One has underpinned Nigeria's economy for decades, providing about 80 per cent of the government's revenues. The other has held the country back, deterring investors while keeping millions of
people in the dark and the rest sleeping to a soundtrack of noisy generators. Now, in 2013, it seems the petroleum and power sectors – the two main planks of the country's energy industry – may be swapping trajectories.
After years of false starts and billions of dollars wasted on half-hearted attempts to solve Nigeria's massive power deficit, privatisation of electricity is well under way. Late last year, in a process that attracted interest from more than 400 domestic and foreign companies, the government approved $2.3bn worth of bids for 15 of the 17 state-owned generation and distribution groups.
The winning consortiums have paid 25 per cent of the sale or concession costs and will take ownership later this year on payment ofthe balance. Meanwhile, Manitoba Hydro of Canada is managing the state transmission company.
While there are bound to be hiccups, few doubt that power supply is headed in the right direction. Under the state-owned Power Holding Company of Nigeria, the country's peak power production is still barely more than 4,000MW. That compares poorly with South Africa, Nigeria's rival for the title of Africa's biggest economy, which produces 10 times
more power for a population that is three times smaller.
Atedo Peterside, who heads the technical committee of the government's National Council of Privatisation, believes the "tipping point" towards solving the country's power woes has passed and that the impact of the reforms will be "huge". If all goes well, not only will
generation, transmission and distribution bebetter run, but also new independent powerplants will come on stream to meet the hugedemand for electricity.
"If you have GDP that's been growing at 7 per cent already, imagine what it would be ifyou had reliable power," he says.
Increased tariffs have been put in place to ensure that investors can make a return. In April, the World Bank provided a payment guarantee to Chevron for the provision of gas to the country's largest power plant and the government signed a separate deal for gas supply withExxonMobil. At the signing ceremony, President Goodluck Jonathan saidof power reform: "There is no turning back and ... no relenting."
Other problems remain outstanding. In order to keep to the strict deadlines for privatisation, some winning bidders for the state power plants and distribution companies signed the purchase agreements without all the fine details being resolved. Some consortiums still need to raise debt financing to fund their purchases and to rehabilitate and expand the assets they are taking over.
Source: http://ipaidabribenaija.com/news/item/22850

cute

Dont think Seun and co will let this one see the front page. It looks like a bad press for them and the teaming APC loyalists in nairaland.

Story storymake we dey see

Punch, The Nation, Sahara Reporters etc are still very busy reporting Amechi and PDP imaginary crisis. Foreign media will keep on embarrassing them like that.

Goddex: Punch, The Nation, Sahara Reporters etc are still very busy reporting Amechi and PDP imaginary crisis. Foreign media will keep on embarrassing them like that.

Na this one http://ipaidabribenaija.com/news/item/22850 be foreign media?