The hope of a quick conclusion of the privatisation of the electricity sector has suffered a slight delay as the Bureau of Public Enterprises has put off the sale of the 17 successor companies to the Power Holding Company of Nigeria till October.
The companies were earlier scheduled to be sold in April. This is the second time that the agency has changed the deadline for the privatisation of the power companies. It had originally stated that the companies would be sold before May 29, 2011.
In a statement made available to one of our correspondents in Abuja on Monday, the spokesman of BPE, Mr. Chukwuma Nwokoh, said the opening of the financial bids by the prospective investors in the power companies would now hold between September 25 and October 25.
According to the revised bid timetable, the announcement of the preferred bidders for the 17 successor companies by the National Council on Privatisation will be made on or before October 23.
In an exclusive report two weeks ago, THE PUNCH had indicated that the privatisation agency was tinkering with the timelines it had earlier released.
The reversed schedule also changed the deadlines for issuance of legal documents to bidders, submission of bids as well as evaluation of bids.
Nwokoh said in the statement, “Between September 25 and October 10, the BPE will open the financial bids of prospective investors for the privatisation of the successor companies created from PHCN.
“Indeed, the bureau will issue revised legal documents to the bidders on March 30, 2012, while April 20, 2012 is the deadline for the receipt of comments by bidders on the legal documents.”
“The distribution/issuance of final bid documents is on May 11. The deadline for the submission of technical and financial bids is July 31. The revised transaction timeline reveals that the evaluation of the technical bids will take place between August 14 and 28.”
The revised timetable also shows that the NCP will approve the results of the technical evaluation on or before September 1.
The deadline for the short-listed bidders for the generation companies to submit their letters of credit is September 18, while October 2 is for the short-listed bidders for the distribution companies.
The NCP approval will pave the way for the opening of financial bids of the short-listed investors.
In a letter to prospective investors, the Acting Director of Electric Power, BPE, Mallam Ibrahim Babagana, explained that the revision of the transaction timetable became imperative in order to address the concerns raised at the Transaction and Industry Review Conference, which held in Abuja on November 28 and 29, 2011.
Babagana said, “We have been working diligently to create a bankable package of transaction and industry documents based on your feedback.
“Specifically, we have been working with other agencies such as the Federal Ministry of Power; Federal Ministry of Finance; Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission; Transmission Company of Nigeria; Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria; Nigeria Gas Company; Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company; and the World Bank to amend and harmonise the key industry documents.”
The thermal power stations are the Ughelli Power Plc; Geregu Power Plc; Afam Power Plc, comprising of Afam I-V power stations; and Sapele Power Plc.
The hydro power generating companies are the Kainji Power Plc, comprising Kainji and Jebba power plants; and Shiroro Power Plc.
About 135 firms had been pre-qualified to bid for the successor companies, including Dangote Industries Limited and Oando Plc.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has declared that it will regularise the employment of all duly certified informal workers of the PHCN this week.
The Minister of Power, Prof. Bart Nnaji, said this in Lagos during the inauguration of the staff gymnasium of the Egbin Power Plc on Monday.
He added that the move was to show the workers that the government was aware of their plight.
“For everybody that is certified as bona fide casual worker, we are sending the list this week for regularisation. So, this illustrates how much we take the issue of workers to heart, and on this note, we implore you to keep on working and bringing power to Nigeria,” Nnaji said.
