The government of Mozambique has directed the national power utility EDM to cut electricity tariffs for this year as part of its response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the Mozambique News Agency, two categories of electricity consumers will see their electricity bills fall.
The report indicated that households who pay the “social tariff” will benefit from a 50% price cut.
These are households which only use a small amount of electricity, up to a maximum of 125kV. EDM says there are 2,964 of them.
The second, and much more significant, cut is a 10% reduction in the general tariff, which will benefit businesses.
Small and medium sized businesses will benefit from this reduction. These are EDM’s large consumers of low voltage power, and of medium voltage power up to 200kVA.
Speaking at a Maputo press conference on Wednesday, EDM spokesperson Luis Amado said a third measure is to allow businesses to defer payment of the fixed fee on their electricity bills.
In addition to paying the general tariff, which varies depending on the number of kilowatt-hours used, these businesses also pay a fixed fee.
Under the package announced by Amado, they can defer payment of the fixed fee for six months.
These measures are all intended to protect businesses and the poorest consumers from the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Consumers on the social tariff “have been protected in all the electricity price rises of the last four years”, said Amado. “This is to allow continued expansion in the number of EDM’s clients as we move towards universal access”.
The low voltage clients on the general tariff, he said, are offices, workshops and other small businesses who have installed power of between 19.9 and 39.9kW.
Amado said that, taken together, these price cuts will deprive EDM of about $15 million.
As part of measures to cope with the boom and bust cycle in the global crude oil market and to sustain revenue generation for the Country, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is firming up a bouquet of business portfolios in the power, medical, housing and other sectors that would strengthen the profitability of the National Oil Company.
A statement issued by the NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru, quoted the corporation’s Chief Operating Officer, Ventures and Business Development, Mr. Roland Ewubare, as saying that the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline network would enable the NNPC to deepen its footprint in the power sector through the establishment of an Independent Power Plant.
The NNPC Chief Business developer made this submission at an appearance on Arise Tv Global business report programme.
Ewubare stated that NNPC would use its network of excellent medical centres across the country to provide innovative healthcare for Nigerians.
“NNPC is creating an energy company that would have portfolios in renewable energy; we have initiatives on solar that is ongoing. We have got biofuels agreements with some state governments that would soon be activated. We do have a lot of non-core businesses that are aggregated under the Ventures and Business Development Autonomous Business Unit of the NNPC that would be expanded through effective collaboration and partnership with the private sectors,” Ewubare informed.
He disclosed that the NNPC had a lot of hectares of land across the country and would soon be partnering with private developers to reduce the housing deficit in the country for the benefit of Nigerians who are the core shareholders of the corporation.
Ewubare explained that NNPC’s aspiration was to achieve a $10 per barrel cost by the fourth quarter of 2021, adding that a lot of logistics costs would be recalibrated to drive down the cost of crude oil production in the country.
“When you have a low commodity price regime, as the case now, the only way we are able to squeeze out some reasonable cash and financial gain to the nation is by curtailing and constraining our costs in line with the GMD’s aspiration to push for a $10 per barrel cost of production. Against this backdrop, the conversation around cost becomes an imperative and urgent one”, Ebuware stated.
The NNPC Chief Business Developer said the corporation was working closely with its partners to commercialize flared gas by converting it to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) and Liquefied Natural Gas, adding that the gesture would preserve the flora and fauna of the country.
Mozambique LNG – undoubtedly one of Africa’s most talked-about hydrocarbons projects is made up of the Golfinho-Atum gas field development (Area 1) in the deep-water Rovuma Basin and an onshore LNG facility on the Cabo Delgado coast.
In recent weeks, the project has garnered much media coverage – for both positive and negative reasons. In April, Mozambique LNG became the centre of the country’s COVID-19 outbreak, following the first diagnosis on April 1. The project currently remains in lockdown, however, a spokesperson recently said work is expected to resume in June.
