Stats: 3,189,237 members, 7,936,804 topics. Date: Sunday, 01 September 2024 at 12:12 AM |
Nairaland Forum / Barcholder's Profile / Barcholder's Posts
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teeowl: My friend, it's utterly unbelievable how stupid Nigerians are. Nigeria needs 200,000MW, and sharpish, or we are in trouble. Here's a really troubling fact for you: Heathrow Airport, London, has more power than the whole of Nigeria - It has 5,500MW of power. Think on that for just a second, think of its connotations. Now, here's a second fact for you: Lekki Free Trade Zone, where Dangote is building his refinery, has just commenced the process of public consultation on the proposed embedded power plant to power the entire complex. It requires 3,200MW to power it. Now, think it through, if Lekki Free Trade Zone requires 3,200MW, what does the whole of Nigeria require? 2 Likes |
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[quote author=advocates post=38900750] Suddenly you are going 24hrs without light. I didn't quite heard you commending the government for the period of time that light was stable and almost remained 48hrs without so much as a blink. Now that report has it about the damage done to one of the power station resulting in drop of supply, you have pop from your hiding to display your penchant hatred for the government. A quick reminder, this a four(4) months old government and so, there is no basis for condemnation. So far, 4months has given us something to cheer about beyond what we had in the last 6 years or so.[/quote I didn't commend anybody because, as a professional in the field of power, I know that the temporary improvement we saw had ZERO to do with the incoming government. Nigerians really are a strange bunch of people. So intelligent, and yet, so daft at the very same time. The single greatest infrastructural challenge we face as a nation is reduced to political pointscoring, its so very tragic, and does not bode well for the future of this great country. I'm going to let you into a little secret. Nigeria will NEVER have 24 hours power from the Grid, but Nigerians WILL have 24 hours power within 7 years!! Let's see if you are intelligent enough to interpret this statement. |
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kheni28: Please, stop with the foolish propaganda, power supply is terrible right now, and has been since around the middle of September. We are now frequently going 24 hours without so much as a flash of light in the Lekki area, something which i've never seen during my 2 and a half years in Nigeria. I'm not affected by it because I am fully off-grid with Solar Power and have 24 hours light, but it remains a fact and I'm surrounded by homes that have had their generators on constantly over the weekend. Stop with the propaganda and misinformation. Regards Uvie 4 Likes 1 Share |
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redsconsult: The reason that there's no increase in supply regardless of the amount of generation, is the constraint in Transmission. The transmission lines can only harness 5,000MW, so that's where the real bottleneck lies. If we suddenly increased generation to 100,000MW, it would make no difference as TCN (Transmission Company of Nigeria) cannot handle or harness the power. Until that problem is resolved, people will be waiting another 50 years for stable power supply. Regards Uvie 1 Like |
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Guys, enough is enough. If you want guaranteed 24 hours a day power, and no more of this PHCN nonsense, please contact me if you are in the following categories: 1. You are in full time employment and your employer can agree to deduct your agreed monthly energy bill directly from your salary 2. You are able to provide valid photographic identification 3. You have a valid, BVN approved bank account Pricing Details 1. Commitment fee of N50,000 is payable AFTER installation of the Solar Power System 2. A fixed monthly price is payable, based on the size of the Solar Power System installed. Payment is monthly in arrears. Visit our website at wwwdotsolyntadotcomdotng, and find out what system size you require. The monthly price per system size is as follows: 1KW N15,000 per month 2KW N30,000 per month 3KW N45,000 per month 4KW N60,000 per month 5KW N75,000 per month The average home that wants to power the basic appliances of TV, Fridge, Lights, Fans, Socket points etc, will require a 2KW System, which will cost N30,000 per month. Please note that due to the huge investment amount required, we are only able to serve the first 500 people. Please make your enquiries via our website, by completing the short enquiry form. Regards Uvie |
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24 hours unblinking lights for 2 and a half years in Lekki now.............because I use Solar Power, lol. On a serious note though, whilst I do use Solar and therefore have 24 hours power, the grid power supply was excellent during the month of August, where it must have been close to 22 hours daily, far and away the best I've ever observed since arriving in Nigeria in 2013. However, since September, it's gone back to its usual state of an average of 6 - 8 hours a day on average. Entering into the dry season, we'll probably see it reduce to between 4 - 6 hours daily, as is usually the case each dry season. Regards Uvie |
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Nicklaus: This analysis is a summary of the current Nigerian power situation, which is the result of the last 65 years of power policy. Whatever your Political persuasions are, you cannot seriously attach any credit or blame for the current power situation to Buhari because hes only been in power a few months. Power projects are very long term in nature, so he cannot possibly have had any influence in the construction of power plants in his short tenure so far. The fact is that in 65 years of Independence, successive governments of Nigeria have only been able to increase the national grid by 3,000MW (2,000MW was done by the British), which is beyond pathetic. Let me put it into context for you. Heathrow airport in London has more power supply than the WHOLE of Nigeria. That is the extent of the uselessness of our power situation, so to speak in glowing terms about Jonathan or indeed any other past Nigerian leader is beyond a joke. The levels and standards in Nigeria are pathetically low. Let's be clear, our current power supply of 5,000MW for a population approaching 180 million is nothing short of an national disgrace, and needs immediate action. We need to figure out a way to rapidly scale up to 100,000MW, or we are staring at a social disaster in terms of feeding our rapidly growing population, which is estimated to be 500 million by 2050 Please, lets join hands and figure out a way for us each to contribute our quota to solving what is the greatest existential threat to our people that we've ever faced. The reason I push Solar Energy is because I KNOW that we can very easily add 50,000 MW of supply within 7 years, because it's so scaleable. My company focuses only on homes, and SME businesses, but we still have need for powering large industry and manufacturing by grid supply. This problem affects us all, please take Politics out of it, its far bigger than that. Regards Uvie 1 Like |
