General
Nigeria, Others Must Embrace Clean Energy Transition—PwC
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria and other African countries have been tasked with embracing the clean energy transition to solve energy inequality by leveraging the African region’s enormous renewable energy potential.
This call was made by energy, utilities, and resources experts in one of the world’s top consultancy firms, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) at a media call to launch the Africa Energy Review 2023 Report on Monday.
According to Mr Andries Rossow, PwC’s Africa Energy, Utilities, and Resources Leader, Africa is a net exporter of energy with more potential due to the diversity of the continent’s energy portfolio but despite this, the continent suffers from chronic underinvestment.
“Africa received only a small fraction of global energy investment with about 0.5 per cent directed towards transmission and distribution to energy infrastructure networks,” he said.
He added that it was imperative that investment blockages are identified and addressed, with a proper public and private partnership paramount to help the continent tap into its under-prioritized energy structure.
He said that given the energy poverty levels on the continent, there is a crucial need to develop fossil fuel energy resources that are geared towards its economic development needs. This can be achieved by tapping the use of sustainable resources like lithium, copper, and cobalt among others.
“As a net exporter of energy, the continent is well-positioned to profit from development in clean energy.”
On his part, Mr Pedro Omontuemhen, PwC Africa Oil and Gas Lead, for West Africa, the chances to catch up with North Africa which has proximity to Europe’s energy needs, remains untapped.
He examined that the region, which includes Nigeria and other new players like Senegal and Mauritania, has huge potential for investment and growth, adding that it could enjoy the perks of being a net exporter of energy.
In Nigeria’s case, he said that there needs to be a crucial tackling to issues of oil theft, which according to him has become a profitable venture that is telling on the country.
For Central Africa, he said the region which is heavily impacted by Africa’s second-largest crude producer, Angola, faces losing impact as it lacks fresh finds among depleting resources while limiting Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) export growth.
He tasked countries in the region which has faced coups in Gabon and political instability risk in Cameroon on the need for renewable investment with a particular focus on hydropotential.
For Mr Roelof van Huyssteen, Energy Regulation Expert, for East Africa, advancements in Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda are indicators to act quickly with opportunities for LNG, geothermal, and oil while for Southern Africa, it is a new frontier market that should address old infrastructure challenges and work on collaboration.
As African countries face the challenge of how to balance energy security, climate change, and sustainable development objectives, the investment into Africa’s renewables, oil and gas is pivotal to its growth as domestic and international energy market demands can be met through its resources.
By Dipo Olowookere
A $15 million debt facility has been obtained by Watt Renewable Corporation from the AfriGreen Debt Impact Fund to finance hybrid solar power plants to be built and operated by the former, especially in Nigeria.
WATT intends to use the projects to serve commercial and industrial clients in Nigeria, particularly in the telecommunication and financial services sectors.
By integrating solar hybrid solutions, the firm aims to significantly reduce diesel consumption and CO2 emissions, enabling its clients to achieve substantial energy cost savings while promoting environmental sustainability.
As a pioneer in renewable energy solutions, WATT continues to drive innovation in Nigeria’s energy sector.
The company’s robust roll-out plan includes deploying hundreds of hybrid solar power sites nationwide to meet the growing energy demands of commercial & industrial clients.
This strategic expansion aligns with WATT’s vision to revolutionize energy access across Africa, enabling sustainable development and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The funds from AfriGreen provide the critical capital needed to accelerate WATT’s ambitious projects, strengthening its market position and empowering businesses with reliable and affordable energy solutions.
Business Post gathered that to mitigate the currency risk for WATT in the event of devaluation of the Nigerian Naira, AfriGreen is offering a local currency facility that matches the payment structure of the power purchase agreements.
“We are thrilled to partner with AFRIGREEN on this transformative journey to expand reliable and sustainable energy solutions across Africa.
“With this support, it enables us to accelerate our shared mission of providing hybrid solar power to businesses, reducing carbon emissions, and supporting economic growth while enhancing energy security for our clients,” the Managing Director of WATT, Mr Oluwole Eweje, said.
“We are delighted to support WATT in rolling out hundreds of hybrid sites across the country.
“This represents another key transaction for AFRIGREEN in Nigeria. The combination of high energy prices, good solar irradiation, and strong demand from industrial and commercial energy users makes this market particularly attractive for companies like WATT.
“By leveraging these favourable market conditions alongside WATT’s exceptional operational performance and a well-structured financing solution, we are setting the stage for a strong and lasting business partnership,” the Managing Director of AfriGreen, Mr Alexandre Gilles, stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has denied issuing a directive that gas supply to power generating companies (GenCos) be halted.
In a statement on Wednesday, the authority also denied instructing wholesale gas suppliers to stop further supply of gas to companies due to failure in payment obligations.
The NMDPRA described reports stating that it has directed the stoppage of gas supply to GenCos over N2 trillion debt as “false and completely unfounded”.
“It has absolutely no bearing on the information shared at a recent stakeholders’ engagement held in Lagos between the Authority, the OPTS, IPPG and other stakeholders in the oil and gas industry,” the NMDPRA said.
“The purpose of the engagement was to sensitise stakeholders on the requirements, opportunities and benefits associated with the implementation of the wholesale supply license as provided by sections 142 and 197 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
“It was a follow-up to an earlier stakeholder engagement held at the NMDPRA corporate headquarters in Abuja on November 27, 2024.
“The Authority wishes to reassure all our stakeholders and indeed the general public that at no time was the false statement made at that event and anywhere else, and are advised to completely disregard the publication as every effort is being made to ensure that the supply and distribution of natural gas and petroleum products to end users is seamless and unabated as we head into the festive season and indeed all through the coming year 2025.”
Recall that Nigeria’s national grid experienced another collapse on Wednesday, the 11th time in 2024 as Gencos couldn’t generate enough power, compounding issues facing the Nigerian power sector.
This was the first time in over a month as the last time the nation witnessed a nationwide shutdown in electricity supply was on November 7, 2024.
Before then, the country was experiencing an incessant collapse of the grid, which prompted the federal government to set up a team to address the issue.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria is currently experience a cut in power supply after the national grid collapsed for the 11th time in 2024.
This is the first time in over a month as the last time the nation witnessed a nationwide shut down in electricity supply was on November 7, 2024.
Before then, the country was experiencing an incessant collapse of the grid, which prompted the federal government to set up a team to address the issue.
However, just when Nigerians were thinking they will not witnessed another national grid collapse in the year, it issue reared its ugly head again.
On Wednesday afternoon, most of the energy distribution companies suffered power outage, prompting them to inform their customers of the situation.
One of the DisCos, Ikeja Electric Plc, in a message to electricity consumers under its franchise area, said, “Please be informed that we experienced a system outage today, December 11, 2024, at about 13:32 hours affecting supply within our network.
“Restoration of supply is ongoing in collaboration with our critical stakeholders. Kindly bear with us.”
Recall that on Tuesday, in a report, Google listed national grid as one of the top trending searches by Nigerians this year.
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