PRIVATISATION: Firm Completes Payment For PHCN – BPE
Core investors in the privatised PHCN successor companies are currently making frantic efforts to pay up the 75 per cent balance of the value of the firms they won, even as the clock ticks towards the expiration of the deadline at 5pm today.
With barely a few hours left before the expiration of the deadline, LEADERSHIP checks revealed that only one of the 15 privatised power distribution and generation companies has been fully paid for, even as the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) awaited bank alerts signalling payments from the 14 other companies.
Chigbo Anichebe, head, public communications of BPE, told LEADERSHIP the companies had started paying. However as at 6pm yesterday, only one bidder had paid the 75 per cent balance in full.
“Our account department says they have been getting alerts from our bankers but as of now only one bidder
has made full payment.
“You know the payment is coming from a consortium of banks; so while we have received alerts from some banks, we are still awaiting alerts from the other banks and, until we receive alerts for the full payment, we cannot say that the bidder has paid,” Anichebe explained, adding that the bureau was still collating the payments.
The BPE received a total sum of N87.8 billion ($559,445,573.96) from the 14 bidders as 25 per cent payment for the 15 successor companies on March 21, 2013.
The federal government is expecting to receive about N264 billion by the end of today if full payment of the 75 per cent is made on all 15 distribution and generation companies.
A breakdown of the 25 per cent payment is as follows: 4Power Consortium paid $31million for Port Harcourt Distribution Company; Interstate Electrics Limited paid $31.5 for Enugu Distribution Company; North-South Power Company paid $27. 9 million for Shiroro Power Plc; Vigeo Consortium paid USD $32.25million for Benin Distribution Company; Transcorp/Woodrock Consortium paid $75 million for Ughelli Power Plc while CMEC/EUAFRIC Energy JV paid $50,249,965 for Sapele Power Plc.
Also, Kann Consortium had paid $41 million for Abuja Distribution Company; Aura Energy, the preferred bidder for Jos Distribution Company, paid $20,464,968.15; Mainstream Energy Ltd, the preferred bidder for Kainji Power Plc, paid $59,467,500; and Sahelian Power SPV, the preferred bidder for Kano Distribution Company, paid $34.25million.
Other bidders were: Amperion Power Company Limited, the preferred bidder for Geregu Power Plc, which paid USD$33 million; Integrated Energy Distribution& Marketing Company, the preferred bidder for Ibadan and Yola Distribution companies, which paid USD$42.25 million and USD$14.75 million for Ibadan and Yola Discos respectively; NEDC/KEPCO, the preferred bidder for Ikeja Distribution Company, which paid USD$ 32.75 million; and West Power & Gas, the preferred bidder for Eko Distribution Company, which paid USD$33.75 million.
The National Council on Privatisation (NCP) gave a final approval of the preferred bidders on October 23, 2012, and consequently signed industry agreements with 15 PHCN successor companies’ core investors on February 21, 2013, heralding the formal handover of the unbundled PHCN successor companies to the core investors.
Following the approval of the National Council on Privatisation chaired by Vice President Namadi Sambo, the preferred bidders had paid a total of $335,854,986.15 as bank guarantees.
For the Abuja Distribution Company, Kann Consortium had paid $24.6m; for the Benin Disco, Vigeo Power Consortium paid $19.35 million; for Eko Disco, West Power and Gas paid $20.25 million; Enugu Disco, Interstate Electrics Limited paid $18.9 million; while for the Ibadan Disco, Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Limited paid $25.35 million.
NEDC/KEPCO Consortium paid $19.65m for the Ikeja Disco; Aura Energy Limited paid $12.3m for Jos Disco; Sahelian Power Limited paid $20.55 million for Kano Disco; 4Power Consortium paid $18.64 million for Port Harcourt Disco; while Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Limited paid $8.89 million for the Yola Disco.
For the power generation companies, North-South Power Limited paid $16.75 million for Shiroro Hydro Power Plc; Mainstream Energy Solutions paid $35.68m for Kainji Hydro Power Plc; CMEC/EURAFRIC Energy Limited paid $30.15 million for Sapele Power Plc; Amperion Power Distribution Limited paid $19.8 million for Geregu Power Plc; while the Transcorp Consortium paid $45 million for Ughelli Power Plc.
The bid guarantees will be returned to the core investors when they make the final payments for the respective successor companies they won.
