skyope:


I do honestly believe that many of us seemingly sane individuals do suffer from traumatic bonding. I call you sane because at least you know something about cost of power, but equally you have a type of bonding that I can best describe as traumatic bonding (this is to avoid the more accurate word 'sentimental' or 'biased' which might suggests something else).

So I will pretend you honestly believe in what you wrote.....hence this response. This is the economics of corruption or the other way round. In economics, privatisation is good, the same way capitalism is good. But when you introduce corruption, it all FAILS. You see, sometimes when I hear GEJ talk i feel he means well, to an extent, but simply do not understand that his best efforts fail because of corruption. When you sell power to capitalist (GEJs friends) at corrupted prices and corrupted contract, they (capitalist) will not necessarily start to invest in power generation. This is because they can simply hold on to the contract and resell in 5-10 years time. Make cool money, and exit. This happens because the contract has been corrupted. The simple clause that mandates capitalist to invest within a time span and provide power has been clouded in smart contract lawyers and the 'easy to bribe government team' ignores the obvious or too incompetent to even know the difference.

This results in privatisation that has been on for years starting end of OBJ throughout GEJ with no single capital investment by the private partners. They are simply holding on. A good example is the GSM sale that required MTN and Econet to set up within a time span of forfeit license. I remember them running up and down to meet deadline. Nothing like that exist again in government contracts due to corruption. I remember 3G license sold to Dangote who had no intention to invest. Dangote simply held on and re-sold it to etisalat (thank God etisalat made use of it). Hope you get my point

ceejayluv:

Cool, so you agree a good step was taken by privatising the genco and discos.... But you're sceptical about the sincerity of the investors. I believe the amount bid by the buyers was made public. We have the FOI there to help get the figures and if said cash was remitted to the govt coffers.

I know of two new gencos that are investing heavily into the upgrade of power generation.. One is the Transcorp power, Ughelli. I've seen work going on and read in the news of the nearly 300 million dollars investment (which can only add but circa 150-200mw)... Now, if you add the money committed by this firm only so far, it will be getting to the neighbourhood of a billion dollars, take 1-2 hundred million. And they still got a long way to go in achieving their 2000MW target.

Power generation isn't like the telecom sector where one mast cast serve an area. A mast can be put up in a week or two... A plant takes years to build.

NairaMode:


You are still not grown?.

skyope:


Of course privatization is always a good step. How it is done is the question. The telecoms example is just to make the point of consequence for failure of a contract holder. There is simply none in todays government contracts. e.g. Dangote 3G. During the initial telecoms GSM bidding, everybody knew the deadline date to deliver or start paying fines. In developed countries, if you dont meet the deadline you pay for the equivalent money to source for alternative power meanwhile. It is always huge, so investors make sure they deliver as agreed.

The question is simple. When is the deadline that Transcorp power, Ughelli must meet before contract breach kicks in?

"Buhari enslaved the nation. He gloated and gloried in a Master-slave relation to the millions of its inhabitants. It is astonishing to find that the same former slaves, now free of their chains, should clamour to be ruled by one who not only turned their nation into a slave plantation, but forbade them any discussion of their condition" - Wole Soyinka.

Ask wole soyinka what he thinks today about the bolded

ceejayluv:


There were various memoranda signed between the FG and the private investors which include training of local manpower and facility upgrade. All the same, it's good you've pointed that out, I'll do some further research on said memoranda.

Soyinka will never support an ex-despot to rule this nation under any peudo-progressive guise.

malonephills:
Akure still enjoy better light to me

skyope:


Here are facts you might be interested in:

From 2000 to 2008 Delta II and Delta III GE units were upgraded to 150MW station each: built by Hitachi of Japan. The control systems were upgraded to Mark V, a fully computerized control system for Delta II and III. While Delta I was scrapped.

Delta IV control system was also upgraded to Mark V by GE of USA which built the station.

Today, the generation capacity of Transcorp Ughelli Power stands at 900MW with the Delta II, III & IV running at full capacity. Most of the electricity produced by Ughelli is transported through a network of conductors, to the national grid.

No mention of any recent investments. This was privatized in 2003.

http://www.ughellipower.com/about

Have you read soyinkas comments about GEJ?

ceejayluv:

I know, that's the installed capacity... The Ughelli power plant was running below 50% capacity before Transcorp acquired it in 2013. Meaning that some of the facilities needed major TAM and overhauling.. (after 50,000 hours for a standard GT).... I'm not disposed to get news links of their expansion investments right now. Nevertheless, I also have insiders and access to the firm in question.