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Nicklaus: Let's have a sensible, scientific discussion on how we can solve the power crisis in Nigeria, not resort to mindless Political points scoring. Do you know how long it takes to build a power plant? It's like 3 years or more, so even if Buhari commissioned 50,000MW of new Power plants in his first 100 days, we would not begin to feel their impact for at least 3 years. Infrastructure development takes a long time and is extremely expensive. The only way you can scale up to meet the power problem quickly is by distributed Solar Power installations across millions of roofs across the country. Anything else, and we are just deceiving ourselves. Regards Uvie 1 Like |
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-11/bribes-debt-100-billion-lost-nigeria-can-t-keep-the-power-on Five minutes into Frank Edozie’s presentation on the challenges facing Nigeria’s power industry, the electricity cut out in the Jasmine Hall at the upmarket Eko Hotel in Lagos. “Very timely,” Edozie, a former power ministry adviser and a senior consultant to the U.K.-funded Nigerian Infrastructure Advisory Facility, said over the low muttering and laughter of an audience of more than 100 people. “We probably ran out of gas.” There’s no end in sight to the daily blackouts that the government says are costing Africa’s largest economy about $100 billion a year in missed potential and that President Muhammadu Buhari calls a “national shame.” Gas shortages, pipeline vandalism, inadequate funding, unprofitable prices and corruption mean fixing the electricity cuts two years after a partial sale of state power companies to private investors won’t be easy. Generated output has never risen above 5,000 megawatts, which is about a third of peak demand, and if it did the state-owned transmission system can’t deliver any more than that before it starts breaking down. South Africa, with a less than a third of Nigeria’s population of about 180 million, has nine times more installed capacity and it too is grappling with blackouts. Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil producer, ranked the worst of 189 countries after Bangladesh and Madagascar on the ease of getting electricity connected to businesses, costing almost 7 percent of lost sales each month, according to a 2015 World Bank Doing Business report. The power bottleneck comes on top of slump in oil prices and currency that are threatening Nigeria’s role as a destination for investors. Economic growth slowed to 2.4 percent on an annual basis in the second quarter from 6.5 percent a year earlier. MAP: Nigeria Power Plants MAP: Nigeria Power Plants About two-thirds of Nigeria’s people have no access to electricity, and at the current plant commissioning rate, supply will barely meet 9,500 megawatts by 2020, according to a 2014 World Bank project document. Demand is expected to increase 10 percent each year. Buhari’s party promised before he won power in March’s election to generate 40,000 megawatts within four to eight years. For years the industry’s poor performance has spawned jokes about the former state electricity company’s name. Nigerians called the National Electric Power Authority "Never Expect Power Always," and when its name was changed to the Power Holding Company of Nigeria a decade ago, they mocked it as the “Problem Has Changed Name.” Hopes Dashed Hopes that the power situation would improve after former President Goodluck Jonathan partially sold off 15 state generation and distribution companies for more than $3 billion to private investors two years ago have been dashed. The buyers included locally owned companies such as Forte Oil Plc, Sahara Group and Transnational Corp. of Nigeria Plc, along with foreign technical partners such as Korea Electric Power Corp. They found the companies they bought weren’t financially viable, and the distribution firms mounted with debt started hemorrhaging cash. Last year, “the financial flows in the sector came close to collapse,’’ the U.K.’s Department for International Development said in a December 2014 report. "There wasn’t much due diligence done" because strikes during the sale period blocked access to the utilities, said Dolapo Kukoyi, a partner at Lagos-based Detail Commercial Solicitors, which advised investors looking to buy the distribution companies. “People basically bought blind -- this was across the board.” Bailout Package Nigeria’s central bank designed a 213 billion-naira ($1.1 billion) bailout package to cover revenue shortfalls and help the companies meet debt-service obligations on bank loans of almost 500 billion naira. Even after the sales, bribery of power officials by some diesel generator and fuel suppliers to organize household and business blackouts in order to boost sales is continuing. Diesel generation costs 30 cents to 50 cents per kilowatt-hour, compared with the average grid tariff of 13 cents, according to the World Bank. “Criminality is still there," said Bokar Toure, a senior energy economist in Abuja, the capital, for the African Development Bank, which has lent and provided guarantees to Nigeria’s power industry. "Just because it has been handed to a private company doesn’t mean it’s going to end.” The generation companies have battled with chronic gas shortages used by 70 percent of the plants, despite Nigeria holding Africa’s biggest reserves of more than 180 trillion cubic feet. From December to June, rampant pipeline attacks reached levels last recorded at the peak of a 2006 to 2009 militant insurgency in the oil producing Niger River. They’ve slowed since then. Tariff Cuts