Business
TCN Generates 72,261 mw Of Electricity In Aug
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) yesterday said it wheeled out 72,261.7 megawatts of electricity in the first four weeks of August.
The daily statistics of TCN operations obtained by our correspondent from Nigerian Electricity System Operator (SO), a section of the TCN, indicated that 34,853.3 megawatts were generated between August 1 and August 12.
This was against the 37,408.4 megawatts generated between August 13 and August 23.
The statistics indicated that power generation dropped by 2,555 megawatts between the two periods.
Daily power generated from August 1 to August 12 were 2,617.9mw, 3,226.2mw, 3,411.3mw, 2,745.8mw, 2,951mw, 3,393.8mw, 3,292.8mw,3,301.7mw, 3,360.5mw, 3,425.6mw and 3,126.8mw, respectively
Daily power generated from Aug.13 to Aug. 23 were 3,316.1mw, 2,804.5mw, 3,435.5mw, 3,443mw, 3,443mw, 4,068.6mw, 3,450.8mw, 3,737.6mw, 3,136.9mw, 3,912.8mw and 3,361.9mw, respectively.
The power were wheeled to 11distrbution companies
The TCN said that national peak demand forecast stood at 19,100.00mw, while 11,165.40mw was the installed available capacity, 7,139.60mw was the available capacity, 7,000 mw was the current transmission capacity and network operational capacity was 5,500.00mw.
The peak generation ever attained in Nigeria was 5,074.7mw, while the maximum energy ever attained stood at 109,372.01mwh.
A former Group Executive Director (Gas and Power) in NNPC, Mr David Ige said that there was the need for prompt settlement of debts for the sector to operate optimally across the entire value chain
Ige, who is currently the Chief Executive Officer, GasInvest Ltd., said that currently about N1 trillion was being owed across the entire value chain from gas production to distribution.
Ige said that the problem of liquidity was also affecting natural gas production and supply.
“It may interest you to know that in the country today, our installed capacity for gas production is about two billion Standard Cubic Feet (SCF) per day.
“If all this capacity is flowing, all these problems associated with power generation would have reduced significantly.
“From January 2016 till date, we have had an average production of 1.4bscuf of gas per day and in fact on a steady scale, it is 1.2bscuf per day.
“That means about 800 million scuf per day of installed capacity is not getting to the market, talk less of other challenges in the sector.
“We need to address these fundamental issues of not utilising the installed capacity to produce gas. About 300 billion scuf that is stranded is due to power sector not taking the gas,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) has reported that 82 employees of electricity distribution companies and TCN as well as power consumers lost their lives in various electricity-related accidents between January and July this year.
They were 14 employees of TCN and the DISCOs and 68 other victims who were classified as third party individuals.
The report also stated that there had been 67 accidents with fatalities so far, while there were 37 accidents with only injuries adding that 59 other persons were injured in the process.
The agency went further to state that 24 people among the injured persons were workers of both the DISCOs and the TCN, while 35 were third-party individuals.
The report said that Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) and Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED) recorded the highest number of fatalities or deaths this year.
While 20 individuals lost their lives in locations covered by Abuja DISCO, 11 persons died in each of the areas under the electricity supply and distribution management of Kano and Port Harcourt DISCOs.
DISCOs like Benin, Eko, Enugu, Ibadan and Ikeja recorded seven, one, three, eight and two fatalities, respectively.
Jos DISCO recorded 10 fatalities, while each of Kaduna and Yola DISCOs had situations that claimed four lives in their coverage areas.
The TCN lost one employee.
The Board stated this in a statement released by its Corporate Communications Directorate to newsmen, recently, during the inauguration of 140 trainees for the Train 7 Project.
The trainees had undergone the Nigerian Content Human Capacity Development (NC-HCD) programme it organised in partnership with the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
The Tide gathered that the training programme was an intensive three-month Advanced NC-HCD Programme for the US$5 billion NLNG Train 7 Project on Bonny Island, Rivers State.
The trainees, The Tide further learnt are graduates in different academic disciplines who have completed a 12-month Basic Training Programme in diverse oil-and-gas-industry-related skill sets and are now set for an on-the-job phase which includes active hands-on participation in operational areas such as Turn Around Maintenance (TAM), Commissioning, and Desktop Programmes.
The Corporate Communications Directorate of the NCDMB told The Tide that in November 2024, a set of 331 trainees under Batch A of the NLNG T7 HCD Training Programme began capacity development in facility management, engineering, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Health Safety and Environment (HSE), Quality Assurance and Quality Control, as well as welding and fabrication.
According to the Board, additional 77 trainees under Batch B of the same Training Programme began capacity development in data analytics and supply chain management among several other fields relevant to the operations of the oil and gas industry.
