Page 10 - AfrElec Week 11

AfrElec
NEWS IN BRIEF
AfrElec
GRID
Nigeria’s Eko DisCo
records highest remittance
efficiency
The Nigerian Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC) on Sunday said Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) recorded the highest remittance efficiency of 50.03% in the third quarter of 2019.
The Third Quarter Report was obtained
by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos from the website of NERC, which is the regulator of the industry.
NERC said although Jos and Kaduna DisCos’ settlement rates improved during the third quarter, their remittance rates of 19.43% and 19.53%, respectively, were the lowest during the same period.
It said the individual remittance performance prior to NERC’s enforcement indicates that with the exception of Benin and Port Harcourt DisCos, the DisCos recorded increase in their remittance performance in the third quarter of 2019.
The commission said the challenge of low remittance to the market was still a concern to the Commission.
According to NERC, low remittance
adversely affects the ability of Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company to honour its financial obligations to electricity generation companies.
It said service providers such as Market Operators and NERC also struggle with the paucity of funds impacting their capacity to perform their statutory obligations due to the low remittance.
ECG to procure only Made-in Ghana electrical cables
The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has rolled out a directive to purchase cables from local manufacturers to undertake their electrification projects.
Electric cables have over the period been procured from international sources, even though the ECG agreed to government’s directive for domestic purchases four years ago.
Citi news reports that the Managing Director of the ECG, Kwame Agyeman-Budu, believes buying made-in-Ghana cables will empower local producers to create more jobs.
“The idea is to fulfil the local content policy of the country. We also want to make sure
that the local companies have the capacity to supply ECG,” Mr. Agyeman-Budu said after
visiting the premises of Tropical Cable and Conductor Ltd.
He complained about local manufacturers pretending to be producing locally but end up importing cables into the country. This, he explained, defeats the purpose of the local content policy.
“When we buy from the local producers, we also help create jobs and empower our own local companies,” he stressed.
He however praised the local companies who genuinely manufacture their own goods for producing quality cables of international standards.
The Chief Executive Officer of Tropical Cables and Conductor Limited, Dr. Tony Oteng-Gyasi, said sourcing electrical cables locally will help to create thousands of jobs since they are in high demand in the country.
Dr Oteng Gyasi assured that local producers have the capacity to meet the demand for electrical cables by ECG.
“There is a lot of idle capacity,” he said, adding that “if we are giving the opportunity, we can employ more engineers and create more jobs.”
SALES
KenGen eyes industrialists for direct electricity sales
State-owned Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) is targeting flower firms and large industries in the proposed Naivasha Industrial Park as first customers for direct electricity sales, officials have said.
Kenya Power currently has a monopoly on power sales but the Energy Act 2019 provides for the opening up of the sector.
Until now, KenGen has been restricted to electricity generation, alongside Independent Power Producers (IPPs).
“The flower firms and large industrial investors would be our first customers if the proposal is approved by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA),” said Cyrus Karingithi, the KenGen assistant manager, resource development and infrastructure.
Selling electricity directly would come as a big boost for KenGen’s revenues on circumventing Kenya Power.
Last month, the State offered investors
a low power tariff of Sh5 per kilowatt-
hour (kWh) to set up factories in Special Economic Zones (SEZ) in Olkaria, Naivasha, as the government takes steps to grow the manufacturing base and create more jobs.
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Week 11 19•March•2020