Electricity: NCP fails to shortlist bidders for distribution firms

PHCN power station
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The power sector reform of President Goodluck Jonathan on Thursday suffered a setback following the failure of the National Council on Privatisation to meet and ratify the list of firms that qualified to bid for 11 electricity distribution firms.
The privatisation of the 17 successor companies carved out of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria is strategic to the reform embarked upon by the Jonathan administration. According to the timetable, the NCP, led by Vice-President Namadi Sambo, was supposed to have ratified the firms that qualified for the distribution firms on Tuesday.
This, however, did not happen and a meeting scheduled to hold on Thursday for the same purpose could not hold because Sambo was said to be part of a meeting of governors from the northern part of the country with Jonathan to find solution to insecurity in the region.
A Presidency source, who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, said more important state matters prevented the NCP meeting, which was to be chaired by Sambo. But the source could not disclose the next time the council would meet.
When our correspondent called the spokesman of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Mr. Chukwuma Nwokoh, he did not pick his calls, but other sources confirmed the development.
Fifty-four companies had submitted technical and financial bids to acquire majority stakes in the 11 electricity distribution firms put up for sale by the Federal Government.
The Ikeja Distribution Company Plc had 10 bids, the highest number by potential investors, during the first stage of the bidding process.
The Eko Distribution Company Plc received nine bids; Benin Distribution Company Plc, seven bids; Ibadan Distribution Company Plc, seven bids; and Enugu Distribution Company Plc, four bids.
Others are Port Harcourt Distribution Company Plc and Yola Distribution Company Plc, which had three bids each. The Jos Distribution Company Plc, Kaduna Distribution Company Plc and Kano Distribution Company Plc had two bids each.
The transaction timeline showed that the evaluation of the technical bids took place between August 14 and 28, while NCP was to approve the results of the technical evaluation on September 11, 2012.
The deadline for the shortlisted bidders for the generation companies to submit their letters of credit is September 18, October 2 is the deadline for the shortlisted bidders for the distribution companies.
The financial bids of prospective investors for the generating companies are expected to be opened on September 25, while October 10 is the date for the opening of the financial bids for the distribution companies.
The announcement of the preferred bidders for the generating companies is scheduled to be made on October 9, while October 23 is the date for the announcement of the preferred bidders for the distribution companies.
With the failure of the NCP to meet on Thursday to unveil the companies that qualify to bid for the distribution firms, it could not be ascertained as at press time how this would impact on the rest of the timelines, as the official spokesman of the privatisation agency could not be reached.
However, the transaction timeline had been put off about three times in the past as a result of the failure to meet important milestones.
Bidders for the eleven firms  include Oando Consortium; Vigeo Power Consortium; Rockson Engineering Company Limited; Skipper Nigeria Limited; Interstate Electrics Limited; Southern Electricity Distribution Company;  Eastern Electric Nigeria Limited; Integrated Energy Distribution & Marketing Limited.
Some others are SEPCO-Pacific Energy Consortium; Electric Utilities Nigeria; Honeywell Energy Resources International Limited; Western Consortium; Vigeo Holdings, Gumco, African Corporation AFC & CESC Consortium; Masters Energy Oil & Gas Limited; and Power Consortium.