The Nigerian Liquefied and Natural Gas (NLNG), Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Mobil, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to provide uninterrupted power supply to Bonny, in Rivers State which hosts NLNG’s plants.
The firms in a paper titled: “Effective Utilization of Gas Powered Plants in Nigeria”, said power has not fallen below 90 per cent in the area, saying the partnership has led to the formation of Bonny Utility Company(BUC), through which the indigenes are employed. It said the BUC, in order to curb power theft, has installed a sophisticated tracking system to identify discrepancies between customer payment and consumption.
The paper said: “The pre-paid metering model has reduced energy waste and subsequently promoted power sustainability. Bonny Kingdom indigenes currently account for 95 per cent of the BUC’s workforce. By hiring locally, the BUC has installed company pride in its indigenes, because the people of Bonny Kingdom take a sense of pride in the ownership of the company, they actively work towards its best.’’
According to the paper, BUC provides the Bonny Island community with a fixed amount of power, in order to meet the power consumption needs of the 40 per cent of consumers in the area. It said other consumers in the area purchase additional power from BUC at an affordable rate. “On average, the BUC charges less than 20 per cent of the Port Harcourt Distribution Company’s( PHDC) tariffs.’’