Government-set tariffs have also hampered the distribution companies. Just before the elections, the regulator banned them from charging consumers for losses caused by billing mistakes, effectively cutting the tariff by more than half in some areas. This caused most of the distribution utilities to declare force majeure, claiming they couldn’t pay for their power supply. Up the chain, generating companies say they haven’t received payments from the state-owned Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, which acts as a middle man between them and the distribution companies. And because the distribution utilities haven’t paid about 20 billion naira owed since February, payments to the power plants have slowed, said Rumundaka Wonodi, chief executive officer of NBET in Abuja. No Minister While NBET has enough cash to make the market payments for five months, the money is there to cover breakdowns and the company doesn’t want to deplete the funds without the agreement of the power minister, Wonodi said. Problem is, Buhari hasn’t filled that position more than three months after taking office. “We cannot prop up everyone,” Wonodi said in an interview. The generation companies are also feeling the pinch. The 30-year-old Egbin plant in Lagos, which is owned by Sahara and Korea Electricity, is owed almost 44 billion naira for December to June, along with 22 billion naira of past debt costs. “We’ve never broken even in 2 1/2 years,” Egbin Chief Executive Office Dallas Peavey Jr. said in an interview at the plant. “If it wasn’t for Sahara to be quite honest we would have shut down about three months ago.’’ The national grid is another bottleneck. It needs about $40 million a year just for maintenance, compared with the $1 million now allocated by the government, Peavey said. Nigeria’s aggregate technical, commercial and collection losses are 35 percent of total generation, according to the World Bank. Buhari said last month that he recognized that transmission was a greater problem than generation and his administration was taking action to boost supply. “We’re at the end of our rope,” Peavey said. “We keep urging them to make concrete permanent steps because without that, quite honestly, we’re going to shut down.” 2 Likes |
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gobizzy101: It's the rainy season and power always improves at this time because the hydro electric dams operate at full capacity. Don't be fooled, Nigeria is an extremely long way away from anything close to resembling 24 hours power a day. It's time to think about the alternatives, not continuing to pray for a miracle that simply cannot happen. It's about Science, not faith. Regards Uvie 1 Like |
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The Federal Government’s ambitions for improving electricity supplies are “not remotely realistic”, a report by experts advising the presidency says, an early blow to one of President Muhammadu Buhari’s most important reform promises. According to Reuters, chronic power shortages are one of the biggest constraints to investment and growth in the economy. Fixing the problem was one of the key battlegrounds during campaigning ahead of the presidential election Buhari won in March. Former President Goodluck Jonathan had built a relatively successful $2.5bn partial privatisation in 2013. The All Progressives Congress had pledged in its manifesto to increase power supplies from 3,600 megawatts currently to 20,000 MW within four years and 50,000 MW within 10 years, which would meet the demands of the nation’s 170 million people. However, reaching 20,000MW by 2020 is “not even remotely realistic” and “setting unrealistic targets dilutes discipline”, according to a 54-page report entitled ‘The Energy Blueprint’ obtained by Reuters. The spokesperson for the President, Mr. Femi Adesina, said he had not seen the report, which is being produced for the federal government by power industry experts. He said the government’s energy policy was still being put together. Asked whether the government would adopt the targets in the manifesto, Adesina said, “We need to wait until the policy on energy has been unfolded.” The paper says Nigeria can produce 6,500MW by 2020, which would mean matching India’s supply growth of seven per cent. This could rise to 8,500 MW if Nigeria could equal China’s 14 per cent electricity output growth. Even these targets will require quick action on multiple reforms and billions of dollars of investment, it said. Buhari has inherited a problem that has plagued the federal governments for decades and the promises he made for power improvements were more modest than his predecessor. Despite holding the world’s seventh largest gas reserves, Nigeria produces less than a tenth of the amount of electricity South Africa provides for a population a third of the size. Solving the problem would likely reduce business costs by up to 40 per cent and push growth in Africa’s biggest oil producer well into double-digits, experts say. How long will it take for this nation to wake up to the fact that alternative energy is the only way to solve the power crisis. It's so frustrating seeing the nation going round and round in ever decreasing circles, when the answer to the problem is so obvious and straightforward. Regards Uvie |
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Reference: Simply brilliant summary of the economic impact of not removing the subsidy 3 years ago. Nigerians only learn through suffering, well, that suffering is here. |
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bestestgirl: You have just made the very basic mistake that most people make when evaluating the cost of generator. Ask yourself the following questions: 1. How many litres do you consume daily of PMS for your generator 2. For how many hours of daily run time 3. How much is that every month 4. How much is that every year - base it on current N87 per litres price, then do the same based on N130 per litres price 5. Add the cost of generator maintenance I hope I have now gotten your attention. Your, and the majority of Nigerian's energy costs are just horrendous. People never factor this in when comparing the cost of running a generator with going solar. Now, what if i told you that on average, what the average household spends on running and servicing their generator in just 2 years, for just 8 hours a day, is enough to buy them a complete Solar Power System that will power them for 24 hours a day. For over 25 years. Next, what if I told you that there is now a financing scheme available where a person can spread the cost of their Solar Power System over 2 years, so after dropping their deposit, their monthly payments for those 2 years are actually less than what they currently spend on fuel today for their generators. The real challenge in the entire going Solar is Financing, that is, enabling people to spread the cost of their Solar system over a 2 year period, making it easily affordable for the majority of Nigerians. That problem has now been solved. In short, if you can afford to run a generator, you can afford to go Solar. Put into this light, do you still think i'm being optimistic in my analysis? Regards Uvie |
