Monday, 8 Nov 2010

Prospective investors will be asked by the Bureau of Public Enterprises to express interest in the nation’s electricity firms in December, the Chairman, Presidential Task Force on Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, has said.

Nnaji, who spoke with our correspondent on the telephone on Friday, said, “Investors will be asked to express interest in the firms in a month’s time.”

President Goodluck Jonathan had, on August 26, 2010, unveiled the road map for power sector reform in Lagos.

According to the road map, the Federal Government will sell 51 per cent of its stake in electricity distribution companies and thermal power stations to investors and grant concession to private companies to run the three hydro-electric power stations.

The transmission grid would still be owned by government but managed by the private sector.

The BPE had already invited bids for management contracts for the Transmission Company of Nigeria, but the sale of 51 per cent of government’s stake in electricity distribution and generation companies is expected to begin in December.

The 18 PHCN successor companies are Kainji Hydro Electric Plc, Shiroro Hydro Electric Plc, Jebba Hydro Electric Plc, Egbin Power Plc,Afam Power Plc, Transmission Company of Nigeria, Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc, Yola Electricity Distribution Plc ,Ikeja Electricity Distribution Plc, and Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Plc.

Others are Kaduna Electricity Distribution Plc, Enugu Electricity Distribution Plc, Benin Electricity Distribution Plc, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Plc, Eko Electricity Distribution Company Plc; Kano Electricity Distribution Company Plc, Sapele Power Plc and Delta Power Plc.

In the power road map, Nigeria is targeting 14,000 megawatts generation by 2013 and 40,0000MW by 2020.

Nigeria currently generates an average of 3,500 megawatts against a demand in excess of 25,000MW.

“Self-generation of electricity (from diesel and petrol generators) is conservatively estimated at a minimum of 6,000 MW, which is more than twice the average output from the grid during 2009,” the road map stated.

Nigeria’s average per capita energy consumption is just 129 kilowatt hours compared to 239kWh in Ghana, 491kWh in India and 12,607kWh in the United States, according to government estimates.

Brazil has 100,000 MW of grid-based generating capacity for a population of 201 million people while South Africa also has 40,000MW of grid-based generating capacity for a population of 50million people.

Source: Punch