Nigeria Content Online

As the the federal
government gears up to involve the private sector in the power sector,
it has promised to engage labour unions in its power reforms agenda.

Bolanle Onagoruwa, managing director, Bureau of Public Enterprises, said this at a power reform workshop in Lagos on Wednesday.

“The Federal
Government is committed to ensuring that the labour unions are carried
along in our process and that adequate provision is made for the
entitlements of workers. Due consideration has been given to the
demands of the unions, and we are optimistic that negotiations will
commence in the not too distant future,” Ms. Onagoruwa said.

She had earlier stated that the list of companies who won the bid for the power companies would be released next month.

“It is important to
state that the reform of the power sector presents enormous
opportunities to transform the lives of Nigerians. We are humbled by
the fact that we have been entrusted with this responsibility.

“We do not take it
lightly, and we are committed to working hand in hand with all the
stakeholders in the electric power sector to achieve the goals which
the progenitors of electric power sector reform program and the current
administration have set through the Power Sector Roadmap,” she added.

Memorandum and proposal

She said
pre-qualified bidders will receive an Information Memorandum and
Request for Proposal and will be given access to physical and e-data
room so as to be able to carry out physical due diligence.

They will also be
issued with draft copies of the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) and
encouraged to submit comments on MYTO. The bidders comments on MYTO
will be subject of a conference to be organised by sector regulator,
the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC.)

Labour unions have
expressed worry about the way the whole reform sector has been going on
and have complained about the no dialogue, no negotiation attitude
displayed by the government.

Joe Ajaero, the
secretary general, National Union of Electricity Employees, said the
workers are adamant that the electricity companies cannot be sold
without first addressing the issues on ground.

He insisted that
nothing can take place there, as one cannot transfer ownership without
addressing the pending issues of the existing workers.

The power sector in
Nigeria is characterised by gross inefficiencies in all segments of the
value chain and failure to deliver its mandate.

The BPE says this
could be attributed to poor operational performance, transmission and
distribution infrastructure, low tariff, poor revenue collection,
inadequate metering, poor billing and electricity theft.

Others are poor
maintenance culture, ineffective regulation, inappropriate industry and
market structure, unclear delineation of roles and responsibilities.

An estimated 100 million Nigerians are without access to electricity whilst the remainder receive low or irregular supply.

The Electric Power
Sector Reform (EPSR) Act 2005, which was drafted to provide a
legislative framework for the reform of the Nigerian power sector,
removes operational and regulatory responsibilities of the electricity
industry from the Federal Government.

It provides the
legal backing for the unbundling of PHCN and the formation of successor
companies to take over the various functions, assets, liabilities, and
staff of NEPA.