Workers want payment of benefits before switch of ownershipTHE Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), has received, as at yesterday, technical and financial proposals from 54 investors interested in the privatisstion of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).The bids were made for the 11 distribution companies from the unbundled PHCN.The 54 prospective investors were those that beat yesterday's deadline, under BPE's revised timeline, for the receipt of technical and financial bids for the distribution companies.The profile of the bids showed that 10 investors enlisted interest in Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company Plc; nine for Eko Electricity Distribution Company Plc; seven bids each for Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company Plc and Benin Electricity Distribution Company Plc; while five showed interest in Abuja Electricity Distribution Company Plc.Four investors bidded for Enugu Electricity Distribution Company Plc; while three bids each were made for Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company Plc; and two bids each were recorded for Jos Electricity Distribution Company Plc; Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company Plc and Kano Electricity Distribution Company Plc.According to a statement signed by BPE's spokesman, Chukwumah Nwokoh, 'prospective core investors, who must be local and/or international power distributors or investors with power distributors as technical partners, will be responsible for operating the distribution companies, making the necessary investments to improve the distribution network and customer service in line with the objectives of the Federal Government of Nigeria.''The transaction timeline revealed that the evaluation of the technical bids will take place between August 14 and 28, while the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) will approve the results of the technical evaluation by September 11.'The deadline for the shortlisted bidders for generation companies to submit their letters of credit is September 18, while October 2, 2012 is the deadline for shortlisted bidders for distribution companies.'Consequently, NCP's approval will pave way for the opening of financial bids of the shortlisted investors.'The BPE will on September 25, open the financial bids of prospective investors for the generating companies 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 October 9, while October 23, is the date for the announcement of the preferred bidders for the distribution companies', Nwokoh added.The Nigerian electricity industry has been unbundled into generation and distribution companies and a single transmission company with a view to encouraging private sector participation and attracting foreign and local investment into the Nigerian power sector to ensure economic and reliable electricity supply.Meanwhile, electricity workers of the PHCN have urged the Federal Government to settle workers' entitlements before embarkingon full privatisation of the utility company.The workers, under the aegis of Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC) and the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), made the request during the sensitisation programme in Lagos yesterday.National Secretary, NUEE, Joe Ajero, said that the unions are confronted with issues of negotiation with government, which has lingered for the past 14 months.He said that despite efforts of the unions to let the government pay the workers benefits before folding up PHCN, nothing concrete has been achieved by both unions. 'We have been discussing with government in the last 14 months, on workers' benefits but we have not secured any concrete agreement,' he said.Ajero urged the government to be more sincere in its moves toprivatise the power sector and ensure settlement of workers benefits before the final take over of the sector by the private investors.'We are asking for what belong to us, separating us from our job when it is not time. Even if we are leaving PHCN today, they should settle us for what we have done,' he said.Also speaking at the event, the President-General of SSAEAC, Bede Opara, urged the government to make sure that the PHCN workers are settled according to agreement between the two unions before the privatising the power sector.'Now that PHCN is about to be privatised let them settle us before they hand us over to another employer of labour in other to make things easy for us.He noted that privatisation is not working in Nigeria, adding that out of the 145 companies privatised in the country, only 10 of them are operating.Opara however, advised the workers to be dedicated to their work and distance themselves from corruption.
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