Labour shuns Gbajabiamila's palliatives, insists on strike – Newstrends
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Labour shuns Gbajabiamila’s palliatives, insists on strike

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4 years ago

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The Nigeria Labour Congress on Sunday said there was no going back on a nationwide strike it declared with other workers’ unions from Monday.
To avert the strike, the House of Representatives has offered the organised labour some palliatives.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, at a negotiation meeting with labour on Sunday in Abuja, said the palliatives would be included in the proposed 2021 Budget.
But the President of NLC, Ayuba Wabba, said the increase in electricity tariff and hike in fuel price had eroded the purchasing power of Nigerian workers.
He said the initial plan was that there would not be increase in electricity tariff until meters were provided for Nigerians.
Wabba commended the speaker for the intervention, adding that he had consistently represented the interest of Nigerians.
The NLC president said there was a valid court judgment nullifying the electricity tariff, adding that the judgment of the National Industrial Court asking it to stop its planned strike could not be sustained.
Wabba insisted that the NLC would go ahead with the strike if its demands were not met by the Federal Government before the expiration of the ultimatum.
Gbajabiamila had said the budget would soon be presented to the National Assembly, stressing that some palliatives were being considered to cushion the effects of increase in electricity tariff and fuel price hike.
The palliatives, according to the speaker, will include distribution of food items, reduction of taxes on minimum wage and payment of some special allowances.

Others are involvement in ownership of housing programmes through mortgage and distribution of special buses, which run on auto gas to public institutions.

Gbajabiamila said the palliatives would go a long way to assuage the suffering of Nigerians.

He said the lawmakers would also make provision in the budget to tackle the eight million deficit of meters to enable Nigerians to access them.

Gbajabiamila, who described estimated billing as a scam, said: “I have never heard it anywhere in the world.

“So if we may have to provide for the deficit, we will have to do that.”

He appealed to Labour to suspend the planned strike, saying embarking on industrial action at this critical time would not augur well for the citizenry.

He said: “You know, you cannot go on strike at this time.

“If you go on strike, the people you think you are protecting will be at the receiving end.”

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Nigeria to reduce electricity supply to Niger Republic, Benin, Togo

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May 5, 2024

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Nigeria to reduce electricity supply to Niger Republic, Benin, Togo

Not more than six per cent of total electricity from the national grid will be supplied to cross-border customers in Benin Republic, Niger and Togo.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) gave this directive to the System Operator (SO), a department in the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

NERC said this was done in a bid to increase power availability to Nigerians.

This is coming as the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has reportedly disclosed that the Federal Government and the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) would make capital injections of N750 billion and N250 billion annual debt financing to bridge the huge electricity metering gap in the country that currently stands at about seven million, according to a ThisDay report.

These details are contained in a document tagged: ‘Interim Order on Transmission System Dispatch Operations, Cross-border Supply and Related Matters’.

The power sector regulator stated that the directive would last for six months in the first instance before a review.

Nigeria supplies a portion of the electricity it generates to some of its neighbours such as the Benin Republic, Niger Republic and Togo.

NERC’s order, dated April 29, 2024, and which became effective from May 1, 2024, was signed by the commission’s Chairman, Sanusi Garba, and Vice Chairman, Musiliu Oseni.

The electricity sector regulator stressed that following the implementation of the April 2024 supplementary order, the commission had observed sub-optimal grid dispatch operation practices.

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It argued that this had compromised the Distribution Companies’ (Discos) ability to deliver on its Service Based Tariff (SBT) committed service levels to end-use customers with a significant impact on market revenues.

NERC said the system operator’s sole reliance on limiting Discos’ load off-take/allocation in managing recurring grid imbalances while prioritising international off-takers and Eligible Customers (ECs) is neither efficient nor equitable.

The practice so far adopted by the operator in managing generation availability, it said, had caused significant hardship to Discos’ customers, comprising industrial, commercial, and residential, especially during peak demands while prioritising delivery to other bilateral contracts, including export to international customers.

“The commission hereby orders as follows: The system operator shall develop and present to the commission for approval within seven days from the issuance of this order a pro-rata load-shedding scheme that ensures equitable adjustment to load allocation to all off-takers — Discos, international customers, and eligible customers — in the event of a drop in generation and other under-frequency related grid imbalances necessitating critical grid management.

