13 August 2013, Lagos – As the federal government finalises the sale of the assets of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, and the 10 power stations built by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, NDPHC, under the National Integrated Power Project, NIPP, ABB, said it would collaborate with the new owners of these assets to overhaul the entire distribution network nationwide.
The multinational electrical power solution company plans to kick start this programme before the end of this year with one of its newly developed power solution equipment called Safelink Ring Main Unit, RMU, which was launched into the Nigerian market recently.
Speaking recently on the initiative, the Sales Director of ABB Nigeria, Mr. Bryan Mckenna, stated the entire power distribution network in Nigeria needed total overhaul and rehabilitation.
According to him, this development informed the company’s decision to come out with this power solution equipment that would not only help to protect every installed transformer nationwide but would also bring in the flexibility for power supply in the distribution network.
“If you look at the distribution zone that is already privatised and the Discos that will be handed over very soon, there is a huge requirement for overhaul and rehabilitation. At the moment a lot of the installed equipment is equivalent to our products and there is much need for replacement and repairs. In my own point of view, certainly at the 11KV level of this distribution zones this product will be extremely popular,” he said.
McKenna pointed out that any customer that had the requirement for 11 KV, be it a small industry or construction projects or even oil and gas company that needs this kind of power solution equipment could go for the product.
“We do not see the Distribution companies as the only sole customer for this power solution. So, other private industries including the infrastructure industry and the manufacturing companies need this product. The SafeLink CB is the latest addition to ABB’s Safe series of medium voltage products. This Outdoor Ring Main Unit is said to be ideal product suited for rural and urban distribution applications,” he said.
According to him, there is a huge demand for this particular power solution in the Nigerian Market.
The new solution equipment is expected to help the new owners of the privatised Discos achieve the much needed Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection Loss Reduction, ATCCLR, strategy which is being advocated for the Discos and which will eventually crash the electricity tariff nationwide.
The National Council on Privatisation, NCP, had said that electricity tariff will crash by 21 per cent in the next five years. According to NCP, consumers in some parts of the country will even enjoy a tariff reduction as low as 30 per cent within the same period depending on the level of operations by the various Discos.
– Ejiofor Alike, This Day
