‘Huge debt threatening operations of power generating firms’
Meyen Etukudo is the managing director of Ibom Power Company Limited (IPC), an electricity-generating firm wholly owned by the Akwa Ibom State Government. Prior to his appointment, he had spent more than three decades with the defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA), which later transformed into Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). He is also a member of West African Power Pool (WAPP), overseeing the supply of electricity to many West African countries. Etukudo is also the special assistant on Power to Governor Udom Emmanuel. In this interview with ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, he speaks about efforts to ensure quality power supply and the reason behind the power plant shut down for 45 days. Excerpts:
Why is Ibom power on break and how soon is it likely to return to power generation?
Two weeks ago, we informed the public through radio and television programmes that Ibom power would be going on 45 days break. This was not due to Ibom power’s fault, but Septa Energy’s. Septa Energy, the company responsible for supplying gas to Ibom power, was carrying out a Turnaround Maintenance on its gas pipeline equipment, Ikot Abasi Gas Receiving Facility (IGRF). We talked with them, asking, “Can’t you take 30 days?” But they said they needed the 45 days and made us know that their plant would crash if not maintained. So, that was why we allowed the 45 days to enable them carry out the maintenance. We had informed the Akwa Ibom public that the plant will be off for 45 days.
Many have speculated that it is due to debt owed by Ibom power
Well, Ibom Power Company owes Septa energy some money. Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET) owes Ibom Power even more money; three times what Ibom power owes Septa. We have been meeting with their top management and we have made it clear that if after 45 days gas supply is not restored to Ibom plant, Akwa Ibom State government has the right to revoke Septa Energy’s Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) because the gas well is at Uquo, Esit Eket Local Government Area- that is Akwa Ibom land. That place can be sealed off. All over the world, debts are owed; Individuals owe, communities and states owe. Companies do owe too. Debt is not a new thing.
Are you making efforts to pay this debt?
That is when NBET pays us. I have just signed an invoice for the month of September. NBET may not even pay up to half of our invoice. Last month, we got 17 percent. When I resumed in August, we got 19 percent. If NBET pays us our full invoice, we will be able to pay off our debts and do much more.
With so much indebtedness, is it still the responsibility of state governments to provide communities with electricity now that power sector has been privatised?
It is part of social responsibility. You know that in many countries privatisation has been done, there are still some basic social responsibilities. In communities, you have to build roads, if you are not able to tar such roads, you can grade it. When it comes to water, if you cannot provide pipe borne water to the area, you can provide borehole. And so also it is with electricity; everybody needs it. In some challenging areas of the state, they keep bombarding us for electricity and transformers. The government before I came here had over 500 transformers in stock. We still have about 250 transformers left, where there is an approval for community and there is funding, and we take it for installation, energize it and hand over to the community. So, government is still intervening but due to paucity of funds, government cannot carry so much. Everybody knows the state of the economy in the country now. Government is ready to assist communities but when the transformers are installed, with the electricity connected, it is left for the communities to pay their electricity bills and they are not even paying to the government but to Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC). Therefore, government is doing a social work.
You have been in the power sector for many years, how do you hope to use your experience in giving direction to IPC?
I have worked in NEPA for 32 years. I can stay in this office and do all the work I am supposed to do. All I need do is to put instruction across. Like I told you, I am going to Ibom power plant right now. We have operations and maintenance staff. If there is an issue, we assess it and take necessary steps. We draw up training programmes for all categories of staff because in NEPA, we were trained throughout. NEPA had sent me for training in India, I have been to China, and I have also been to USA for conferences and other cities. I have also been to France where we went for test of gas insulators. I do not see my coming to Ibom Power Company as MD and SA on power as a challenge. I need more challenges in the power sector.
Does Akwa Ibom State Government have relationship with PHEDC?
PHEDC is an offshoot of 4-Power which comprises Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Cross River. PHEDC is the company that bought the right to distribute and sell electricity to the four states. Since it is supplying electricity in Akwa Ibom State, automatically we have a relationship. When they have problems they come to us.
The issue of high electricity tariffs is another sore point, how can Ibom power be involved in resolving this challenge that consumers face?