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I will attempt to provide a summarised explanation of the current fuel situation in the country, and provide my opinion on what should be done to eradicate it once and for all. It's a very important matter and needs to be properly discussed and debated because it affects us all. Fuel Subsidy The current landed price of PMS in Nigeria is N119. The government insists that it must be sold at N87. Therefore, to persuade ANY marketer to do that, they must subsidise the cost of importation for them. Hence the fuel subsidy. However, the fuel subsidy is a massive fraud on the Nation, and fully 40% of all subsidy payments are fraudulent. This is a FACT, let's just say I know more on this subject than most. The subsidy is also destroying Nigeria in several major and critical ways: 1. It's bankrupted the treasury 2. It's acted as a heavy disincentive for private investors into oil refineries, because, for obvious reasons, fuel marketers will prefer to import and steal from the government than buy from local refineries at lower cost. 3. Demand for USD driven by the importation of PMS accounts for 80% of all USD demand in Nigeria. This is what's causing continual pressure on Naira, and hence, the slide to N230 to $1 on the parallel market. Cause of Current Fuel Scarcity The government has refused to pay any more subsidy to marketers, who have in turn refused / are unable to buy any more product overseas, because their banks refuse to lend them more money. As a result, the nation is running short of supplies and will run out of fuel completely in 3 weeks if new supplies are not made immediately. The fact is, the government will not (and should not) pay any more subsidies to them. They will instead (I seriously hope) focus on resurrecting refining capacity. So what happens in the meantime? Well, it's fairly obvious. The restrictions on selling price of N87 will be lifted, and marketers will be able to charge whatever they like, like any REAL business, not a Government aided and supported basket case. The current landed price per litre is N119, but is expected to rise sharply due to the continued fall of the Naira against Dollar. I therefore expect prices to increase sharply over the next 3 to 6 months, to somewhere in the region of N130 - N160 per litre on average. This it what the TRUE price of PMS should be, and when the government subsidy is removed, that's exactly where it WILL be. With luck, as oil refining capacity increases again (Dangote's 500,000 barrels a day plant is due to become operational by Q1 2017), we should see a gradual decrease in pump prices, to somewhere in the N110 - N120 per litre range. Long Term Solution Nigeria is hopelessly addicted to PMS, largely due to the power crisis. It's very noticeable to any Nairalanders who travel overseas frequently that you don't see anywhere near the number of Filling Stations that you see here. I have observed this extensively in USA, UK (where I was born and raised), and most recently, in China, where I was just 2 weeks ago. Bear in mind that these are far far more developed countries than Nigeria, with much larger economies, who's fuel demand should therefore be commensurately larger than Nigeria's. Evidence of this is as follows - 65% of all PMS demand in Nigeria is to fuel generators, not cars. Ask yourself the simple question - how many litres do you buy daily for your generator versus your car, and this fact should become obvious to you. The solution to this madness is to crash the domestic demand for PMS, by eliminating the need to use it to generate power in our homes and businesses. We do this by a wholesale switch to renewable energy sources such as Solar Power, to power our homes and businesses. The technology is readily available, and tried and tested, even here in Nigeria. There are approximately 5,000 homes and businesses right here in Nigeria that already have guaranteed 24 hours power supply through Solar Energy. The challenge is to rapidly scale that across the estimated 100 million homes and business structures that currently use generators every single day for power. Major plans are afoot to make this happen, and I will confidently predict that within 5 - 7 years, generator usage, particularly in homes and small businesses, will have largely been eradicated. Regards 1 Like |
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Why is this still a story to Nigerians. Are people not better informed yet, or are we cursed to remain forever clueless about fuel prices, and the reality of where it's going? Let me do my best to spell out the current situation, and the very likely outcome. The current landed price of PMS in Nigeria is N119. The government insists that it must be sold at N87. Therefore, to persuade ANY marketer to do that, they must subsidise the cost of importation for them. Hence the fuel subsidy. However, the fuel subsidy is a massive fraud on the Nation, and fully 40% of all subsidy payments are fraudulent. This is a FACT, let's just say I know more on this subject than most. The subsidy is also destroying Nigeria in several major and critical ways: 1. It's bankrupted the treasury 2. It's acted as a heavy disincentive for private investors into oil refineries, because, for obvious reasons, fuel marketers will prefer to import and steal from the government than buy from local refineries at lower cost. 3. Demand for USD driven by the importation of PMS accounts for 80% of all USD demand in Nigeria. This is what's causing continual pressure on Naira, and hence, the slide to N230 to $1 on the parallel market. Cause of Current Fuel Scarcity The government has refused to pay any more subsidy to marketers, who have in turn refused / are unable to buy any more product