FINALLY, the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) on Friday ceased to exist as a corporate entity, as the successor companies that grew out of the hitherto monolithic electricity provider were formally handed over to their new owners.
But it was not all a gloomy day for the restive electricity workers as the new owners may have retained 40 per cent of the old staff.
A source within the industry who preferred anonymity told Saturday Tribune on Friday that every member of staff of the old company would be served a letter of disengagement, while those to be retained would immediately be given letters of temporary employment.
The handing over exercises across the nation, however, went without the much-trumpeted planned resistance from electricity workers, who had vowed to frustrate the exercise over alleged non-payment of their severance entitlements.
Saturday Tribune recalls that NUEE leadership had directed its members to commence an industrial action beginning Friday, but investigations revealed that the plan may have been frustrated as those workers retained by the new owners have temporary appointment for six months, after which the new owners would decide either to continue or discontinue with their services.
Vice President Namadi Sambo, who is also the Chairman of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), however, allayed the fears expressed by Nigerians over the handing over of PHCN to core investors, saying that the Federal Government would monitor the activities of all the new companies to ensure that they operate in conformity with the law guiding the privatisation process.
Sambo gave the assurance in his message delivered at the formal handing over of Jos Electricity Distribution Company to the core investor, Aura Energy in Jos, Plateau State.
Represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information, Mrs. Folashade Yemi-Esan, Sambo said that the reforms in the power sector were part of the desire of the federal government to galvanise the economy through steady power supply.
He added that the participation of the private sector would bring about higher generating capacities through the provision of more efficient and cost-effective power stations and improvement in electric power distribution.
In a brief speech before the formal hand over, the Managing Director of JEDC, Mr Fidelis Obishai, described the development as a landmark feat in the quest for stable electricity.
Obishai described the sale of the power outfits as a child of necessity, and thanked labour unions for ensuring that the exercise was concluded without labour casualties.
He advised the new owners to focus on training and retraining of workers for easy transition from the public to the private sector.
In his remarks, Alhaji Tukur Modibbo, the Chairman, Aura Energy Limited, expressed happiness that electricity workers had embraced the power reforms, and particularly lauded their cooperation in the sale and takeover processes.
In his remarks, Governor Jonah Jang promised to create the right environment for the company to function and asked the new owners to connect the two local governments that had been left out to the national grid.
In Abuja, the Abuja Distribution Company Plc (DISCO) was handed over to its new owners, KANN Consortium Utility Company Limited.
At the ceremony, the vice-president, represented by the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, said the assets were the property of five Generation Companies (GENCOs) and 11 Distribution Companies (DISCOs).
The privatised GENCOs are Geregu Power Plc, Ughelli Power Plc, Egbin Power Plc, Kainji Hydro Electric Plc and Shiroro Hydro Electric Power Plc. The 10 privatised DISCOs are located in Abuja, Benin, Eko, Ibadan, Ikeja, Jos, Kano, Port-Harcourt, Yola and Enugu.
Sambo noted that the successful handover was made possible by President Goodluck Jonathan’s commitment to ensure provision of stable power to people.
Sambo explained that the handover was borne out of 14 years of painstaking efforts by the NCP and the Bureau of Public Enterprises.
Sambo said that the critical programme began in 1999 with the inauguration of the Electricity Power Implementation Committee, which led to the development of the National Electricity Power Policy of 2001.
He explained that the enactment of the Electricity Power Sector Reforms Act of 2005, and the establishment of PHCN were to reinforce the repeal of the defunct NEPA Act.
According to him, the new act made it possible to create 18 companies by unbundling PHCN into three categories –generation, transmission and distribution companies.
He said that 2005 Act changed the legal and regulatory environment for the power sector in Nigeria and sought to create a sustainable electricity supply industry to the country.
Earlier, the Chairman of Board of Directors of KANN Consortium Limited, Alhaji Shehu Malami, called on Nigerians and all stakeholders in the industry to exercise patience for the new successor companies.
