Wednesday 1 February 2012

Manitoba Hydro, Power Grid India Eye Running Nigeria Transmission Co


 Manitoba Hydro Electric Board and Power Grid Corp. of India Ltd.  are conducting due diligence on Transmission Company of Nigeria, or TCN, and its network having been invited to bid for the company’s management contract, the  Bureau of Public Enterprises  ( BPE), said Wednesday.

                                                 Prof. Bart Nnaji, Minister of Power

Analysts however are hoping that the NITEL experience with Pentascop will not be replicated in TCN. It will be recalled that the same BPE under the leadership of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai contracted Pentascop to manage NITEL in preparation for privatisation. Their performance was so abysmal that the condition of the state owned telecommunications operator was worse after the contract was terminated.
Also, with the experience that the Ajaokuta Steel Company has had in the hands of Indians, should the country allow an Indian firm to be involved with any of the PHCN successor companies?

A critical requirement of the Power Reform Act of Nigeria was the unbundling of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, (PHCN)  into 18 successor companies and several agencies.

TCN, one of 18 companies carved out of the state-run Power Holding Company of Nigeria, or PHCN, ahead of its planned privatization, combines the functions of a transmission services provider, a system operator and a market operator, all of which are central to the sustainability and development of the country's electricity sector, said BPE spokesman Chukwuma Nwokoh.

Nwokoh said the management contract is designed to reduce electricity losses during transmission, provide for targets that would improve grid security, general performance and provide efficient management of government’s investments, among other things. The victorious bidder would be paid by Nigeria, as the country needs the expertise, Nwokoh said.

The Federal Government plans to privatize all power generation and distribution companies created from PHCN by the first quarter 2012.




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