FG to split electricity transmission company

The TCN is currently under a management contract by Manitoba International Hydro of Canada worth $23.7 million.It is responsible for network maintenance, load allocation as well as reconciliation of payments to electricity market participants. Sources with knowledge of the plan said the company would be split into two firms namely: Independent System Operator (ISO) and […]

The TCN is currently under a management contract by Manitoba International Hydro of Canada worth $23.7 million.
It is responsible for network maintenance, load allocation as well as reconciliation of payments to electricity market participants.
Sources with knowledge of the plan said the company would be split into two firms namely: Independent System Operator (ISO) and Transmission Service Provider (TSP).
One source said the initial plan was for the split to take effect should the incoming government refuse to renew Manitoba’s contract.
The source however said this was later reviewed to take immediate effect, stopping the Canadian firm from concluding its contractual term which ends in July.
Mrs. Ngozi Osuhor who is currently the Executive Director market operator at the TCN is said to have been nominated to become the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the new ISO while Dr. Abubakar Tambuwal Atiku who is currently the Deputy Managing Director will head the new TSP.
The Electricity Sector Reform Act 2005 Sections 65 and 66 provide for the two entities but subject to the granting of licenses by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
That has not been done up to yesterday, Daily Trust’s checks revealed.
Chairman of NERC Dr Sam Amadi told Daily Trust in an interview that there was rumour of the split in the air.
He added that he could not confirm the authenticity  of the rumour because the commission had not been communicated to by the power ministry.
He said: “It’s a rumour but if it’s true then that is wrong and illegal. We have not issued any licence and we have not been officially communicated. We will respond appropriately if we receive such communication.”
Also, the plan to appoint Mrs. Osuhor, an indigene of Delta state as the head of the ISO is said to be against industry best practice where tested engineers are supposed to be in charge.
She holds a Higher National Diploma in marketing and later qualified as a lawyer.
She is said to have worked all her life in the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).
A market rule enacted by the regulators NERC in 2012 which has not been reviewed says a CEO of Transmission Company must have a degree in engineering and be a registered member of COREN.
“The job of the ISO is highly technical and often reserved for capable qualified engineers who know what to do in case of system collapse and ability to make efficient load allocation for optima results. This move will make Nigeria a laughing stock in the comity of nations,” a source told Daily Trust.
Already, there are pending issues the management of the market operation which the power ministry has reportedly not addressed.
Power generation companies (GenCos) and the National Independent Power Project (NIPP) owners of about 10 power generation firms are said be owed in billions of naira. NIPP alone is owed about N60 billion by the market operator. Gas suppliers are also being owed.
The account books are yet to be reconciled, a development that sources said had prompted calls for forensic audit of the TCN, the like that was done at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Our source also said a building has been procured in Mabushi District for the sum of N10 billion by the ministry of power to house the ISO.
A memo is said to have emanated from the power ministry, conveying presidency approval to the board of TCN to stop Manitoba from continuing their job with immediate effect for the new teams to take over today.
No tender or bidding is known to have been done for the purchase of the house in Mabushi as required by public service and procurement procedures.
Ministry’s reaction
Permanent Secretary of the ministry of power Dr Godknows Igali denied that Manitoba has been asked to leave.
“There is nothing like that. (They) have not been asked to leave tomorrow (today). The contract will expire at the end of July. The instruction that the minister of power gave is that there should be no renewal until a new government comes in,” Igali said while claiming ignorance of the appointments into ISO and TSP.
The questions being raised include: why the federal government is in a hurry to split TCN without following due process and why it is bent on doing so when it has less than two weeks in office?
The source of the N10 billion for the purchase of the building is another source of concern given that many market participants are currently being owed by the market operator.
Another question being asked is the motive behind the planned appointment of Mrs. Osuhor, a former head of marketing at the Abuja Disco before she was elevated to become CEO of Jos disco by ex-power minister Prof Barth Nnaji.
A management staff of TCN told Daily Trust that he could not speak until “the letters (of appointment) come out.”
He said: “The letters have not come out. We only heard about it but it has not been officially revealed. Maybe whenever it is out possibly by Tuesday or so I can speak about it.”
The TCN board has summoned a meeting for today and the members are said to be as surprised as outsiders. The agenda for the meeting was not clear at press time.
Last minute appointments wrong-APC stalwart
A member of the Board of Trustees of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chief Sam Nkire has advised the out-going President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan to stop last-minute appointment of people into offices and positions. 
He said such appointments, if not reversed, would amount to allowing President Jonathan determine the character and speed of the in-coming APC administration of General Muhammadu Buhari.
He said appointments made by Jonathan in the last one month should not have been made in the first place because they are not likely to stand.
The APC stalwart said it was one thing to have power to hire and another thing to hire at the right time.
“I can only do that when the letters come out. The letters have not come out; we only heard about it but it has not been officially revealed. Maybe whenever it is out possibly by Tuesday or so I can speak about it.”