Last week, Mozambique LNG again hit headlines when it was announced that the project had secured $15 billion of financing, with a signing scheduled in June. The group of about 20 banks involved in the lending includes Africa Oil Week participants Standard Bank Group and Société Generale, which is reportedly acting as the financial adviser. Notably, the U.S. Export-Import Bank has approved a $4.7 billion loan to back American suppliers for the project, which will reportedly sustain 16,700 American jobs.
So, given current global turbulence, what do the project’s potential outcomes look like? The answer is the same one we’ve been hearing echoed throughout the industry during this pandemic, the future is unclear.
First production on Mozambique LNG is still scheduled for 2024. However, at the end of last month, Upstream reported that well-placed sources had told the publication this date now looks unrealistic, given the project’s challenges related to COVID-19 and construction issues.
According to a Mozambican Finance Ministry forecast, the Area 1 LNG project will generate about $38 billion in revenue for the country’s government over its lifetime. However, with LNG prices in Asia and gas prices in Europe hitting record lows amid weakened demand, it is an uncertain time for gas. According to the International Energy Agency, global gas demand will decline this year for the first time in more than a decade. Meanwhile, the International Gas Union has said that low demand, and the 41.8m tonnes of new capacity already added last year, may prolong the glut into the mid-2020s. If only we had a crystal ball.
Having said this, natural gas is now widely accepted as the bridging fuel of choice which will drive the energy transition and steer us towards a lower-carbon future. With many gas projects in the U.S. recently being put on ice, the world is recognising Africa’s vast potential to become a key player in the global energy transition and Mozambique LNG may just prove to be at the centre of this.
For more on Mozambique LNG, join the Mozambique Showcase Session at Africa Oil Week 2020. In the meantime, watch the latest Africa Oil Week webinar, “The Promise of Mozambique: Updates on Building a Natural Gas Hub” on demand.
Source: Africa Oil Week
Ghana’s Ministry of Energy is inviting members of the general public to make input by way of contributions as the country seeks to review the Renewable Energy Act, 2011 (Act 832).
The review of the Act, the Ministry said, has become necessary due to the current development in the renewable energy sub-sector.
A statement signed by John-Peter Amewu, the sector Minister, added that the aim of the amendment and review is to address the challenges in the industry.
The deadline for the submission of comments or proposals is Friday, June 12, 2020, 17:00hrs GMT.
AMENDMENT OF GHANA’S RENEWABLE ENERGY ACT, 2011 (Act 832)
Barely five years after over 200 people perished in a flood cum fire disaster at a GOIL Filling Station at Kwame Nkrumah Cirle, a suburb of Accra, in the Republic of Ghana, on June 3, 2015, children and relatives of the deceased persons and survivors are yet to receive full compensations from millions of Ghana cedis donated to them as a form of relief.
The incident, which attracted global attention, touched the hearts of many across the globe resulting in droves of people and organisations (both local and foreign) donating into a pool to enable the government support the victims.
Not happy about how the victims have been left helpless after the horrendous incident, One Ghana Movement, a pressure group, filed a suit at the country’s court against GOIL, National Petroleum Authority (NPA) and Accra Metropolitan Assembly for their negligence, which they (plaintiff) claimed contributed to the disaster.
Dead bodies being carried by NADMO officials
In a statement signed by the Acting Executive Director of One Ghana Movement, Emly Kanyir Nyuur said, “The only funds received by victims to date was from a $200,000 donation by the President of Benin which the NADMO and AMA disbursed to the victims in June 2019.”
It lamented, “This begs the question where are the funds that were donated to the victims and why have they not been disbursed even five years after the disaster?”
It observed that since 2017, the One Ghana Movement has taken on a legal project, the ‘Justice for June 3’ victims or ‘J4J3’ campaign, seeking equitable compensation for the victims and to also hold officials liable for their actions and inactions that led to the avoidable fire disaster.
