit (LC) given to them under the contract. We have sighted documents that state that on the 16th of August, 2017, at a time when Capital Bank Limited had ceased to be a bank under the laws of the Bank of Ghana, Capital Bank discounted the LC and made a payment of USD$22.5 million to L & R Investment.”
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com
