Nigerian power sector has faced major challenges more than five years after privatisation.
These challenges which include liquidity and manpower have continued to haunt the sector.
Power distribution companies (Discos) have not been able to meet their agreed performances.
These lack of performances by the Discos have led Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to request that all Discos come up with their five-year Performance Improvement Plans (PIP) for the period of 2020 – 2024.
Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Plc (PHED), one of the eleven Discos has submitted its plan to the regulator.
PHED’s performance in the last five years of operations was reviewed and all the constraints that led to non-performance were identified and evaluated.
The Disco said in the document that it has embarked on “key objectives of efficiently managing the operations, metering all customers, rehabilitating and modernising the existing distribution system, expanding the electrical network to provide reliable power to new customers, achieving the key performance targets, achieving commercial viability for the company and improving service delivery to the customers.”
The Disco by the plan also envisages doubling the customer base leading to installation of more than 800,000 electricity meters through Meter Asset Provider (MAP).
“Being mindful of the existing state of 33kV and 11kV network that is hampering smooth flow of energy, PHED has decided to spend 67% of its network and systems capex on 33kV network projects (20.8%), 33/11kV injection substations (19.5%) and 11kV network projects (6.2%) besides investing 32.3% in 33/11/0.415 distribution transformers, 3.4 B (5.5%) on AB cabling of LT network. Also on IT intervention 9.8 B for SCADA and other automation implementation is provisioned.”
The success of this plan, however, hinges on a tariff that is reflective of both capital expenditure and operating costs.
According to the PIP, “with this capex and the implementation plan monitoring, PHED aims to reduce its ATC&C losses from 61.3% in the year 2019 to 21% in the year 2024.”
“It is PHED’s expectation that at the end of the PIP review, PHED will get a tariff structure that will support this performance based programme to bring about its transformation and turnaround,” stated the document detailing the strategy.