“While the organisation acknowledges that rhe wheels of justice grind slowly, we do believe that the victims have endured significant trauma over the past five years and need to be adequately compensated to enable them afford a quality life and restore faith in the justice system,” the movement said in a statement.
It spelt out its objectives on how to secure equittable compensation for the victims, and hold officials and institutions accountable for their actions and inactions.
The group said the victims and the movement have started a legal action against Ghana Oil (GOIL), the National Petroleum Aurhority (NPA) and the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA) for their complicity in the disaster and hope that the right punushments would be meted out to officials who were negligent.
The African Energy Chamber has hailed the appointment of Taelo Mojapelo as the new CEO of oil and gas giant, BP for Southern Africa.
Mojapelo succeeds Priscillah Mabelane who was notably the first woman in South Africa’s oil history to head up a multinational company.
The appointment is an encouraging step towards promoting the inclusion of women in leadership positions in the oil sector, a move strongly supported by the Chamber which is a signatory of Equal by 30, a commitment by public and private sector organizations to work towards equal pay, leadership and opportunities for women in the sector by 2030.
“The appointment of Taelo Mojapelo is a motivating move by BP Southern Africa,” NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber stated in a press release.
“At the Chamber, we have been extremely vocal about the increased participation of women in the oil and gas sector, particularly in leadership positions. We applaud BP for its continued commitment to supporting this move and we look forward to seeing other oil companies follow suit.”
Prior to being elected as the new CEO of BP Southern Africa, Mojapelo was the head of optimization and supply at the company and previously held several leadership roles in multinational companies including, Mondelez International, Kellog’s and DHL.
Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (ZESCO) has launched a Mobile Application (Mobile App) aimed at improving service delivery by allowing customers to easily and quickly access information and get real time responses on services.
The Mobile App which has been developed internally by ZESCO is focused on allowing customers access services through their mobile phones at their convenience at the click of a button.
During the COVID-19 epidemic, the App comes in handy to meet the requirements for electronic engagement in order to maintain social distances.
“The Mobile App will be implemented in two phases and will not only reduce crowding in the walk-in customer centres, but also decongest calls to the National Call Centre. And this will promote real time responses to customer challenges,” a statement signed by Hazel M Zulu, Public Relations Manager for ZESCO Limited said.
The Mobile App will among other things, help customers to report faults and generate complaint numbers, allow checking of prepaid meter tokens in the event of misplacement of receipts, help in locating and identifying customer service centres within customers’ locations, track your new power connection/application status and access information on new connection requirements.
The mobile solution will require customers to download and install the application on their smart phones from distribution platforms such as the App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android).
“We are excited about this App as it makes our mission of ‘making it easy for people to live a better life’ a reality,” the statement concluded.
The African Energy Chamber has provided financial and material support to the government of South Sudan to support its efforts to respond to the global Covid-19 pandemic.
South Sudan’s Coronavirus case count is currently nearing 1,000, with 10 confirmed deaths.
The donation comprised a cash grant and sanitizing products, and represents the long-standing commitment of the Chamber towards the prosperity of South Sudan.
It was received in Juba by H.E. Daniel Awow Chuang, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Petroleum, who will in turn coordinate the relief action with the Ministry of Health.
“It is our wish at the Chamber that our contribution will support the laudable ongoing efforts of the government of South Sudan to respond to the pandemic,” NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman at the African Energy Chamber stated.
“This ongoing pandemic goes beyond the oil sector only and we are calling for a much broader support for South Sudan, its workers and its refugees. Short-term relief is critical to the country, especially when it comes to alleviating the economic pain caused by the pandemic and felt throughout the country,” concluded Ayuk
Unfortunately, the ongoing pandemic and the crash in oil prices have slowed the good progress that was made by the peace agreement signed by H.E. President Salva Kiir and Riek Machar.