Of course, I've seen comments about GEJ from Soyinka.. Compare and contrast them and tell me who's the lesser "evil"...

HouseOfBalloons:

www.nytimes.com/2015/02/01/opinion/sunday/lights-out-in-nigeria.html

skyope:


http://leadership.ng/business/380427/transcorp-invests-n65bn-ughelli-power-plc

If that is what you are looking for, remember that similar promise was made in 2003 when ughelli power plc became operators. Its not about promises, its about consequences for failure. Besides, 1000MW increase in 3 years. Na snail? And thats our largest gas plant o. At that rate, we will never have supply over demand in 1000 years. For comparism, norway has 1443 power plants. Though most are small, but you get the idea if it takes 3 years to build 1000MW in our largest power project.

ceejayluv:

You see where the reality comes in?... I don't know if you feel that building and installing 1000MW is like building a personal house... Find out when Sweden started building it's power plants. Find out when Japan started its bullet train project. Find out when Eskom South Africa started building large scale power plants. Some of those projects are shy of a hundred years old.

I believe you can see that my 10-15 years prognostication was even overly optimistic.

Pdizzle:


I like it when I'm in AK, e sure say light go come at least few hours a day. As for Ado, if i hear

meforyou1:
Brilliant article. Light in lagos is hell, courtesy of the master forger tinubu.
Where's the light tinubu and fashola promised after stealing billions of naira of tax payers money to build a failed independent power project?
APC is evil. Their members are thieves. Their leaders are certificateless semi iliiterates.

skyope:


You fail to get my point. Yes it takes actually 3-5 years for a 1000MW. Thats why we need 5-7 units to be built concurrently. Not just 1. But the main point is, if in 2018 for this particular TUPC project of 1000MW, what happens if they fail to deliver as most have already? [/b]same way UPC failed in operation. [b]What motivates TUPC to deliver results? Dont forget power privatization started in 2006. 9 years later, today we are still talking about promises. Just to give you some perspective.

Wittylens:



The issue o power failure didn't start with GEJ Administration. it has been there for long.
Our Past Presidents (Both literates and Illiterates) Were not able to solve this problem.


Next time , Think Before you vomit rubbish all in the name of seeking attention.

funmilayoB:
Lagos's light is much better than most cities in Naija nw come to Akure & Ado or benin her article will be much worst in description of situation of things.

malonephills:
which side you always roll when you enter

bukjam:
Great article but then Miss Adichie has a way of making things look bigger than they are. She wrote about the extreme and made it look like the norm but its normal in writing though.

I agree the country has lost a lot due to the irregular and epileptic power supply though. I'm sure people will fully comprehend what they've been losing out on when they finally get to av power supply regularly. This annoying thing doesn't just affect us financially.. It affects us in every aspect even mentally or emotionally.

Btw, does Chimamanda write for any local newpaper or magazine? Or its only abroad that she sells the country short. Its all about the money and international recognition, yeah?

ceejayluv:

Privatisation was completed in 2013 , what happened before then was the unbundling of PHCN in readiness to full privatisation which GEJ has successfully done... So, the journey to Eldorado in the new power era is not even up to two years old... It's a process.

manuelo130:


The lady just described life in Nigeria as it relates to power supply and no one who has ever lived in Nigeria will have any problems relating to this story.

meforyou1:
Brilliant article. Light in lagos is hell, courtesy of the master forger tinubu.
Where's the light tinubu and fashola promised after stealing billions of naira of tax payers money to build a failed independent power project?
APC is evil. Their members are thieves. Their leaders are certificateless semi iliiterates.

emperorbanks:


There's a reasonable supply of electricity in Akure depending on the area u reside thou. I can vividly say it's like that for most other cities. There's always a part of a town/city that enjoys stable electricity and there's that part that ain't so fortunate.

skyope:


You have ignored my questions in bold. So after 16 years PDP (3 years VP GEJ (5 years PGEJ)) we now want to start investment. Hehehe. You will justify anything GEJ. Stealing is not Corruption right?

I wonder, too, how differently our national character might have been shaped, had we been a nation with children who took light for granted, instead of a nation whose toddlers learn to squeal with pleasure at the infrequent lighting of a bulb.

sexyseun:
No, not yet