VenturesNow

Electricity: Nigeria to patronize local meter manufacturers amid shortage

Published

2 months ago

March 24, 2024

Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has said that the government would patronize local meter manufacturers amid shortage.

Adelabu made the revelation during his working visit to MEMMCOL in Mowe, Ogun State. The policy, according to the minister, seeks to enhance local content development and stimulate industrial sector growth.

“We will also prioritise patronage, ensuring sustainability in their operations, aligning with President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda.

“It is a must to have significant local content in power sector’s projects and contracts,” Adelabu explained.

He emphasised the importance of providing local producers with long-term capital and affordable financing. In addition, as in the oil and gas sector, he announced plans to enact laws guaranteeing local content in the power sector, highlighting the critical need for comprehensive backward integration and technical training initiatives.

“That is the only way local producers can be sustained. But, we need to start developing capacity in terms of investment infrastructure and also ensure mass production. Need to develop local capacity to avoid importation.

“We must have comprehensive plan for full backward integration, so that the locally manufactured productst will be achieved. We need to start training our people in technical training.” Adelabu said.

Since late 2023, the appalling state of the electricity supply has gotten worse as gas suppliers to gas-fired thermal power plants have stopped supplying the product to the plants because of the $1.3 billion in debt that the electricity-producing facilities owe.

He clarified that over the next five years, the Presidential Metering Initiatives intend to install two to 2.5 million metres annually. He said that closing large metering gaps is the first priority, highlighting the need for cooperation from all parties involved.

Most Nigerian homes engage power transaction based on estimated billing which often end with complaints mostly by energy consumers over alleged practice of over-billing.

Related Topics:electricity Energy Featured Nigeria power

Click to comment

VenturesNow

Nigeria received $1bn tax income from Shell in 2023

Published

19 hours ago

May 8, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Shell Nigeria, a multinational oil company, claims that through the operations of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company of Nigeria Limited, it exclusively paid $1.09 billion in corporate taxes and royalties to the Nigerian government in 2023.

According to the numbers released in the recently released 2023 Shell Briefing Notes, SNEPCo remitted $649 million, while the SPDC paid $442 million.

Similar payments made by the two firms in 2022 totalled $1.36 billion, according to a statement from Abimbola Essien-Nelson, the company’s manager of media relations.

“These payments are Shell exclusive and do not include those made by our partners,” said SPDC Managing Director and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Osagie Okunbor.

Okunbor explained, “Shell companies in Nigeria will continue to contribute to the country’s economic growth through the revenue we generate and the employment opportunities we create by supporting the development of local businesses.”

He continued by saying that Shell has been an investor in Nigeria for more than 60 years and that the Briefing Notes provide an update on the state of the companies’ operations in Nigeria for 2023, including SPDC, SNEPCo, Shell Nigeria Gas, and Daystar Power.

He claimed that the studies demonstrated how the businesses kept driving advancement, collaborating closely with communities and stakeholders to support socio-economic growth and offer more affordable, environmentally friendly energy options.

“It is important to emphasise that Shell is not leaving Nigeria and will remain a major partner of the country’s energy sector through its deep-water and integrated gas businesses. Our collective focus remains on delivery of safe operations and care for our people,” Okunbor maintained.

VenturesNow

Zimbabwe’s new gold-backed currency now official unit of exchange

Published

1 day ago

May 7, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Zimbabwe’s Treasury says that the newly introduced gold-backed currency is the official unit of exchange for transactions. It also stated on Tuesday that laws requiring businesses to utilize the official rate would be released soon.

The Zimbabwe Gold (ZiG) has been stable on the official market since its inception in early April, but it has had a shaky start on the black market, where dealers are demanding a premium of 65% of the official rate to purchase dollars.

Additionally, some stores are charging customers who pay in the new currency—while the ZiG is being rejected by informal traders—a premium over the market rate, which is fixed at ZiG 13.6 per US dollar.

“To ensure orderly pricing, the Government will soon be introducing the necessary regulations to ensure that no exchange rate other than the official rate will be used for the pricing of all goods and services,” Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said in a statement.

Since the ZiG’s inception, the government has been working to keep it afloat; this month, officials launched a campaign against unlicensed foreign exchange dealers.

Zimbabwe, located in southern Africa, abandoned the Zim dollar last month after it lost 70% of its value since the beginning of the year. This is the country’s fourth effort to introduce a local currency in ten years.