Thought Picnic: Powerless in darkness

Rich and busy

Not too far down the road from me, though longer that a brisk walk, you will find some of the most expensive real estate, the residences of young and odiously rich footballers.

During the week, I am ensconced in what is left of the country pile of a squire, a farm house which mostly survives as a week day bed and breakfast concern.

The main hall or mansion, if you care is now the technological information technology nerve centre of a major bank with other buildings as offices housing up to 4,000 employees on a busy day.

In fact, I have found that major global conglomerates seek out a remote and cheap (affordable) location to host their information technology teams. For instance, when I worked for Unilever, we were in North Wales, a place called Ewloe.

Power lost

This discovery comes with its issues, like I have been here just 4 weeks and in that time I have experienced rarities, things I am quite unfamiliar with.

In the first instance, it was men-at-work upgrading a power substation, with that came a power cut that lasted a good few hours, that was understandable.

Last night, the whole of North West England was buffeted by stormy hurricane winds with speeds of up to 100 miles/hour (160 km/hour), there were recordings on the news whilst it was on of much higher speeds in other places.

I retired only to wake up around 18:30 to realise that we had suffered a power cut with no inkling as to when it would be restored.

Managing power sources

One of the safety features of buildings like where I am staying is they are equipped with emergency lighting, but the loss of power also meant the security system was constantly beeping.

This power cut scenario presented some challenging situations because it meant we could not use the microwave oven, my laptops only had battery life that lasted so long and if I had to use my mobile phone, I had to be conscious of the need to remain contactable or rather have the means of contacting others.

Contingency arrangements

Now, in Nigeria where I lived up to the end of the 1980s, if I were in a hotel, it is possible that the contingency to frequent power cuts would have involved switching on a power generator. In fact, when I was in India, the power cuts at both the hotel and the training centre did not last 5 minutes before the power generating set was turned on.

This was not the case, so it was cereal for supper and the luck of one of guests giving me a spare LED torchlight that he had.

To get online, I used my mobile phone that was charged through the USB port of my laptop, later I only had to power up the other laptop without logging on to keep my phone charged through the night. This eventually drained the battery charge of the laptop, but at least I could still use it.

Electricity really matters

I doubt I can survive another night without power and much as I can fully commiserate with those who have been victims of severe weather issues in the UK this winter, with floods causing immeasurable damage, it is not a situation I can get too accustomed to.

You begin to appreciate better the role that electricity has in our daily lives for literally everything, lighting, cooking, cooling, heating, freezing, domestic appliances, communication, entertainment or just a sense of wellbeing. First world problems you might say, but when you get used to something, its absence would probably be felt more than if it was something that was in short supply.

Knutsford is that place and no, I have not been meeting up with WAGs of Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool or Everton premiership football clubs.

Incredible India: We lost power to internet (sic)

To the higher ups

There must come a day when I will have nothing to moan about but give effusive praise and I expect it to come soon.

I took the liberty of sending links to my last two blogs to the main contacts I had before I visited India. I received a short and a lengthy response but the long and short of it all was my concerns were acknowledged and passed up to those that matter, then some advice as to how to manage the situation and the clear support to be calm, insistent and acquire whatever remediation I require even if it involves escalation to whoever has the ways and means to right the situation.

I am well advised and will take heed to that view.

Books, lights and global disconnect

The day started early as we were picked and drove straight to the training centre. I arrived before my trainer and saw that the systems had been changed to cater to the next course on my schedule.

Soon afterwards, the manuals for that course arrived, all probably weighing 5 kilogrammes and constituting a spot of bother as to how one will cart them home without ending up in the cargo bay.

Just after 11:00AM the lights went out, there was a power cut but the systems in central uninterrupted power supply kept running; within 5 minutes the lights were restored with generator power. I cannot remember when last I experienced a power cut like that but it was interesting.

However, with the power cut went our internet connection, we could connect to the access point but not beyond the router. I patiently waited for this to be resolved and it was two hours before I went to reception to ask about the issue.

If it’s free, I ain’t paying more

Meanwhile, I had considered getting a mobile data card but the costs of acquiring one compared to the locals was basically a rip-off apart from the fact that there was no reason for me to seek alternative internet access, you could not miss the fact that free wireless access was touted to distraction on every page that that concerned the training centres, it was a service to be expected, period.

The less complimentary side to this matter was once again, no one thought it proper to inform us of the problem and the estimated time to recovery of the service. Besides, this is an organisation that specialises in training that pertains to networks and connectivity, one’s confidence is not helped if an internet outrage suddenly extends beyond the competence of the personnel to fix within a reasonable time frame.