overseas, because their banks refuse to lend them more money. As a result, the nation is running short of supplies and will run out of fuel completely in 3 weeks if new supplies are not made immediately. The fact is, the government will not (and should not) pay any more subsidies to them. They will instead (I seriously hope) focus on resurrecting refining capacity. So what happens in the meantime? Well, it's fairly obvious. The restrictions on selling price of N87 will be lifted, and marketers will be able to charge whatever they like, like any REAL business, not a Government aided and supported basket case. The current landed price per litre is N119, but is expected to rise sharply due to the continued fall of the Naira against Dollar. I therefore expect prices to increase sharply over the next 3 to 6 months, to somewhere in the region of N130 - N160 per litre on average. This it what the TRUE price of PMS should be, and when the government subsidy is removed, that's exactly where it WILL be. With luck, as oil refining capacity increases again (Dangote's 500,000 barrels a day plant is due to become operational by Q1 2017), we should see a gradual decrease in pump prices, to somewhere in the N110 - N120 per litre range. Long Term Solution Nigeria is hopelessly addicted to PMS, largely due to the power crisis. It's very noticeable to any Nairalanders who travel overseas frequently that you don't see anywhere near the number of Filling Stations that you see here. I have observed this extensively in USA, UK (where I was born and raised), and most recently, in China, where I was just 2 weeks ago. Bear in mind that these are far far more developed countries than Nigeria, with much larger economies, who's fuel demand should therefore be commensurately larger than Nigeria's. Evidence of this is as follows - 65% of all PMS demand in Nigeria is to fuel generators, not cars. Ask yourself the simple question - how many litres do you buy daily for your generator versus your car, and this fact should become obvious to you. The solution to this madness is to crash the domestic demand for PMS, by eliminating the need to use it to generate power in our homes and businesses. We do this by a wholesale switch to renewable energy sources such as Solar Power, to power our homes and businesses. The technology is readily available, and tried and tested, even here in Nigeria. There are approximately 5,000 homes and businesses right here in Nigeria that already have guaranteed 24 hours power supply through Solar Energy. The challenge is to rapidly scale that across the estimated 100 million homes and business structures that currently use generators every single day for power. Major plans are afoot to make this happen, and I will confidently predict that within 5 - 7 years, generator usage, particularly in homes and small businesses, will have largely been eradicated. Regards Uvie 4 Likes |
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refreshrate: I won't dignify your comment with a response. |
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undergoals: We can power a typical self con for just N80,000 upfront, followed by 20 monthly payments of N11,000, after which you finish payments. Solar is actually meant for the masses, but there's a huge misconception in Nigeria that's it's a product for the rich only. Nothing could be further from the truth, and the majority of my customers are ordinary working class Nigerians, who currently run generators between 2KVA and 5KVA. Check out our website at wwwdotsolyntadotcomdotng for further information. Regards Uvie |
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rottennaija: This is where you are absolutely wrong sir, the costs are very low now. You can power a 3 bedroom flat for 24 hours a day from as little as N150,000 upfront payment, with the balance of N50,000 per month for 12 months, or, N225,000 upfront payment, followed by N21,875 per month for 24 months. 90% of my customers buy on one of our easy payment plans, which basically means that once you've paid the upfront deposit, and we install the system, your monthly payments are usually less that what you are currently spending on fuel each month, for just 8 hours a day of power, whereas with Solar, you have uninterrupted 24 hours a day of power. To show you how popular our easy payment offering is, we have sold and installed over 10 systems in just the last week and a half alone, and all without any form of advertising whatsoever. For more information, check out our website at wwwdotsolyntadotcomdotng Regards Uvie |
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With the crippling fuel shortages that are currently hitting the country, resulting in the closure of key businesses in the economy, such as banks, radio stations, and even affecting the telecommunications networks, it should finally become crystal clear that Nigerians cannot continue to rely on generators for power. Solar energy is far and away the most efficient and cost effective source of power in Nigeria today, and is a very simple technology to roll out and operate. As Nigeria's number one Solar Power company, we have seen a huge surge of demand this year, as more and more businesses and homes decide to end their suffering and switch to Solar. We need to be smart and realise that the use of generators is not only extremely expensive, but also results in massive levels of pollution to the environment. For more information about Solar Power, and how you can easily and cheaply become power independent, please feel free to ask as many questions as you like. Regards Uvie Ugono Founder & CE0 Solynta Energy
