BusinessDay Nigeria BusinessDay 18 Jun 2018 | страница 37

Monday 18 June 2018

Gencos put TCN to task over blackout

Olusola Bello & Harrison Edeh

Transmission Companies of Nigeria( TCN) has been put to task over the current blackout the country is going through by the power generation companies( Gencos), who are demanding full disclosure from the TCN on the blackout being experienced in the country.

The companies, speaking through its spokesperson, Joy Ogaji, executive secretary, Association of Power Generation Companies( APGC), have demanded clarification from the TCN on the true position / state of power supply during the long weekend / Eid Malud holiday marking the end of one-month of Ramadan.

The APGC faulted the position of the TCN on the total grid collapsed and required additional clarification from the agency based on what it described as available facts.

The Gencos scribe said it want clarification on the followings:( a) How does it, TCN, explains the instruction from National Control Centre( NCC), an arm of TCN, to Gencos not on the Escravos – Lagos Gas Pipeline Service( ELPS) and hydro power companies to ramp down,- meaning that they should not shut down completely

Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II( 2nd r) and Kingsley Moghalu( 2nd l), presidential flag bearer of the Young Progressive Party( YPP), flanked by members of Kingsley Moghalu Support Organisation, as he visited Kano to gather support for the next Presidential election.

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ment totally discourages the ease of doing business the government promised to implement across Nigeria including AT the airports. All 30 international airlines operating in Nigeria pay nothing less than N985,500,000 annually into the coffers of the Skyway Aviation Handling Company( SAHCOL) and Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc( nahco aviance) to tow their aircraft into the Starways, which is the disembarkment point for passengers, BusinessDay’ s findings show.

According to the 2017 figures from the Nigeria Civil Aviation Organisation,( NCAA) on passenger movement, international airlines operate 30flights on the their operations possible because of shortage of gas supply to the power plants.( b). It also wants to know why there was no effective planning by TCN to forestall the current crises, given the fact that the National Gas Company( NGC) communicated the notice of its intention to carry out temporary repairs.

According to Ogaji, when answers to these questions are provided, the APGC / GENCOS will respond appropriately to TCN management on issues bothering on generations.

The TCN had stated that as a result of gas pipeline rupture on June 15, as well as technical issues at the Shell gas wells on June 16, there has been a sharp drop in generation into the grid by a total of 1,087.6mw, resulting in loadshedding nationwide, necessary to maintain stability of the grid.

Due to the NGC pipeline incident, TCN said six thermal powergenerating stations are currently unable to generate electricity and have therefore been shut down. The affected power stations include the Ihovbor, Azura, Omotosho gas, Geregu gas, Olorunsogo gas, Sapele and the Egbin Power Station which has managed to generate 60mw only on each of its units, losing a total of 211mw.

Also, Afam VI power station was shut down so that Shell Oil

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CFA Franc racing to parity...

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move over the next 5 years could see the CFA Franc finally reach parity.

CFA Franc is the official currency of many francophone countries in Africa within the West African and Central African region. There are two types of CFA Franc, the West African CFA Franc and the Central African CFA Franc. Both currencies are backed by the French treasury and although separate in theory, they can be used interchangeably for trade.

The currency codes are XOF for the West African CFA franc which is used by eight West African Countries and XAF for the Central African CFA franc which is the national currency of six Central African countries.

The eight members of the West African Economic and Monetary Union( WAEMU) who use the CFA Franc are Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’ Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. While for the six members of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community( CAEMC) are Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and Chad.

CFA Franc was formerly pegged to the French Franc but after the French Franc was replaced by the Euro, CFA Franc has been pegged to the Euro at 1 CFA for 0.15 euro. The CFA Franc is backed by the French treasury and the francophone countries have had to give up their monetary policy to the European Central Bank in order to tie their currency to the Euro. The benefit of this policy has been years of low inflation rate and low interest rate.

The disadvantage is that the strength of the Euro and subsequently the CFA Franc has made the francophone countries less competitive than Nigeria and Ghana according to Wale Okurinboye, Head, Investment Research at Sigma Pensions. He added that as Naira has continued to weaken over the years, Nigerian businesses have taken advantage of the stronger currencies in the neighbouring countries to push cheaper exports into these countries.

In 2017, Nigeria exported

Aircraft towing persist at Nigerian airports as poor infrastructure...

Company can resolve its gas well issues to enable it commence gas supply to Afam VI power station.

