JOHANNESBURG--September 27, 2012--Written by Richard Finlayson, Senior International Editor for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Although controversy and scandal continues to whirl around the Nigerian government's plans to privatize the power generation and distribution sectors, the National Council on Privatization was on track when it announced five consortia as the preferred bidders for the Power Holding Company of Nigeria's (PHCN) successor power generation companies. Eight companies bid a total of $707 million for the power plants: Geregu 434 megawatts (MW); Ughelli 832 MW; Sapele 1,020 MW; Shiroro 600 MW and Kainji 760 MW.