Power crisis: Congo to supply Nigeria electricity
By Clara Nwachukwu and Obinna Ezeobi with agency reports

Plans are underway to pull Nigeria out of her current power doldrums through the supply of electricity from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The development follows a plan to build the world’s largest and most powerful hydroelectric dam in the DRC.

The plan was unveiled in London at the ongoing meeting of the World Energy Council, during which financiers and African politicians looked at how to finance the $80bn Grand Inga project.

The project, which would be built on the Congo River alongside two existing hydroelectric plants, is expected to begin operating between 2020 and 2025.

Power will be transmitted to other countries via a giant new distribution system to Egypt in the north, Nigeria in the west, and to South Africa, in line with the proposal to use the Grand Inga project to help an estimated 500million Africans without access to electricity.

The new dam is expected to generate twice as much energy as China’s Three Gorges dam, with a capacity of 18,200 MW, which would come on stream by 2009.

Nigeria’s biggest power plant is the Egbin Thermal Plant, Lagos, with a capacity of 1,320MW, but is generating less than half its capacity due to inadequate gas supply and ageing plant equipment.

In order that construction can start as planned in 2014, the World Energy Council is calling for finance for a feasibility study to be done as soon as possible.

“We have to raise the level of access to commercial energy all through Africa and other parts of the world where poverty is faced,” the Secretary-General, WEC, Gerald Doucet, told the BBC.

“We can’t do it without building these projects, but of course, on a sustainable basis that takes into account the social, civil and environmental issues.

“And I can say that in the past, mistakes have been made, but WEC is here to make sure those mistakes are not repeated,” Doucet said.

The existing Inga Dam is located 250km south west of Kinshasa.

Meanwhile, the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, one of the 18 successor companies to the National Electric Power Authority, may lose its operating licence if the harshest punishment is pronounced against it by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission.

NERC is hearing a case against the distribution company in respect of the electrocution of a minor at its substation at Sirakoro Street , off Blantyre Street Wuse Abuja on April 18, 2007.

But at the first hearing of the case on Tuesday in Abuja, AEDC, represented by two attorneys, Mr. Isaac Okpanachi and Justin Dodo, insisted that NERC was not legally qualified to arbitrate the matter because the commission had investigated the case and issued orders to their client on the matter.

The electricity company also asked three out of the six commissioners of NERC, who comprised the panel, to disqualify themselves from hearing the case because they had had prior knowledge of the matter and, as such, could be biased in their handling of the case.

A notice of hearing obtained by our correspondent, indicated that after being notified of the electrocution of Miss Aisha Fadeyi, NERC conducted a preliminary investigation into the incident and discovered that the substation was not cordoned off, but rather exposed in such a way as to endanger lives.

The notice further read, “The Commission directed the respondents to immediately fence round the substation to prevent future occurrences.

“Thereafter, the Commission caused a more detailed investigation into the incident and it was discovered amongst other findings that the substation was not properly protected as directed.”

The notice noted that the Commission further directed the company to clear the bushes and the trees in the substation, construct a barbed wire fence and fit a gate from the walkway; compensate the family of the victim for the loss and carry out an audit of their substations in Abuja and come up with a programme of making them secured.

According to the notice, the respondent in a letter dated July 31, 2007, claimed that it had carried out the directives as well as enlightening members of the public on the danger of going too close to power installations.

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A war torn and volatile DRC is where our hope of constant power supply lies now?Wonderful!

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Congo? As in the DRC???

Well anyway its not so incredulous, once you get past the fact that it is Congo, that messed up, war torn joint!

Congo is starting to reap the benefits of its mining industry and the main reason they have this large hydro dam project underway is to meet up to the current industry demands. Large multinational companies are in there and need the power, and it will be provided, so there will be enough for them to even sell regionally. It does seem sad that Nigeria as a nation has to look there though, since it has enough revenue to do the same.

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Congo may be even selling power to South Africa soon, at this rate, cos the crisis there with power at the moment is terrible. A whole SA is load shedding!

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SA has power supply problems,too?

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The Ultimate
We Are Part And Parcel Of Everything
We Are The Cosmos
We Are Life
We Are Love
We Are All That Is
We Are The Creator Of The Dance,As Well As The Dancer

SA has a serious energy crisis on its hands. They use a private company called Eskom to provide thier power and it seems it cant cope with the demand currently, and need some upgrades. They are load shedding now..structured power cut offs, 12 hour shedules.

Ghana experienced the same thing last year, a drop off in expected rainfall, the dam was below level and operating at half its capacity. The same thing may happen this year. The good thing is that they are loking at alterantives, the thermal plant system was upgraded and provided 60% of energy for the country last year. And they are building a new hydrodam further up north, for the better drainage catchment up there, which is a temporary solution, cos the climate is going to get more unpredictable. Someone mentioned nuclear( and the entire country begged the president not to kill them and stick to more fool proof ideas

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Nah so we see am oh!!!

................ hopefully all the tiny villages will be connected to the grid !!

ABEG! anyhow they want to get the power if FINE O!!!
Power is what is making kmost people struggle in naija1
Whan U have to buy $1,000 worth of diesel daily to power ur geenrator to run ur business, is that not suicide?!

Abegi!! The sound of the gen sef can drive one crazy!

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nigeria with all its wealth? i know south africa too is going through the same but its a shame. Africa!!!!!

Chineke meeeehhh!

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Hmmm...na wa o. So this is what naija has reduced to.


As Femi Kuti sang:

I sorry sorry o....
I sorry for nigeria...
I sorry sorry o...
I sorry for Africa....


Honestly though, can't these so called leaders just get their acts together for once?

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