Economic stability and development remain critical to ensuring a successful and long-lasting peace, and the ongoing crisis gives an opportunity to address the fundamental vulnerabilities of the country’s economy. Politicians, energy stakeholders, and the international investment community must come together to think about adopting the right approach to ensure a sustainable recovery post Covid-19.
In light of the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic across African oil markets, the Chamber has multiplied initiatives and efforts to bring relief and guidance to the industry.
Since the start of the pandemic, the Chamber has notably published a Common-sense Energy Agenda of top key policy measures to support the industry, and a set of Guidelines for the Movement and Safety of Oil Workers amidst sustained travel restrictions.
Nigeria’s Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) has announced a reduction in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to N121.50 from N123 per litre.
This is the second time the agency has reduced the pump price of petrol within two months.
According to its guidelines price for the month of June 2020, the ex-depot price band is now N100. 13 and N108. 13 per litre while ex-depot for collection is N108. 78 and N111.78 per litre.
In a memo titled “A.4/9/017/C.2/IV/701 31“, the agency urged all marketers to operate within the indicative prices.
The PPPPRA said, “Please recall the recently approved pricing regime which became effective 19th March 2020 and the provision for the establishment of a monthly price band within which Petroleum Marketers are expected to sell PMS at the retail stations.
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) has announced that the emirate’s transition to clean energy, targeted at 7% for 2020, has been exceeded, with 9% of the regions 11,700MW electricity requirements powered by solar, and other renewables.
The achievement exceeds the target set in the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050, which aims to provide 75% of Dubai’s total power output from clean energy sources by 2050.
The share of clean energy is in large part thanks to the 1,013MW of concentrated solar power (CSP), and solar PV contributed by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, the largest such facility in the world.
Total capacity of the projects under construction at the park is 1,850MW from photovoltaic and CSP, with DEWA predicting capacity topping 5,000MW by 2030.
“Since its launch, the solar park’s projects have received considerable interest from global developers, which reflects the confidence of investors from around the world in DEWA’s major projects,” Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of DEWA said.
According to Al Tayer, the power purchase agreement for the 900MW, 5th phase of the solar park with a consortium led by ACWA Power and Gulf Investment Corporation, was recently signed.
He added: “The total investments of the project exceed AED 2 billion. The project achieved a new record by receiving the lowest international bid of $1.6953 cents per kilowatt-hour using photovoltaic solar panels based on the Independent Power Producer model.”
The solar park, which first commenced operations in 2013, powers 50,000 residences in Dubai, whilst reducing carbon emissions in the region by 214,000 tonnes annually.
The project will feature the tallest solar tower in the world at 260 metres, powering 600MW of CSP capacity in the region, along with what DWA claims will be the biggest global thermal storage capacity in the world. It will also have 15 hours of storage capacity to boost demand management and resilience efforts.
The fifth phase, expected to be commissioned in stages starting from Q3 of 2021, will have a capacity of 900MW using photovoltaic solar panels, to power a projected 270,000 residences in Dubai, and offset a projected 1.18 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
Report reaching energynewsafrica.com indicates that a fuel tanker with registration number GT 4863-11 is in flames at Gomoa Buduatta on the Kasoa-Winneba stretch of the Accra-Cape Coast Highway in the Central Region of the Republic of Ghana.
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
Eyewitnesses say the incident has resulted in a serious vehicular traffic in the area.
Personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service are currently at the scene to bring the fire under control
More soon
Despite accelerated progress over the past decade, the world will fall short of ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy by 2030 unless efforts are scaled up significantly, reveals the new Tracking SDG 7: The Energy Progress Report released today by the International Energy Agency (IEA) the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the World Bank, and the World Health Organization (WHO).
According to the report, significant progress had been made on various aspects of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 prior to the start of the COVID-19 crisis. This includes a notable reduction in the number of people worldwide lacking access to electricity, strong uptake of renewable energy for electricity generation, and improvements in energy efficiency. Despite these advances, global efforts remain insufficient to reach the key targets of SDG 7 by 2030.