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Hi all I started this thread over 2 years ago, before I arrived in the country to launch Solynta Energy, a Solar Power Company. I recall that at that time, there was a very healthy debate about whether my pronouncements about the power of solar to revolutionise the Nigerian Power sector were true, or mere exaggerations. I have decided to provide an update on what has happened in the 2 years since I've been here in Nigeria running the company. Accomplishments Solynta Energy is now Nigeria's number 1 distributed Solar energy company, with total installed capacity of 250KW in just the last 8 months alone. We have successfully installed the first fully solar powered Filling Station, in Abuja, and just the second in all of West Africa. We now have 5 fully solar powered Filling Stations in operation (Abuja, Benin City, Delta State, Lagos), with contracts signed for another 20. We expect to have installed 100 by the end of 2015 We have installed over 30 Solar Power Systems for homes, ranging from 1KW to 15KW systems. All are now experiencing 24 hours power, without need for their generators. We have successfully completed installations in 9 States (FCT, Lagos, Rivers, Nassarrawa, Edo, Delta, Enugu, ondo, Kano), and will shortly be expanding into Cross River, Kogi, ogun, and Akwa Ibom. We have also penetrated Ghana with our first major installation there We have developed Nigeria's first easy payment plan for Solar Energy, allowing Nigerians to go Solar for as little as N140,000. We are transforming lives by removing one of the biggest barriers to well being in Nigeria, which is access to cheap and constant power. We are providing full time employment for 20 Nigerians, and are continually expanding our Solynta Family. I am very proud of this fact. We will shortly be introducing a solar package for even people who run "i better pass my neighbour" generator, for a price of N9,000 per month for 20 months. We have been very well received by the media for our continuing work, and have been featured in several newspapers, as well as CNBC Africa - see our homepage of wwwdotsolyntadotcomdotng for the video of the interview. Solar Energy holds the key to Nigeria's future economic prosperity, and it is our mission to install 5 million residential units by 2023. God bless Nigeria and God bless Nigerians. Kind Regards Uvie Ugono Founder and ceo Solynta Energy 1 Like |
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I'll keep my contribution short and sweet: 1. Currently, there is no requirement for fuel subsidy as crude oil prices are so low they are not needed 2. The removal of the subsidy when crude oil prices eventually rise is Absolutely the best thing for Nigeria 3. Nigerians continue to rely on the use of generators to provide their power, when there are far far better alternatives already widely used around the world, and even here in Nigeria 4. I'm referring to Solar Power, which is freely available, and given the huge amount of sunshine we receive in the country, every single home should be generating its own power from the sun 5. The economic benefits to Nigerians of going Solar, whilst already big, will become massive, and will be the push Nigerians need to finally adopt Solar Energy en mass. 6. The improvement in the economy will be massive as a result, with an estimated $50 billion a year being saved on fuel and pumped directly back into the economy each year 7. Whilst there will be a short term pain from the abolition of the fuel subsidy, in the medium and long term, it will trigger the elimination of the power problem in Nigeria. I'm absolutely convinced of this To give some background about myself, i'm the Founder and ceo of Solynta Energy, Nigeria's largest Solar Energy company. I'll make a bold prediction - within 7 years, generators will be a thing of the past in Nigeria, with the entire country powered predominantly by Solar Energy. Regards Uvie |
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Finally, we get the truth from a Nigerian politician about the true state of the Nigerian power sector. And it's absolutely no surprise to me that the truth was spoken to journalists in London, and not Nigeria. I've been around Nigeria over the last 2 years, telling them that it is an impossibility to provide 24 hours of power to Nigerians over the next 15 years, due to the sheer vastness of the power deficit compared with demand. This is currently calculated as 160,000 Megawatts, but that's based on the current population of Nigeria, at an estimated 170 million people. The population is estimated by the World Health Organisation to reach 500 million by 2050, making us the 3rd most populous country in the world, behind China and India. The power supply will therefore need to increase by approximately 9,500 Megawatts PER YEAR, more than double our current TOTAL power supply, just to remain exactly the same as it is now and keep up with population. In other words, we need to add 9,500 Megawatts per year, just to stand still. The only realistic solution to Nigeria's power problem is the widespread rollout of distributed Solar Power across homes and businesses. Many Nigerian's are finally seeing sense and are going Solar at a rapid rate, as the Founder and CEO of Solynta Energy, Nigeria's largest Solar Energy company, I can attest to that fact. However bleak the prognosis looks at the moment, I'm very confident that Solynta Energy will solve the Nigerian power crisis, in exactly the same way that MTN solved the Nigerian communications problem. Nigeria will begin to see a dramatic improvement in their power supply through the rapid deployment of Solar Power, and the gradual phasing out of generators. The following well known companies are now Solar Powered by Solynta Energy, with reliance on their generators completely eliminated: Mr Biggs Union Bank MRS Filling Station in addition to countless homes and businesses, all now enjoying uninterrupted power from Solar Energy, at a cheap price. Regards Uvie Founder & CEO Solynta Energy 1 Like |
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http://businessdayonline.com/2014/10/consumers-get-succour-from-renewal-energy-as-power-supply-challenges-persist/#.VEnk_N2kqK0 The management of Solynta Energy, a United Kingdom registered renewable energy company based in Lagos, says its aim is to make the power supply challenge in Nigeria a thing of the past. Uvie Ugono, founder/CEO of the company, told BusinessDay that with the current 4,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity being generated in the country, Nigeria’s aspiration to join the league of industrialised nations may not be realised. Many citizens of Nigeria are not able to realise their career dreams owing to the problem of power, he also noted. According to him, “Nigeria currently generates about 4,000MW of power, but actually for an industrialised country, we need 1kilowatt per person, which equates to about 170,000 (one hundred and seventy) megawatts. So, we are very, very way away to where we need to be and that’s why we don’t have enough power to go round.” Businesses and homes can enjoy constant supply of power without having to wait for many years to build power plants, Ugono said, citing instance with the recent ground-breaking ceremony for a power plant in Benin City, Edo