MATSUYAMA — In a Japan first, a self-driving bus began operating here on Dec. 25 at fully autonomous “Level 4,” which does not necessitate manual driving given certain conditions.

According to the operator, Matsuyama-based Iyotetsu Group Co., this is the first regular service in the country for a route bus running at Level 4. The roughly 1.6-kilometer route it takes is between Takahama Eki-mae and Matsuyama Tourist Port stations, going both ways.

The fully electric vehicle can carry up to 12 passengers and run at a peak of 35 kmh. Of the roughly 60 round trips it takes, during winter driverless operations will be limited to between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Only cashless payments are accepted on board.

Safety officers holding Class 2 large vehicle licenses are aboard, while employees also monitor the bus’s operation remotely from an office within the city.

Iyotetsu began testing the self-driving function in October, and received approval from the Shikoku District Transport Bureau this month. The company stated that it chose a route that connects rail and sea transportation, and hopes to expand the service to other routes.

At a departing ceremony on Christmas Day, Ichiro Shimizu, the head of both Iyotetsu and the Nihon Bus Administration, said, “We hope the ‘Matsuyama model’ catches on nationwide to help resolve the driver staffing shortage that is becoming an issue in many places.”

(Japanese original by Akiko Hirose, Matsuyama Bureau)

By Obas Esiedesa, Abuja

Nigeria’s national power grid managed by the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, collapsed yesterday, the 11th time in 2024, leaving the country in complete blackout.

Data from the National System Operator, NSO, showed that as of 2pm yesterday none of Nigeria’s 26 power plants was on the grid.

Prior to that time, checks at about 1pm showed that 15 plants were on the grid generating a combined 3,087MW, with Egbin generating 666MW, Jebba Hydro at 427MW and Azura-Edo IPP at 379MW as top four power plants.

The latest collapse came despite a directive by the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, for full implementation of the recommendations made by the ministry’s committee set up to resolve the challenges faced by the grid.

After the 10th  collapse, the Minister promised that short, medium and long term measures would be taken to curb incessant electricity grid collapses.

Meanwhile, electricity distribution companies, DiscCos, confirmed the incident on their social media handles while assuring consumers that they were working with stakeholders to restore the grid.

Abuja DisCo in a post on its X (twitter) stated: “Dear Valued Customers, we wish to inform you that a system disturbance occurred on the national grid at 1:32pm today causing power outage across our franchise areas. While gradual restoration of power supply has commenced, be assured that we are coordinating closely with relevant stakeholders to restore power fully as soon as the grid is stabilized”.

Eko DisCo in Lagos posted: “Dear valued customer, kindly be informed there was a reported case of system disturbance on 11th December, 2024 at 13:32hrs which has resulted in a loss of power supply across our network. We are currently working with our partners as we hope for speedy restoration of the grid. We will keep you updated as soon as power supply is restored. Kindly bear with us”.
How grid collapse impacts our operations — GenCos

In a note on frequent collapse of the national grid, the Chief Executive, Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), Dr. Joy Ogaji highlighted the significant mechanical and commercial impacts of grid collapses on generation companies (GenCos).

Although the full industry-wide impact on GenCos is yet to be quantified, Dr. Ogaji revealed that the Kainji and Jebba hydro plants alone have incurred losses of N21.87 billion due to system instability this year.

“Grid collapse poses a significant threat to Nigeria’s power sector, resulting in frequent disruptions, equipment damage, and substantial revenue losses for GenCos. Technically, grid collapse can cause catastrophic damage to generators, transformers, and other critical infrastructure, leading to prolonged downtime and costly repairs”.

In a continuation of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) increased scrutiny of fintech startups, two of the country’s most prominent unicorns, Moniepoint and OPay, were fined ₦1 billion each in the second quarter of 2024, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told TechCabal. While several other fintech companies were also penalized, the two firms were the hardest hit.

The penalties followed a routine CBN audit of the fintech sector, which revealed compliance issues. According to two sources familiar with the process, these regulatory checks are a standard procedure for banks and financial institutions under CBN oversight.

At least four other fintech companies were similarly penalized, though the details of these fines remain unknown.

The CBN has increasingly relied on fines to enforce regulatory compliance. In 2023, Nigerian banks paid a combined ₦678 million in penalties. In October 2024, the central bank and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) imposed a ₦15 billion fine on ten commercial banks, including Zenith and GTBank, for various infractions in the first half of the year.

Until recently, Nigeria’s rapidly growing fintech sector largely operated without CBN interference. However, the rapid expansion of fintechs like OPay and Moniepoint, which now serve millions of users, has invited greater scrutiny. OPay, for instance, claims a customer base of around 40 million, while Moniepoint, which processed 5.2 billion transactions in 2023, does not disclose specific customer numbers but is similarly large.

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