“Renewable energy is key to achieving SDG 7 and building resilient, equitable and sustainable economies in a post COVID-19 world. Now more than ever is the time for bold international cooperation to bridge the energy access gap and place sustainable energy at the heart of economic stimulus and recovery measures. IRENA is committed to scale up action with its global membership and partners to channel investment and guide policy intervention in pursuit of sustainable development for all humankind,” said Francesco La Camera, Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
The number of people without access to electricity declined from 1.2 billion in 2010 to 789 million in 2018, however, under policies that were either in place or planned before the start of the COVID-19 crisis, an estimated 620 million people would still lack access in 2030, 85 percent of them in Sub-Saharan Africa. SDG 7 calls for universal energy access by 2030.
Other important elements of the goal also continue to be off track. Almost 3 billion people remained without access to clean cooking in 2017, mainly in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Largely stagnant progress since 2010 leads to millions of deaths each year from breathing cooking smoke. The share of renewable energy in the global energy mix is only inching up gradually, despite the rapid growth of wind and solar power in electricity generation. An acceleration of renewables across all sectors is required to move closer to reaching the SDG 7 target, with advances in heating and transport currently lagging far behind their potential. Following strong progress on global energy efficiency between 2015 and 2016, the pace has slackened. The rate of improvement needs to speed up dramatically, from 1.7 percent in 2017 to at least 3 percent in coming years.
Accelerating the pace of progress in all regions and sectors will require stronger political commitment, long-term energy planning, increased public and private financing, and adequate policy and fiscal incentives to spur faster deployment of new technologies An increased emphasis on “leaving no one behind” is required, given the large proportion of the population without access in remote, rural, poorer and vulnerable communities. The 2020 report introduces tracking on a new indicator, 7.A.1, on international financial flows to developing countries in support of clean and renewable energy. Although total flows have doubled since 2010, reaching $21.4 billion in 2017, only 12 percent reached the least-developed countries, which are the furthest from achieving the various SDG 7 targets.
The five custodian agencies of the report were designated by the UN Statistical Commission to compile and verify country data, along with regional and global aggregates, in relation to the progress in achieving the SDG 7 goals. The report presents policymakers and development partners with global, regional and country-level data to inform decisions and identify priorities for a sustainable recovery from COVID-19 that scales up affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy. This collaborative work highlights once more the importance of reliable data to inform policy-making as well as the opportunity to enhance data quality through international cooperation to further strengthen national capacities. The report has been transmitted by SDG 7 custodian agencies to the United Nations Secretary-General to inform the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development’s annual review.
Key highlights on SDG7 targets
Please note that the report’s findings are based on international compilations of official national-level data up to 2018 while also drawing on analysis of recent trends and policies related to SDG 7 targets.
Access to electricity: Since 2010, more than a billion people have gained access to electricity. As a result, 90 percent of the planet’s population was connected in 2018. Yet 789 million people still live without electricity and despite accelerated progress in recent years, the SDG target of universal access by 2030 appears unlikely to be met, especially if the COVID-19 pandemic seriously disrupts electrification efforts. Regional disparities persist. Latin America and the Caribbean, Eastern Asia and South-eastern Asia are approaching universal access but Sub-Saharan Africa lags behind, accounting for 70 percent of the global deficit. Several large access-deficit countries in the region have electrification growth rates that are not keeping up with population growth. Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have the largest deficits, with 85 million and 68 million unelectrified people, respectively. India has the third largest deficit with 64 million unelectrified people, although its rate of electrification outpaces population growth. Among the 20 countries with the largest access deficits, Bangladesh, Kenya, and Uganda showed the greatest improvement since 2010, thanks to annual electrification growth rates in excess of 3.5 percentage points, driven largely by a comprehensive approach that combined grid, mini grid and off-grid solar electrification.