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“The system operator shall implement a framework to log and publish hourly readings and enforce necessary sanctions for violation of grid instructions and contracted nominations by off-takers in line with the grid code and market,” it stated.

Among others, it further directed that the system operator shall publish and notify all market participants and the commission of the previous day’s hourly log readings of off-take by market participants and the market settlements report by 12:00 noon of the next day.

“The system operator shall ensure that the maximum load allocation to international off-takers in each trading hour shall not be more than six per cent of the total available grid generation.

“The aggregate capacity that can be nominated by a generating plant to service international off-takers shall not be more than 10 per cent of its available generation capacity unless in exceptional circumstances a derogation is granted by the commission.

“The system operator shall henceforth cease to recognise any capacity addition in bilateral transactions between a generator and an off-taker without the express approval of the commission,” it added.

It urged the system operator and TCN to immediately initiate and install integrated Internet of Things (IoT) meters at all off-take and delivery points of eligible customers, bilateral supplies, cross-border trades, and outgoing 33kV feeders of the Discos to provide real-time visibility of aggregate off-take by grid customers.

“The installation of and streaming of data from the IOT meters should be completed within three months from the date of this order,” it added.

Nigeria to reduce electricity supply to Niger Republic, Benin, Togo

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Edo, Delta areas to experience two-week power outage – TCN

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May 5, 2024

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Edo, Delta areas to experience two-week power outage – TCN

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has announced a two-week power outage starting on May 4 in parts of Edo and Delta states.

In a statement released in Benin by Ndidi Mbah, the General Manager of Public Affairs at TCN, it was revealed that the outage is necessary for the safe erection of two 132KV transmission towers at the Amukpe substation.

Benin DisCo will not receive bulk power supply during this period through several feeders, including Adeje, Industrial Woodland, Mosogar, Sapele, and Abraka.

“The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), hereby states that it will commence the erection of two number 132kV transmission towers at its Amukpe Transmission Substation.

”And will equally restring a portion of the Benin-Delta and Delta-Oghara 132kV double circuit transmission lines from Saturday, May 4 to May 17, 2024.

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“Consequently, Amukpe Substation will be out of power for the work.

“Also, there will be no bulk power supply to Benin DisCo (BEDC) through the following feeders: the Adeje, industrial Woodland, Mosogar, Sapele and Abraka feeders.

“The outage is necessary to create a safe working environment for the contractor. Completion of the projects will establish N-1 redundancy, which would enable TCN to supply bulk electricity to the substation from either the Benin or Ughelli transmission line.

“This means that when one transmission line is faulty, bulk electricity can still be received in the substation from the second line,” Mbah said.

These developments, once completed, will ensure a more reliable and flexible bulk power supply through the Amukpe transmission substation.

It’s important to note that BEDC is responsible for the retail distribution of electricity in Delta, Edo, Ekiti, and Ondo States, covering an area of 57,353 square kilometres.

Edo, Delta areas to experience two-week power outage – TCN

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Coastal highway project to disrupt DStv, GOtv services

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3 hours ago

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May 5, 2024

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Coastal highway project to disrupt DStv, GOtv services

Ongoing construction of Lagos-Calabar coastal highway will disrupt DStv and GOtv services with effect from today Sunday May 5, MultiChoice has alerted.

The company has sent out a notice to this effect to its customers, telling them to expect disruption in service from Sunday, May 5 to Tuesday, May 7 due to the the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway.

In a notice shared on social media, MultiChoice however assured its customers that its technical team would be working to relocate its facility and minimise service disruptions during the process.

The statement read, “Our uplink facility will be impacted by the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Coastal Road construction project. As a result, we are forced to relocate.

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“From Sunday, May 5, 2024 to Tuesday May 7, 2024, our technical team will be working tirelessly to relocate and minimise disruptions during the exercise.

“We appreciate your patience and understanding during this period and remain dedicated to delivering the quality service and support you expect from DStv and GOtv.”

Recall that demolition for the 700km Lagos-Calabar coastal highway commenced on Monday.

According to the Minister of Works, David Umahi, the duration of the construction is eight years, and it will cost N15 trillion.

Coastal highway project to disrupt DStv, GOtv services

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