Perm Sect Min of Intormation and Communication, Mrs Cordilia Peterside addressing participants during 2014 Skills Acquisition organised by Divine Daughters of Destiny of Redemption Ministries PHC. With her is Pastor (Mrs) M. Akinola (left) any Pastor (Mrs) Briggs, recently. Photo: Nwiueh Donatus Ken

A consortium of American investors in renewable energy, under the auspices of MOTIR SEASPIRE, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Federal Ministry of Power to deliver in two years, 1,200 megawatts of solar powered electricity in Nigeria.
The proposed solar technology to be installed in Nigeria will be of United States standard, according to the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, as he assured that the consortium had the capacity to increase the scope of project up to 10,000MW in the next five years.
A statement from the power ministry quoted the President/CEO, MOTIR SEASPIRE, Mr. Emmanuel Irono, as saying that the team had a portfolio of over $5bn that could be accessed over a period of five years into its integrated renewable energy projects.
He said the initial 1,200MW will be realised in the next two years, adding that the local content component of 80 per cent Nigerians will make the country the hub of its activities in Africa.
He said, “As a compatriot, the concern for providing employment to the teeming populace will be a plus to the company’s quest for provision of training for the Nigerian workforce in the power sector in general and renewable energy in particular.”
Responding, the minister of power said he was excited that a compatriot was making this giant stride of harnessing the vast potentials of energy in solar.
Meanwhile, in a move to make pre-paid meter available to electricity customers, Ecobank Nigeria Plc and Port-Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED) have signed a special agreement whereby their customers can secure finance for the acquisition of prepaid meters under the Credited Advanced Payment for Metering Implementation (CAPMI) scheme.
The scheme, CAPMI is a special programme initiated by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, (NERC), that allows willing electricity customers to make payment to distribution companies for pre-paid meters and such payment is then refunded back to the customer through deductions from the monthly electricity bills.
The scheme being introduced by Ecobank, one of the commercial Bank under the name CAPMI Credit, avails willing customers the opportunity of securing microfinance for pre-paid meter acquisition from PHED.
While signing the agreement last Thursday in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, Executive Director, South-South and South-East, Ecobank, Mr. Kingsley Umadia, stated that CAPMI Credit was designed to help bring solution to the huge metering gap that was currently being experienced in the power sector.
Umadia noted that the acquisition of pre-paid meter would also stop the estimated bill, noting that electricity had been known to be a driver of economic prosperity.
He said  that Ecobank decided to partner with PHED to help actualize the development of the sector for the country’s economic growth, adding that no country would function well without effective power.
In his own part, the, Chief Executive Officer, PHED, Mr. Jon Abbas, disclosed that the partnership with Ecobank was necessary as the bank had been a leading partner in service provision to customers.
Abbas stated that the deal was struck in order to achieve the company’s vision of being a leading utility in Nigeria as according to him, no country can function effectively without power, hence we work to ensure that power in the country is stable.
The Assistant General Manager, Customer Services, PHED, Mr. Godwin Orovwiroro, while making presentation on the scheme, explained that CAPMI credit would run alongside the regular CAPMI scheme that requires customers to make cash payment for meters.
Orovwiroro further explained that all categories of meters including single phase and three-phase were accommodated in the Ecobank finance scheme.
‘’Under CAPMI, electricity distribution companies repay the cost of prepaid meters back to customers who purchase them at 12% of the cost.’’,he said.
PHED is the electricity distribution company that serves four states in the south-south namely Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross and Rivers States.