Representative of Aura Energy Company, Alhaji Tukur Modibo, assured Nigerians of uninterrupted power supply, and warned against any form of sabotage, saying the new company would not condone such act.
Tukur blamed the Federal Government for not giving the desired attention to the power sector by investing massively in the sector. He decried the working condition of the former staff of PHCN, whom he said worked under a terrible condition.
But he assured the new staff of a better condition of service under Aura Energy Limited, saying that power generation and distribution would increase by 50 per cent.
In Lagos, the Chairman, NEDC/Kepco Consortium, Kola Adesina, after receiving the certificate of handover, warned institutional debtors, especially government parastatals, to promptly pay up their debts or get disconnected from the zone.
The New Electric Distribution Company, NEDC/Kepco Consortium took over Egbin Generation Company and Ikeja DISCO, while West Power and Gas took over Eko DISCO.
In Benin City, Edo State, the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Power, Beks Dagogo Jack, said the coming on board of the private sector in the nation’s power sector would bring about total development in all sectors of the Nigerian economy.
Dagogo Jack represented Vice-President Sambo during the hand over of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company to the new owner, Vigeo Power Limited.
He said the physical handover of the PHCN successor companies to the new owners was a clear indication that Nigeria was ready to join the league of developed countries of the world.
“The history of this country will not remain the same after today. We want Nigerians to wake up and see light when they put on the switch. It is not only about this.
It will address many things much more than putting on the switches. Power will address many things including corruption because electricity will bring employment and the tendency to steal will reduce if people have stable job,” Dagogo Jack said.
In his address, the Chairman of Vigeo Power Limited, Mr Gbolade Osibodu, praised the resilience of the Federal Government in ensuring that the nation’s power sector was finally privatised.
He, however, said to achieve smooth transition and the desired success, government should ensure the conclusion of payment of workers’ severance benefits and pension, creation of regulatory certainty and a well-defined tariff methodology, criminalisation of power theft and adequate funding of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
In his message to the handover of the Kano Electricity Distribution Company to the core investor, Sahelian Power SPV Limited, Sambo challenged the core investors to transform the sector into a world class industry in terms of quality of service and customer satisfaction.
Represented by Mr John Jegede, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Solid Minerals, the vice president said the Federal Government would not hesitate to sanction any investor found wanting.
“The Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission and the BPE will continually monitor the operations of the successor companies. (We) will not hesitate to sanction any core investor that does not deliver on the performance agreement that was executed with the government,” Sambo said.
He gave the same warning in the message he sent to the handover of Kainji Hydro Electric Plc to Mainstream Energy Solution Limited in Kainji on Friday.
The Mainstream Energy Solution Limited is expected to generate 760 megawatts of electricity as against 120 megawatts being generated by the PHCN.
Sambo, who was represented at the occasion by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transport, Nebolisa Emordi, said 90 per cent of PHCN workers in the country had been paid their severance package, and that the Federal Government was committed to keeping its promise of taking Nigeria out of its perennial darkness within the shortest possible period.
The handing over of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company Plc to the owners, the Integrated Energy Distribution Company (IEDC), also went smoothly amid praises for the Federal Government who facilitated the transfer.
The handing over ceremony, which took place at the Premier Hotel, Ibadan, had many dignitaries in attendance, including representatives of the Federal Government, the top echelon of the new company as well as the governors of Oyo and Ogun states, Senators Abiola Ajimobi and Ibikunle Amosun, among others.
The Chief Executive Officer of the PHCN, Ibadan Business District, Bolaji Oyesiku, praised the administration of President Jonathan for its determination to turn around the power sector.
In his speech at the occasion, the Vice Chairman of IEDC, Olatunde Ayeni, said the days of poor electricity would be a thing of the past for people living in the states of Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo and parts of Kwara, Kogi and Niger states.
He said the company had contracted a reputable Philippines company, Manila Electric Company (MERALCO), to provide technical and management services to the IEDC and that the company planned to embark on massive human capital development, which he said would re-orient its staff to play roles expected of them in ensuring a more robust power supply regime in the states under its control.
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