Clean cooking: Almost three billion people remained without access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, residing mainly in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Over the 2010 to 2018 period, progress has remained largely stagnant, with the rate of increase in access to clean cooking even decelerating since 2012 in some countries, falling behind population growth. The top 20 countries lacking access to clean cooking accounted for 82 percent of the global population without access between 2014 and 2018. This lack of clean cooking access continues to have serious gender, health, and climate consequences that affect not only the achievement of SDG target 7.1, but also the progress towards several other related SDGs. Under current and planned policies, 2.3 billion people would still be deprived of access to clean cooking fuels and technologies in 2030. The COVID 19 pandemic is likely to swell the toll of prolonged exposure of women and children to household air pollution caused by mainly using raw coal, kerosene or traditional uses of biomass for cooking. Without prompt action, the world will fall short of the universal cooking access goal by almost 30 percent. Greater access to clean cooking was achieved largely in two regions of Asia. From 2010 to 2018, in Eastern Asia and South-eastern Asia the numbers of people lacking access fell from one billion to 0.8 billion. Central Asia and Southern Asia also saw improved access to clean cooking, in these regions the number of people without access dropped from 1.11 billion to 1.0 billion.
Renewables: The share of renewables in the global energy mix reached 17.3 percent of final energy consumption in 2017, up from 17.2 percent in 2016 and 16.3 percent in 2010. Renewables consumption (+2.5 percent in 2017) is growing faster than global energy consumption (+1.8 percent in 2017), continuing a trend in evidence since 2011. Most of the growth in renewables has occurred in the electricity sector, thanks to the rapid expansion of wind and solar power that has been enabled by sustained policy support and falling costs. Meanwhile, the use of renewables in heating and transport is lagging. An acceleration of renewables across all sectors will be needed to achieve SDG target 7.2. The full impact of the COVID-19 crisis on renewables is yet to become clear. Disruption to supply chains and other areas risks delaying deployments of wind and solar PV. The growth of electricity generation from renewables appears to have slowed down as a result of the pandemic, according to the available data. But they so far appear to be holding up much better than other major fuels such as coal and natural gas.
Energy efficiency: Global primary energy intensity – an important indicator of how heavily the world’s economic activity uses energy – improved by 1.7 percent in 2017. That is better than the 1.3 percent average rate of progress between 1990 and 2010 but still well below the original target rate of 2.6 percent and a marked slowdown from the previous two years. Specific metrics on energy intensity in different sectors indicate that improvements have been fastest in the industry and passenger transport sectors, exceeding 2 percent since 2010. In the services and residential sectors, they have averaged between 1.5 percent and 2 percent. Freight transport and agriculture have lagged slightly behind. Achieving SDG target 7.3 for energy efficiency will require the overall pace of improvement to accelerate significantly to around 3 percent a year between 2017 and 2030. But preliminary estimates suggest that the rate remained well below that level in 2018 and 2019, making an even more substantial increase in the coming years necessary to reach the SDG 7 target.
International financial flows: International public financial flows to developing countries in support of clean and renewable energy doubled since 2010, reaching $21.4 billion in 2017. These flows mask important disparities with only 12 percent of flows in 2017 reaching those most in need (least developed countries and small island developing states). To accelerate renewable energy deployment in developing countries, there is a need for enhanced international cooperation that includes stronger public and private engagement, to drive an increase of financial flows to those most in need – even more so in a post-COVID-19 world.
This is the sixth edition of this report, formerly known as the Global Tracking Framework. The preparatory work of this year’s edition was chaired by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Funding for the report was provided by the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP).
The 100-Bed Infectious Disease and Isolation Centre project being undertaken by the Ghana COVID-19 Private Sector Fund, which was initially scheduled to be completed by the end of May, has been rescheduled due to some structural changes.
President of Ghana, H.E. Nana Akufo-Addo performed a virtual sod cutting ceremony for the U.S$3.5 million project on Friday, April 19, 2020.
