Power Holding Company of Nigeria

The Power Holding Company of Nigeria (abbreviated PHC or PHCN), formerly the National Electric Power Authority (abbreviated NEPA) was an organisation governing the use of electricity in Nigeria. The company runs a football team, NEPA Lagos. It represents Nigeria in the West African Power Pool.

The history of electricity development in Nigeria can be traced back to the end of the 19th century when the first generating power plant was installed in the city of Lagos in 1898. From then until 1950, the pattern of electricity development was in the form of individual electricity power undertaking scattered all over the towns. Some of the few undertaking were Federal Government bodies under the Public Works Dept, some by the Native Authorities and others by the Municipal Authorities.

Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN)

By 1950, in order to integrate electricity power development and make it effective, the then-colonial government passed the ECN ordinance No. 15 of 1950. With this ordinance in place, the electricity department and all those undertakings which were controlled came under one body.

The ECN and the Niger Dam Authority (NDA) were merged to become the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) with effect from 1 April 1972. The actual merger did not take place until 6 January 1973 when the first general manager was appointed.

Despite the problems faced by NEPA, the authority has played an effective role in the nation's socio-economic development thereby steering Nigeria into a greater industrial society. The success story is a result of careful planning and hard work.

The statutory function of the authority is to develop and maintain an efficient co-ordinate and economical system of electricity supply throughout the Federation. The decree further states that the monopoly of all commercial electric supply shall be enjoyed by NEPA to the exclusion of all other organisations. This however, does not prevent privy individuals who wish to buy and run thermal plants for domestic use from doing so.
NEPA, from 1989, has since gained another status-that of quasi-commercialisation. By this, NEPA has been granted partial autonomy and by implication, it is to feed itself. The total generating capacity of the six major power stations is 3,450 megawatts.

In spite of considerable achievements of recent times with regards to its generating capability, additional power plants would need to be committed to cover expected future loads. At present, efforts would be made to complete the on-going power plant projects. Plans are already nearing completion for the extension and reinforcement of the existing transmission system to ensure adequate and reliable power supply to all parts of the country.

By 1970, the military government appointed a Canadian Consultant firm "Showment Ltd" to look into the technical details of the merger. The report was submitted to the government in November 1971. By Decree No. 24 the ECN were merged to become the NEPA with effect from 1 April 1972. The actual merger did not take place until 6 January 1973 when the first general manager was appointed. The day-to-day running of the authority is the responsibility of the managing director.

In the early 1960s, the Niger Dam Authorities (NDA) and Electricity Corporation amalgamated to form the Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN). Then, immediately after the Nigerian civil war, the management of ECN changed its nomenclature to NEPA. What is currently referred to as the Power Holding Company of Nigeria was formally known as National Electric Power Authority.

For several years, despite consistent perceived cash investment by the federal government, power outages have been the standard for the Nigerian populace, however citizens of the country still do not see this as normal. Because of such outages, NEPA has been humorously nicknamed "Never Expect Power Always".[1]

Generally, the tariff has been criticised as being too low compared to the cost of generating power. The federal government of Nigeria has increased the tariff to attract foreign investors since 1 July 2010 in order to meet the growing concern for foreign investors into the electricity sector.

Local distribution companies

The government has divided the current PHCN distribution sector into separate companies or entities that will be called Local Electric Distribution Companies or Local Distribution Companies (LDC) among the regions.

As of April-2014 there are 11 Distribution Companies:

Payment of bills

The sample consists of the procedures enrolled in payment of bills by way of banks. The Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, has made settling customers monthly electricity bills easier, hence the introduction of the bank revenue collection system to complement the operations of the cash offices in PHCN premises. This program is to facilitate prompt and regular settlement of the PHCN's monthly bills, as customers are no longer expected to travel far outside their immediate neighbourhoods to settle PHCN Bills.[2]

Privatization

Major issues within the Nigerian power sector, principally concerning power outages and unreliable service, compelled the Nigerian government to take radical action. It enacted the 2005 Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSR Act), which called for unbundling the national power utility company into a series of 18 successor companies: six generation companies, 11 distribution companies covering all 36 Nigerian states, and a national power transmission company. The act stipulated that ownership of these companies be granted to the Bureau of Public Enterprises (the privatization arm of the federal government) and the Ministry of Finance Incorporated. This unbundling paved the way for an ambitious privatization program to be carried out by the Bureau of Public Enterprises in Nigeria.

In 2007, the Bureau of Public Enterprises hired CPCS Transcom Limited, an international consulting firm based in Ottawa, Ontario, to provide advice about the best ways to move forward with the privatization of the country's 11 distribution companies and the 6 generation companies. In 2010, CPCS was consulted again in order to provide advice on the Nigerian government's privatization program.[3] PHCN ceased to exist from 30 September 2013 following a privatization process by the Goodluck Jonathan government.

See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ Umez, Bedford Nwabueze (2005). Your Excellency. Otsego, Michigan: Pagefree. p. 36. ISBN 1589613376.
  2. ↑ Ifedi, V. (2005, 21 March). Power Reform and Electricity Generation. Dawodu.com. Retrieved 29 March 2006, from .
  3. ↑ .
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