When the defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) was privatised, certificates were issued to 11 distribution companies, six generating companies and one transmission company- that is the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN). And for you to do anything, you have to follow the law. There is also electricity regulation law. Akwa Ibom State does not have its own laws on electricity regulation. Other states are writing theirs. The state house of assembly can make electricity reform law but it should not contradict the national law. The state government cannot check whether the tariff is low or not, but people have to prove. The State House of Assembly can do something. It can set up a committee to look into it, to look at the tariff, see what is obtained in other states, and once they see any disparity, they can raise questions, if they cannot explain, then we know what to do. If the state assembly has a case, they can take it to Nigerian Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC) to complain. If you prove so well, NERC can also do something. The house of assembly can do that but the executive arm of government cannot do that.
The issue of non-evacuation of power by distribution companies is disturbing, what is Ibom doing to resolve this?
I have taken a proposal from Akwa Ibom State Government and Ibom power to the chairman, House Committee on Power at the National Assembly. We have forwarded a paper to the minister of budget asking that the line from Aba to Itu be reconductored. Reconductoring means the present conductors on that line should be changed to conductors of high current carrying capacity so that it can carry up to 160MW instead of 80MW. The present conductor cannot evacuate up to 80MW. That conductor was installed around 1978. If you have a car of 1978, you know what that means. So that conductor needs to be changed to a new conductor that produces new power. Now if we go to even 40MW, it will trip because the conductor is aged. It cannot carry more and TCN is to change that conductor. It is their job and that contract was awarded over three years ago. I have met with the MD/CEO of TCN and with the MD of Transmission Service Provider (TSP); we have sent a letter to the Project Monitoring Unit (PMU) of the World Bank. We are pushing it and we have started to get some responses. In fact, PMU has called me and I said when you reconductor Aba to Itu, we can reconductor from Itu to Calabar. The line from Eket to Uyo to Itu had been recondutored by NIPP.
What major power projects are being undertaken by the state government?
We are building 2x15MVA injection substation in Uyo, the state capital, which is 33/11kV. We want to give a special line to Shelter Afrique Estate, Ewet new extension, Four Lane, which are all residential areas along with a special line to Osongama housing estate and another line straight to Le Meridien Ibom Hotel and Golf Resort. When the substation is completed, the power supply in Uyo will be stabilised, reliable and of quality. This means you can get from 250 volts to 240 volts as domestic voltage. The substation is one of the most modern substations. It ought to have been completed last December because it had already been awarded by the governor and the contractor had been mobilised with 40% down payment. The project however met with challenges of land acquisition and the variances in foreign exchange. It will nevertheless be commissioned on or before the 2nd anniversary by Governor Udom Emmanuel.
Recently the company recorded 198 days of uninterrupted power generation, yet, many communities did not enjoy regular power supply, what happened?
What this simply means is that for 198 days, the unit did not trip. We used to have what is called system collapse in the whole country, but Ibom power unit did not trip. I have told you because of limitations we generate about 80MW. We put it in the national grid. If you go to Ibom power plant you will see 123kv double circuit line from Ikot Abasi straight to Eket and from Eket to Uyo, Uyo to Itu and from Itu to Aba and Calabar- that is the grid. What we generate goes to the grid. Eket gets 20MW distribution, about 40MW is distributed in Uyo and 10MW is dropped in Itu, and the remaining MW is sent to Aba and Calabar. What that simply means is that our unit did not trip. The plant was continuously on for 198 days. No power station in this country has achieved that feat.
How was it possible to achieve that?
You know most power stations are affected by vandalism of gas pipelines. That is what Egbin power station is suffering anytime the gas pipe line is vandalized, it will go off. If you look at the gas pipe line from Esit Eket through communities to Ibom power in Ikot Abasi, it has never been vandalized. So once the gas pipeline is not vandalized and your workers know what to do at the right time, the plant can run for 200 days or more and we have achieved that feat and the whole country is talking about it.
What advice do you have for communities that are hosting the gas pipelines?
The communities are already conducting themselves well. What I can say to them is that they should keep behaving well like good Nigerians. The gas pipeline passing through communities is used to generate electricity by government to the communities. If communities vandalise the pipeline, there will be no electricity.