The project was expected to be completed in six weeks.
However, a statement signed by Senyo Hosi, CEO of Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors (CBOD) and Managing Trustee of the Ghana Covid-19 Fund, explained that the project has received recommendations from the Ghana Medical Association to improve the facility’s delivery status in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond, hence, the changes in the completion date.
The statement mentioned the incorporation of a level 2.5 scalable to a three biomedical laboratory in consultation with officials from the Noguchi Memorial Institute of Research.
The centre will have a total insulation for energy efficiency since the facility would be required to be climatically controlled throughout its use.
Again, it will have an application of ultra-violet radiation treatment of air entering and exiting the facility.
This is to ensure no contaminated air exits the facility.
Senyo Hosi stated that these additions are very critical to the output of the facility, noting that the inclusion of these improvements and notifications led to the need for more work and “has required us to revise our completion and commissioning date to June 30, 2020.”
He expressed appreciation to donors for their contribution towards the fund and urged those who have not yet contributed to do so.
“We call on all to join the campaign and donate any amount towards the completion of the project. Simply dial *718*25*219# and follow the prompts,” he encouraged the general public.
Source:www.energynewsafrica.com
The federal government (FG) of Nigeria has directed several ministries to conclude the engagement with Siemens to commence the pre-engineering and concessionary financing aspects of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI).
President Muhammadu Buhari has been informed on the commencement of the next phase of the deal with Siemens to upgrade the nation’s dilapidated power infrastructure.
The presidency instructed the Ministry of Power, the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, as well as the Bureau of Public Enterprise, to speed up the process with the German engineering firm.
“Our goal is simply to deliver electricity to Nigerian businesses and homes. Our intention is to ensure that our cooperation is structured under a government-to-government framework. No middlemen will be involved so that we can achieve value for money for Nigerians,” Buhari said.
President @MBuhari has directed the Ministries of @PowerMinNigeria and @FinMinNigeria, and the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) to conclude the engagement with Siemens AG to commence the pre-engineering & concessionary financing aspects of the Presidential Power Initiative.
An agreement had been signed in July 2019 to rehabilitate and then expand the country’s electricity grid, which experiences regular power outages.
Nigeria has more than 13,000MW of installed electricity generation capacity but only 7,500MW is available and less than 4,000MW is dispatched to the grid each day.
The partnership with Siemens will modernise the existing network before enlarging it until the country can produce and distribute 25,000MW.
The project will be financed by concessionary loans covered by Euler Hermes Group SAS, a large provider of credit insurance, the statement said.
The government will “on-lend” the funding to the shareholders of Nigeria’s power distribution companies and Siemens will have sole responsibility for selecting its contractors, the Presidency stated.
According to the government, all discos have, directly, and through BPE, been diligently carried along over the last 15 months to understand in detail the challenges in the electricity systems, adding that the president has approved the release of funding for the first part of phase 1 of PPI to kick-off the pre-engineering and concession financing workstreams.
The president noted that to ensure fairness and transparency of the intervention, he has also directed that the International Finance Corporation (IFC) should be engaged to assist in developing the commercial structure of the intervention, as well as in undertaking an independent company valuation of the discos.
“While the organisation acknowledges that rhe wheels of justice grind slowly, we do believe that the victims have endured significant trauma over the past five years and need to be adequately compensated to enable them afford a quality life and restore faith in the justice system,” the movement said in a statement.
It spelt out its objectives on how to secure equittable compensation for the victims, and hold officials and institutions accountable for their actions and inactions.
The group said the victims and the movement have started a legal action against Ghana Oil (GOIL), the National Petroleum Aurhority (NPA) and the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA) for their complicity in the disaster and hope that the right punushments would be meted out to officials who were negligent.
Eyewitnesses say the incident has resulted in a serious vehicular traffic in the area.
Personnel of the Ghana National Fire Service are currently at the scene to bring the fire under control
More soon