According to Ndidi Mbah, general manager, public affairs, with a total loss of 1,087.6mw into the grid, the transmission system has become quite fragile and that TCN is working hard to avert a collapse of the system, by engaging in load-shedding. Load-shedding, she explained, is to ensure that available generation is commensurate with what is allocated to discos nationwide, to create a balance and avert grid instability.

The release further noted that NGC is making efforts to ensure that the gas pipeline issues are resolved in order to restore normal gas supply to the affected power generating stations, to enable them generate into the grid.

Meanwhile, Shell has resolved its gas well issue this morning and gas supply partially restored to Afam VI. TCN noted that there has been no collapse of the grid as has been reported.

Meanwhile, the company appealed for understanding and assured that its engineers are working hard to continue to maintain the stability of the grid, pending completion of repairs of the gas pipeline by NGC and restoration of full gas supply to the affected generating stations. average every day from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport( MMIA) daily. This implies that in 365days, the airports will process nothing less than 10,950 flights annually.

Ground handling companies charge airlines 250dollars per towing. This implies that airlines pay nothing less than 2,737,500million dollars every year to tow their aircraft into the finger. This amounts to N985,500,000 using an exchange of N360 to a dollar.

This amount excludes charges airlines pay for towing the aircraft as a result of flight cancellations, delays and repairs.

John Ojikutu, member of aviation industry think tank group, Aviation Round Table( ART) and chief executive of Centurion Securities, told BusinessDay that the fingers in most of Nigerian airports were built in 1975, and no improvement has been done on them. He said apart from the fingers in Abuja airport, the ones in other airports are out-dated and may not accommodate certain aircraft types if they are taxied. Thus, the airlines have no choice but to tow them into the finger

“ Some airlines insist on using certain fingers. For instance in 2007, Airbus 340 had long wing fan and Emirates was flying Boeing 777. The two of them chose fingers that were closer to each other to park. The pilot alone cannot safely park that aircraft side by side with the other one. So, they park outside and the towing vehicle will come and tow them into the finger.

“ At some other times, it is the type of aircraft and airmanship of the pilot that will determine if he parks by himself or tow the aircraft. The pilots most times do not trust the marshal’ s directions, so they request for a towing vehicle to move it quietly into the position,” Ojikutu added.

He noted that there are also risks in towing the aircraft as the vehicles of the handlers sometimes hit the aircraft.

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more than N115 billion worth of goods to Economic Community of West African States( ECOWAS) countries while it imported only about N28.60 billion from them, thereby posting a trade surplus of almost N90 billion against its neighbours.

The relatively strong currency of the West African neighbours is a major driver for the demand of Nigerian goods in these countries but this currency stability has also made imports from Europe, China and America inexpensive.

In 2013, David Adulugba, then Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council said that although Nigeria exports have penetrated the francophone markets, France still remains their biggest trading partner.

The peg between CFA Franc and Euro makes francophone countries a natural destination for France exports. Compared to the high inflationary environment in Nigeria and Ghana, prices of manufactured products in Europe keep reducing which makes Nigeria less competitive than their French counterparts in this market. Okurinboye also said that due to the poor state of transportation networks between Nigeria and the francophone countries, Chinese imports which ought to be more expensive than Nigerian imports are not as goods transportation costs raise prices of Nigerian imports for the French speaking countries.

ECOWAS reported that interregional trade in 2017 was just 12 percent of total ECOWAS trade. ECOWAS target is to increase inter-regional trade to 50 % by 2021. This could be achieved by placing higher tariffs on foreign imports and improving market access for and between ECOWAS countries. This could be a big opportunity for Nigerian businesses to take advantage of this favourable policy by further diversifying their export destination and driving sales in West Africa.

Whether Nigeria chooses to enter into a monetary union with other ECOWAS countries or maintain the current monetary system, analysts expect that Nigeria will continue to preserve its competitive advantage over the francophone countries in

“ If you hit the engine of a 777, it costs about 20million dollars. The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority( NCAA) should ensure handlers operate with insurance to cover their operations,” he added. However, Henrietta Yakubu, general manager public affairs FAAN told BusinessDay that towing aircraft is an extra precautionary safety measure adopted by FAAN.

Yakubu also added that some airlines prefer to park in the open bay. She also explained that space constraints make airlines tow aircraft but assured that the issue will be addressed after the construction of the new terminals.