President Muhammadu Buhari has called for the alignment of capacity and attraction of investments across the generation, transmission and distribution components of the Power Sector’s value chain.

This was disclosed by the Minister of Power, Engr Salam Mamman, who represented the President, in a speech read at the  launch of Eko Electricity DisCo’s Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system in Lagos on Thursday.

He said, “We must ensure that there is an alignment of capacity and attraction of investments across the generation, transmission and distribution components of the Power Sector’s value chain.

“I acknowledge the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) financial support towards this project through the Nigeria Electricity Market Stabilization Facility granted in 2015. This facility significantly led to the successful completion of this project.

“My administration remains committed to addressing the liquidity challenges which are adversely affecting the Power sector’s viability. We have noted with grave concern: The increased fiscal burden on the Federal Government (FG) occasioned by the tariff shortfalls in the sector which are no longer sustainable.”

Bottom line

It is obvious that the CBN’s Payment Assurance Facility (CBN PAF) targeted at supporting tariff shortfalls can no longer be extended and must be phased out to allow the sector’s financial independence.

The government is also aware that these tariff shortfalls sit on DisCos’ books and impair their ability to raise capital and invest.

Hon. MIN. OF POWER @EngrSMamman REPRESENTS PRESIDENT @MBuhari IN LAGOS AT THE LAUNCH OF @EKEDP COMPANY'S SCADA SYSTEM.

SPEECH BELOW👇📖

ADDRESS BY HIS EXCELLENCY, THE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, PRESIDENT @MBuhari, AT @EKEDP PLC’S OFFICIAL

Cc: @NigeriaGov pic.twitter.com/uJONj2qyjl

— Office of the Minister of Power (@PowerMinNigeria) November 26, 2020

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has revealed that it plans to automate and begin remote monitoring, registration, and accreditation of petroleum products depots, retail outlets, and the entire downstream oil and gas industry, with the launch of the newly established Downstream Remote Monitoring Systems (DRMS).

While disclosing a statement in Abuja, the Head, Public Affairs of the DPR, Paul Osu, pointed out that the newly established Downstream Remote Monitoring Systems is expected to take off on December 1, 2020, after the launch in Abuja.

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According to a report by Vanguard, Osu explained that the DRMS is a web-based solution designed to provide intelligent regulatory and inventory management system for petroleum products supply and distribution from depot to retail outlets and also as a regulatory tool to monitor retail outlets and depot activities.

He said, “Other features of the application include retail outlets accreditation and re-registration, nationwide automated product inventory management, retail outlets coordinate recording for mapping purposes and transactions management and report generation of dealers nationwide.

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“The establishment of DRMS is another strategic initiative of DPR to continue to create opportunities and enable business in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.”

It can be recalled that the DPR had a few months ago, launched the National Production Monitoring System (NPMS), another online platform to assist the oil and gas regulator accurately monitor national crude oil production and exports, through the provision of a system for direct and independent acquisition of production data from oil and gas facilities in Nigeria

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This is to ensure timely and accurate reporting of production figures and export data. This is also expected to guard against the crude oil theft that is prevalent in Nigeria’s upstream oil sector or reported cases of crude oil that is sold but unaccounted for.

The NPMS is an initiative that is developed as a replacement for the current paper-based report and ensures ready production reporting to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and other agencies.

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has announced the introduction of new guidelines to accommodate more Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) investors and operators across the country as part of its policy on gas.

This initiative by the oil and gas regulator is part of the measures aimed at enhancing the availability of LPG, also known as cooking gas in Nigeria, in addition to meeting the current administration’s target of 5 million metric tonnes of domestic, commercial and industrial LPG utilization in the next 10 years.

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According to a report by ThisDay, the disclosure was made by the Zonal Operations Controller of DPR, Ayorinde Cardoso, while speaking with journalists during a public sensitization exercise on safe usage of LPG.

Cardoso stated that the federal government through the National Gas Expansion Programme was committed to making gas accessible and affordable for Nigerians.

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He said, “We have a lot of people coming into the sector to invest and DPR is on ground to ensure that they follow the regulatory requirements. We have brought out new guidelines to encourage investors and anybody that wants to operate in the sector to follow the guidelines.

“DPR is also collaborating with the Lagos state government and other stakeholders to improve safety in gas storage, sales and distribution.”

READ: DPR releases guidelines for establishment and operations of downstream gas facilities

What you should know

Nairametrics had earlier reported that as part of its new policy on gas, DPR had moved against illegal operators of gas facilities with the shutdown of 85 LPG plants in Lagos in the last 10 months. It stated that the plants were shut down for not complying with international safety standards and operating without approval or license from the DPR.

The Federal Government had encouraged stakeholders and investors to invest in the LPG sector to accelerate the development of the domestic gas market.

READ: How to access CBN’s N250 billion intervention fund for gas sector

It can be recalled that the FG through the Central Bank of Nigeria had set up a N250 billion intervention facility for the national gas expansion programme, with the specific target at making Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) the fuel of choice for transportation as against petrol and LPG for domestic cooking, captive power, and small industrial complexes.