State, that is expected to generate about 450MW from 2017. The entrepreneur said: “We are expecting a situation where power will be distributed through other means. People are not going to wait until some power plants that may or may not get commissioned in three or four years time before they start getting constant power with all the issues about gas and transmission. Going through a large-scale project that takes years to begin to serve the people is just a very wrong way.” On whether the privatisation exercise was the solution to the power problem in the country, Ugono said: “In my view, I think the private sector controls the volume of power, but not the way it is currently being done. We are on the wrong side of development. We are actually doing the wrong thing. Actually, in the Western world, power arrangements are done by government as population grows and as demand grows. It is driven by government because the amount of money required to build the needed infrastructure can only be provided through tax payers’ money. But what we have now is that we privatised a sector that requires a huge amount of money to function. What we are just telling those who bought the power is that they should build our national infrastructure and this may not be achieved. So, we have a tremendous challenge on our hand.” He also dismissed the insinuation that to enjoy a renewable energy one needs to spend a fortune, Ugono said that on the contrary, it is far cheaper than the power from PHCN in the long run. “There are certain facts that Nigerians really, really need to be aware of. The biggest problem we have in Nigeria is the issue of subsidised cost. That’s actually the reason the power sector is where it is today. In Nigeria today, electricity consumers pay below costs (the overall cost of generation, transmission and distribution). The bad news is that, that is going to change very rapidly. “Again when they say it is very costly to go solar, you have to be specific; what they are simply saying is that ‘it is too cash-hungry.’ That is because when you are buying into a renewable energy for 25 years, you are going to make your payment within a two-year-plan. If I ask you how much you are paying for PHCN supply, and you say, may be N10,000 (ten thousand naira) per month, and I’ll ask you, how much does that amount to in 25 years? You’ll discover that you will be paying more for the PHCN supply than solar. So, their argument is not that it is costly, but it is a liquidity factor; the problem of cash-flow (where do I get the money from?),” he said. He further explained that some individuals and businesses spend a huge amount of money generating power for themselves through generating sets without realising it. “If a company for instance spends about N1.5 million on diesel per annum, and that does not include maintenance of the generator, replacement of the generator as the case may be, noise, the fumes, the headache and lots of other inconveniences; and because you are buying and paying for the diesel every three or four days, you may not really take into account what you are spending, but we realised that the only way to solve the problem permanently is to match the payment profile. If we say, now pay 25 percent deposit of the total cost of providing you with solar as deposit, which only amounts to the cost of buying a generator; then we spread the payment across two years; at the end of two years your payment stops. Now, you are able to have 25 years of uninterrupted power supply. That’s exactly what we are saying. We provide people with the opportunity to go solar through our favourable payment structure,” Ugono said. He disclosed that Solynta has the vision to eradicate the country’s crippling energy problem, and that by “2023, we will install 5 million solar power systems, generating 10,000MW of energy for homes and businesses.” According to him, “our residential solar power systems are positively impacting lives across the country. Our systems are cheap, clean, reliable and greatly increase our customers’ ease and enjoyment of being at home by providing uninterrupted power for 24 hours a day. “We are transforming businesses by reducing their biggest cost (fuel) by at least 75 percent and enabling them to provide their customers with improved services in a pollution-free environment.” Citing instances of projects successfully executed across the country, Solynta boss said: “In the last two months alone, we have distributed hundreds of kilowatts of energy. Our customers range from homes to filling stations to schools, hospitals and to hotels. We have customers in Lagos, Abuja, Edo State; we have projects lining up in Abakaliki in Ebonyi State, Ondo State, Akwa Ibom, Port Harcourt in Rivers and other places.” Ugono, whose company is tucked somewhere on Yesuf Abiodun Way, Oniru, in Victoria Island, Lagos, said it cherishes and holds its customers very highly. “Our customers are at the very heart of our company and we are dedicated to being a leader in providing excellent customer care,” he said. Zebulon Agomuo |
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Idrismusty97: Absolutely on point. Honestly, it's so refreshing to see that there are some Nigerians out there who are actually clued on about what's happening in the world around them. Speaking specifically about Saudi Arabia and their massive diversification away from Oil, guess what source of energy they are massively investing into right now? Solar energy. They are trying to become the world leaders in Solar energy, precisely because they know that it is the energy source of the future. Nigeria has the opportunity to become precisely that, but we are so myopic and short sighted, we can't see past the next barrel of oil. Here's a very famous quote from the long time energy minister of Saudi Arabia, "the Stone Age did not end because man ran out of stones. The oil age will not end because man will run out of oil". 3 Likes 1 Share |
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closed!!!! |
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meetmonde: Very funny... Going solar to sell fuel Not funny at all. No civilised country should be using diesel to generate electricity. The fact that we do here in Nigeria is a national disgrace. The fact that people find it funny that a filling station elects to no longer pollute the air with their generators and go solar instead is just sad. Because it demonstrates that we have actually normalised the use of diesel powered generators as a primary source of energy. Nowhere else in the world are generators used as widely as they are in Nigeria. Now that's what I call sad. |