Respite yes, solution, not yet

Four hours and fifteen minutes after the internet outrage and long after mains power was restored we still had excuses with no resolution in sight. The receptionist then kindly offered me a mobile data dongle that I got to use for about 25 minutes before I had to give it back.

For the sake of all that is good and wholesome, it is expected that this essential service will have been restored when we return to the centre tomorrow morning – here is to wishing and hoping that tomorrow brings contentment, praise and worthy accolades, but honestly, I will not be holding my breath.

By the way, I really enjoyed training today, it seems to be the only mercy of comfort left to praise.

Yar'Adua on Power - a whimper, a bark or a roar

Just the slimmest of chances

I think by now my healthy scepticism concerning the ability of President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua to excel as president and ruler of Nigeria is all too well documented, now, a few notes to polish that view.

One in some ways is ready in to give him the benefit of doubt, this should and must not be read as giving him a chance, chances have already been used up long before he assumed the post he now occupies; I would expect he hit the ground running to ensure that we do not continue to view him from the perspective of someone who assumed office under a big gloomy cloud of underhand and dubious political machinations.

There are some who say he has got a lot to offer, well, it would be interesting to see on what grounds that assessment has been made, I see no particular track record that allows anyone to arrive at the premise with any objectivity - because if it is on what he did in Katsina State, financial prudence is not enough a basis for understanding and grappling with the serious developmental issues of Nigeria.

Fast tracked beyond results

In reviewing his achievements as governor of Katsina State - one effusive biography (written in typical Nigerian parlance) reads thus - "It is reported that his commitment to fiscal prudence had resulted in the management of Katsina State's resources from a point of indebtedness to a reserve of about N6.5 billion.

He is reported to have achieved this feat while investing in areas that touched the lives of the people directly. These include education; health; portable water; road, and micro-credit scheme to assist farmers. In education, primary school enrolment rose from a mere 460,000 in 1999 to over a million."

Like a fellow blogger friend (Chippla) once said in conversation - honesty is not enough - I would agree, the presidency of Nigeria is not some priesthood, it is a serious executive job that requires genius political skill and visionary direction and the harnessing of resources to goals that militate against the norm of the typical Nigerian way of doing things.

The power outrage

When I visited the Yar'Adua/Goodluck campaign website months ago (The website has since disappeared, one wonders if the issues disappeared with the website); one of the topics that received much coverage was that about the electrical power problems in Nigeria.

The transformation of NEPA (Nigerian Electric Power Authority) to a supposedly more efficient entity called the PHCN (Power Holding Company of Nigeria) has not done much to address the infrastructure deficit and problems where after a $10 billion cash injection during the Obasanjo years, the power problems are even worse.

I use the phrase "cash injection" rather than investment because it would appear the money never really addressed the problems, it might however have lined many pockets - who knows?

So, in a meeting with PHCN managers, the President has set down a task for these managers to handle with this comment - "You people should better be ready to come up with plans before I declare a state of emergency in that sector", he would no more take excuses.

Now, help me here - is this to say there have been no plans yet to address this issue all this time?

This is no new problem

This tough talk really does not impress me - before he declares a state of emergency in that sector - well, any idiot would have seen that that sector was long past having a state of emergency declared - maybe I am just being a bit flippant here.

This is not some new national problem nor is there a new management in that organisation, if they have yet to produced a game plan to begin to address electrical power problems, then we should have new hands on the deck to take this matter more seriously.

Then another manager suggests they are up to the task if the money is there - so what happened to the $10 billion that was thrown at the problem before? What is to guarantee that another cash injection would not fall wholesale into the bottomless pit of impropriety, corruption, graft and inaction?

Aspects of problem resolution

There are serious issues with the power infrastructure in Nigeria, first is the issue of planning and demography, the census unfortunately would not help where people and their facilities do not reflect the realities of the ability to supply the demand and consumption.

Then the matter of security for installed infrastructure has to be addressed such that cables and pylons are not vandalised or stolen for other nefarious activities.

After this, there is a cost to providing this infrastructure and delivering electricity to businesses and private premises - usage metering has to be properly recorded and revenue collection has to improve.

New pricing models have to be considered like do you have a flat charge for supplying a village or a building regardless of occupants and let the chiefs, heads of households or landlords determine how the people are levied according to the facilities they use?

Then the research and development of alternative energy sources like solar and wind energy, probably even the use of fossil fuels, I cannot honestly advocate the use of nuclear power because of safety consciousness and probably vulnerability to saboteurs just as we have with our oil installations.

President Yar'Adua clearly understands that this power issue is critical and fundamental to socio-economic development in Nigeria, this is a good start - I just hope that it is not another reincarnation of PHCN (Problem Has Changed Name) - one this issue, the President might have whimpered, barked or roared - time will tell.