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Transitional electricity market begins January 1

By on December 24, 2014

The Federal Government has announced that the effective date for the commencement of all contractual obligations in the Nigerian electricity market has been fixed for January 1, 2015.

It also said the long awaited Transition Electricity Market would be finally declared on that date.

The Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, who said these at a stakeholders’ forum in Abuja on Monday, said that the main focus of the TEM would be the consummation of all contractual obligations as stipulated in the market rules.

He said the TEM declaration was not the start of the transition, but an attempt to make the market more mature and robust.

Nebo, in a statement, called on all players to do their best, stressing that the Federal Government would not accept any excuse on why they were unable to provide Nigerians with uninterrupted power supply.

The minister said the Central Bank of Nigeria was ready, hence all market participants should perfect their papers in order to access cheap funds under the government’s intervention initiative.

He also noted that the government was determined to radically address the lingering metering issue in the power sector.

This, he said, would help block leakages in revenue collection, thereby making more resources available for investment.

He spoke about plans to increase power generation through access to gas by plants built under the National Integrated Power Project, and enhanced transmission capacity, adding that the government would pursue with vigour energy efficiency and conservation initiatives.

Meanwhile, the nation has lost 1,200 megawatts of electricity in the last two weeks as a result of the rupturing of pipelines that supply gas to power generation plants.

It was learnt that the gas pipelines were ruptured by vandals who, however, did not succeed in stealing the commodity.

Nebo said power generation had fallen from about 4,600MW, which was achieved four weeks ago, to about 3,600MW currently.

He spoke in Abuja on Monday while briefing journalists on the status of and challenges being faced by the power sector.

 

[Punch]