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Solynta Energy is urgently seeking to recruit experienced marketers for a two day event at The Palms Shopping Centre (Lekki) on Saturday 11 & Sunday 12 October 2014. The purpose of the event is to: a) raise awareness that our company, Solynta Energy has successfully launched into the Residential Solar Power installation space b) raise awareness of the benefits of Solar Power over fuel powered generators c) book appointments for our engineers to visit the prospective clients in their homes to carry out a free solar energy assessment Full training will be provided before the event. Whilst this is a two day position successful candidates will be prioritized for future sales and marketing work. The right candidate will have at least 12 months Marketing & Sales experience and be currently based in Lagos State. Solynta will pay a fee of N20,000 per day, plus generous commissions for each home energy assessment booking made. N500 per booking, plus an additional 50% bonus for meeting individual target on the day. The individual target per day is 24 bookings, based on an 8 hour working day. All interested parties should immediately email their CV's, together with a covering letter. The deadline for applications is 5pm on Friday 12 September to: patricia.ugono@solynta.com.ng |
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Massive001: a friend got an invitation from karen & Keith investment dat dey r recruiting for solynta. Is it real? pls, urgent response is required This is absolutely NOT real. Solynta does not know any company called Karen & Keith Investment, and has absolutely no association with them. Please advise your friend or anyone else that we do not outsource our recruitment to any third parties. Regards Uvie Founder & CEO Solynta Energy |
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fntekim: Good installation pictures, and quite a large installation too of 13.5KW or thereabouts. We have just completed the installation of a 20KW system for a Filling Station in Abuja - 80 x 250 watt panels. Pictures below.
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FILUX: My resident at Awka is like kingdom of darkness and yet they still issue out their bill for people to pay. Sometime i wonder if their bill is electricity bill or daylight bill. You need to go Solar ASAP, and you will have 24 hours power immediately. A 1KW system will power your basic appliances, lights, fans, TV, Fridge, and will cost you N700k. With just a 20% deposit you can get started and pay the balance off over 24 months. It will last you 25 years minimum. The pictures below are for a 1KW installation we completed 2 weeks ago in Keffi, Nassarawa State. If you are interested, visit my website at www.solyntadotcomdotng and make an enquiry. I can tell you that just 2 weeks ago, the MD of Awka Capital Development Authority requested a comprehensive Solar Power proposal, to cover all street lighting and public buildings. So, Solar is definitely on the rise in Nigeria in a big way.
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CFCfan: Go and research all the top 20 economies in the world, find out their populations, their power supply, the ratio of power supply per person, then come on here and revise your assessment. For Nigeria to develop anywhere close to a top 20 economy, it's going to need to develop a widespread industrial based economy which it presently simply does not have. I've been in Nigeria now for 18 months from the UK, and the thing I notice more than anything else is that practically EVERYTHING is imported. From the basics to the luxury. The reason for that is lack of power. In order to transform the economy and create the millions of jobs that are needed to employ our vast youth population (70% of the population is under 30), it's going to take a monumental increase in the amount of power supply in the country. As an example, the UK is presently the 6th largest world economy. It has a population of 63 million, and a power supply of 80,000 megawatts. That's a ratio of 1KW per person. All of the top economies have these types of ratios. Nigeria needs the same. Therefore, 140,000 megawatts is actually a very conservative estimate of the power needs of the country. We need to understand the scale of the problem in order to be able to solve it. Now, here are some costings for you. The average estimated costs of building a brand new 1,000 megawatt gas fired power plant is in the region of $3bn - $4bn dollars. That excludes transmission and distribution, for which you can add another $1bn - $2bn dollars. Frankly speaking, we need another way to solve the crisis. That's why Solar energy is far and away the cheapest and most efficient way of bridging Nigeria's power problems. I can tell you that since launching my Solar Energy company, Solynta Energy, into Nigeria in April 2013, we have already installed close to 1 megawatt of power into homes and businesses. The take up rate has been phenomenal, because it's quick, efficient and highly cost effective. We offer credit facilities to buyers, with just a 20% deposit. The typical payback period for a household installation is approximately 2 years the cost of running a generator. The panels last for a minimum of 25 years. It's a complete no brainer in Nigeria. It seems that the people here are slowly waking up to this fact. Some of our recent installations completed this month are below. 1 Like
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Solynta Energy is urgently seeking to recruit Electrical Engineers with experience of installing Inverters and/or PV Solar Panels. We have experienced a huge increase in demand for our PV Solar Power Installations in recent months, and are now looking to bolster our team of internal installers, specifically in the Lagos and Abuja regions. The ideal candidates MUST be qualified Electrical Engineers, with significant experience of installing Inverter Systems. Experience in installing Solar Panels is an added bonus. The basic salary offered is N100,000 per month, plus an additional discretionary annual bonus based on meeting performance targets. All interested parties should immediately email their CV's to: jobs@solynta.com.ng Regards Uvie Founder & CEO Solynta Energy |
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