While addressing the trainees and trainers who were drawn from the Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN), Management Personnel of the NCDMB and NLNG, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr Felix Omatsola Ogbe, said the Advanced NC-HCD training is more than a milestone.
“The NC-HCD training programme is an expression of the collective commitment of the Board and the NLNG to nurturing world-class Nigerian professionals who will shape the future of our oil and gas industry.
“The Board has remained steadfast in its conviction that Human Capital Development is a critical investment in the sustainability and competitiveness of Nigeria’s oil and gas value chain”, the NCDMB boss said.
He said the situation has resulted in widened knowledge gaps and operational challenges.
As a globally regulated sector, he said it was important that stakeholders put measures in place to attract the talents required to move the industry forward.
Keyamo, therefore, called on stakeholders in the industry to be deliberate in identifying, encouraging, nurturing and harvesting young talents to ensure a sustainable supply of manpower to the aviation sector.
Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection of the FAAN, Mrs Obiageli Orah, in a release made available to aviation correspondents, noted that the Minister deemed it necessary to attract the right quality of human resources required to move the sector forward.
“As a globally regulated sector, it is important that stakeholders put measures in place to continually attract the right quality and quantity of human resources required to move the industry forward.
“It is important to note that organising training programmes are avenues through which we can breed, nurture, and harvest such human resources.
“One of the critical challenges facing the industry is the ageing and retiring workforce, leading to widened knowledge gaps and operational issues.
“Training programmes, I believe, is among other things designed to make aviation appealing to the younger generation, while encouraging them to develop interest in taking up a career in the industry”, the statement stated.
Meanwhile, some aviation stakeholders have expressed concerns of countless young Nigerians who seek to make their mark in aviation, tourism, and the wider transport ecosystem but often face steep barriers to entry.
According to them, lack of access, limited mentorship, financial constraints, skill mismatches, and systemic gaps, among others, have posed some constraints to them.
The Tide gathered that by the appointment, Ogbe becomes Nigeria’s representative on the Board of the 18-member continental body, which has its headquarters at Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo.
Ogbe was picked for this role by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, who doubles as the Chairman of the NCDMB Governing Council.
The notice of the Executive Secretary’s appointment was conveyed in a congratulatory letter signed by the Director of Support Services, APPO, Mrs. Philomena Ikoko, on behalf of the Secretary-General of the organisation, Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim.
She applauded the NCDMB boss on the confidence reposed in him by the Minister, expressing her belief that he would make immense contributions to the development of the African oil and gas industry.
Mrs Ikoko stated that Ogbe was joining the Executive Board of APPO at a challenging time for the oil and gas industry, especially in Africa.
“Your appointment is a major call to duty for Nigeria and the continent. The secretariat will give you the support you will need to make a success of your assignment”, she said.
According to a statement by the Directorate of Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination, the NCDMB played key roles in catalysing the operations of APPO and the development of local content in Africa.
The statement added that the board was providing institutional support and mentorship to several oil producing countries in their formulation of local content policies.
“The NCDMB initiated the African Local Content Roundtable (ALCR) and hosted the inaugural edition in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state, in June 2021, and the event was attended by key officials of APPO and other oil industry players.
“The idea for the Africa Energy Bank (AEB) was mooted by NCDMB’s officials at the event, as one of the strategies that would accelerate the growth of the African oil and gas industry and deepen local content.
“The Board also collaborated with APPO to host subsequent editions of the African Local Content Roundtable (ALCR), including the 2023 edition held at Abuja.
“The Africa Energy Bank, which APPO is setting up at Abuja, is aimed at pooling financial resources needed to fund big-ticket oil and gas projects across the continent, and bridge funding challenges currently impeding the development of the sector”, the NCDMB’S said.
Meanwhile, the APPO Secretary-General has said the Africa Energy Bank seeks to fund oil and gas projects across economies in Africa and help to plug critical financing gaps that exist through the continent’s over reliance on financiers from the West.
He added that each APPO member country is expected to raise $83 million with an objective of raising $5 billion capital for the establishment of the Bank.
The Tide learnt that recently Nigeria, Angola and Ghana have contributed their share capital for the African Energy Bank, which represents 44 percent of the trio’s contributions to the minimum capital that is required from oil producing countries in the continent.
It would be recalled that at the Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) held recently, the NCDMB’s Scribe confirmed that the agency was part of key institutions that pooled resources for the formation of the Africa Energy Bank.
Ogbe announced that the Bank will open for business before the end of the 2nd quarter of this year, 2025, expressing hope that it will create more funding availability for local oil and gas projects and companies.
Similarly, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, had stated at the Offshore Technology Conference that Afrexim Bank has already raised $19billion for the take-off of the Africa Energy Bank.
According to him, $14 billion out of the funds represents the bank’s financial exposure on African oil and gas projects, with the additional $5 billion as take-off capital.