The Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, has said it will open the financial bids of prospective investors for the privatisation of the successor companies created from the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, between September 25 and October 10, 2012.

According to the revised bid timeline the agency issued to investors recently, the announcement of the preferred bidder for the 17 successor companies  by the National Council on Privatisation, NCP, will be made on/or before October 23, 2012.

But before then, the Bureau promised in a statement last week, to issue the revised legal documents to the bidders on March 30, while fixing April 20, as the deadline for the receipt of comments by bidders on the legal documents.

“The distribution/issuance of final bid documents is on May 11, 2012. The deadline for submission of technical and financial bids is July 31, 2012,” it added. Furthermore, the revised transaction timeline revealed that the evaluation of the technical bids will take place between August 14 and 28, while the NCP will approve the results of the technical evaluation on/or before September 11.

“The deadline for the shortlisted bidders for generation companies to submit their letters of credit is September 18, 2012 while October 2, 2012 is for shortlisted bidders for distribution companies. The NCP approval will pave way for the opening of financial bids of the shortlisted investors,” the BPE said.

In a letter to the prospective investors, the Acting Director, Electric Power, at the BPE, Mallam Ibrahim Babagana, explained that the revision to 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.

He said, “In view of the foregoing, we have been working diligently to create a bankable package of transaction and industry documents based on your feedback.”

He also said the bureau was working with other agencies such as the Federal Ministry of Power; Federal Ministry of Finance; Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC; Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN; Gas Aggregation Company of Nigeria, GACN; Nigeria Gas Company, NGC; Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company, NBET; and the World Bank, to amend and harmonise the key industry documents.

Such documents include the Multi-Year Tariff Order, MYTO 2; Transmission Use of System Agreement, TUoS; Connection/Interface Agreement, CIA; Gas Sale and Aggregation Agreement, GSAA; Gas Transportation Agreement, GTA; Power Purchase Agreement, PPA; and Vesting Contract.

Potential bidders for the distribution companies are expected to be existing power distribution companies or core investor groups with power distribution companies as long-term technical partners, while successful bidders 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 set out in the National Electric Power Policy, NEPP.

Potential bidders/concessionaires for the generating companies are expected to be existing local and/or international power companies or investors with power generators as long-term technical partners, will be responsible for operating the stations, improving the generation capacity and making the necessary investments in line with the objectives of the Federal Government of Nigeria set out in the NEPP.