Energy Briefs
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THE Eko Electricity Distribution Company, EKEDC, has started the tender process for its power generation project. The company, in a statement, signed by Ramesh Narayanan, deputy managing director of the company, said the massive response to the prequalification advertisement for the project was enough proof of the fact that Nigeria had all it takes to positively turn around its power industry.
Narayanan said the conference organised for prequalified organisations was to enable them to have a very clear picture of the project and what it entailed before the commencement of the bid process. He stated this at the recent pre-bid conference with representatives of companies and organisations that had earlier been pre-qualified for the project.
Participants at the pre-bid conference, according to the statement, had earlier lauded the initiative of EKEDC on the embedded generation project, while also expressing their happiness to have been selected for prequalification for the project. They expressed their readiness to work with the company to evolve new ways of enhancing power supply to customers. EKEDC and the participants also expressed confidence in the viability of the project, adding that the quest for stable and affordable electricity in the country would receive a big boost when the project is completed.
The embedded generation project is an arrangement whereby bulk electricity energy is generated outside the national grid through a bilateral agreement between a distribution company on one hand and a company that generates power within the coverage area of the distribution company on the other.
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FG Meets Demand of Petrol Tanker Drivers
The federal government has averted another fuel crisis in the country following its meeting with aggrieved members of the Major Marketers Association of Nigeria and Petroleum Tankers Drivers and the Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO. The government’s position was contained in a communique issued at the end of the meeting between the Petroleum Equalisation Fund Management Board, PEFMB, and other relevant unions in the oil and gas sector.
The communique which was signed by Sharon Kasali, executive secretary, PEFMB, on behalf of the government, recalled that NARTO had on January 15, issued a 10-day ultimatum to the government over some unresolved issues affecting its operations.
According to the communique, the issues agitated on by the association, particularly those related to payment of claims, had been addressed at the meeting. It stated that payment for marketers claim for transportation of refined petroleum products were being carried out on a constant and continuous basis. It further said that due diligence had been concluded on all manual claims and those found not to have met the minimum requirements for processing payment were yet to be returned to the concerned marketers. “All those that passed the minimum requirement tests had been processed and paid.”
The communique stated that evidence was presented to confirm the dedication of the board staff to their duties even on weekends and public holidays. It added that the PEFMB would ensure uninterrupted and improved service delivery always. It, however, stated that any complaints shall be looked into and appropriate sanctions applied. “Efforts had been made to communicate new policies and guidelines to marketers while the board further pledged to improve on its communication strategy with all stakeholders. The board informed NARTO members that there were currently five tagging teams operating at different sites in Lagos Ibadan, Enugu and Kaduna,” it stated.
NARTO, in a letter by Kassim Bataiya, its president, to PEFMB, said it would be compelled to boycott all activities if the grievances of its members were not resolved within 10 days. It said it would suspend its operations of distributing petroleum products all over the country pending when the issues were resolved.
It listed some of the issues affecting their smooth operations to include slow response from application of Aquila Project II and alleged undue delay in freight payments, leading to cash flow problems. Project Aquila is an electronic business solution introduced by PEF to help monitor the loading, transportation and delivery of petroleum products at all depots. NARTO is the central platform for all trucks and petroleum tanker owners used in conveying products from Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation depots to filling stations nationwide.
— Feb. 9, 2015 @ 01:00 GMT
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Tags: EKEDC Eko Disco Eko Electricity Distribution Company Kassim Bataiya Major Marketers Association of Nigeria NARTO Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners PEFMB Petroleum Equalisation Fund Management Board Petroleum Tankers Drivers Ramesh Narayanan Sharon Kasali
