The Nigerian Government says it has concluded plans to release 800 millon dollars for the construction of substations and distribution lines under the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI)
Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, speaking during a facility tour of TBEA Southern Power Transmission and Distribution Industry in Beijing, China, during the China-Africa Cooperation Summit, said the money will ensure the construction of substations for Lot 2; substations and distribution lines for Lot 3 at a cost of $400 million each.
Adelabu said Lot 2, covers Benin, Port Harcourt, Enugu distribution companies’ franchise areas while Lot 3 covers Abuja, Kaduna, Jos and Kano distribution companies’ franchise areas.
According to the Minister, generation peaked at 5,170 megawatts but unfortunately, it had to be ramped down by 1,400 megawatts due to the inability of the distribution companies (DisCos) to pick the supply.
‘This is really regrettable considering that government is on course to increase generation to 6,000 m
egawatts by the end of the year,’ he lamented.
Speaking during an interactive session with TBEA management , Adelabu retirated Nigeria’s commitment to working with world class organisations like TBEA to achieve the Renewed Hope vision of President Bola Tinubu for the power sector in the country especially in areas of transmission and distribution of the entire power sector value chain as well as Nigeria’s renewable energy segment.
Highlighting the challenges in the power sector which had hindered industrial growth, the Minister said this was due to the fragility of the Transmission and distribution of infrastructure which have become old and dilapidated.
‘This has led to historical epileptic supply of Power to households, industry and businesses’.
He revealed that more than 59 percent of industries in Nigeria are off the grid.
‘They did not see the national grid as reliable and dependable. So a lot of them now operate their own captive, self-generated power,’ he said.
Adelabu noted that the administrati
on of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is determined to transform the power sector stressing that a lot of activities have started that is gradually bringing back confidence in the sector and among the power sector consumers especially the industries.
Acknowledging the different initiatives of the government, the Minister went down memory lane saying ‘in 1984, about 40 years ago Nigeria was able to generate 2,000 megawatts and it took us over 35 years to add additional 2,000 megawatts.
‘When this administration came in last year, we met around 4 gigawatts 4,000 megawatts of power but within a year, we were able to generate a milestone of 5,170 megawatts adding about 1000 megawatts of power within the first year.
‘ It may look small, but compared to the history of the country, this is commendable’. Our plan is by the end of the year, we aim to achieve 6,000 megawatts of power through a combination of hydro electric power plants and our gas- fired power plant.
‘We are also targeting 30 gigawatts of Power to be g
enerated, transmitted and distributed by year 2030 out of which 30 percent would be renewable energy’ he explained.
Renewable Energy
The Minister said the renewable energy segment will come from a combination of hydro electric power from small dams, solar energy sources and wind farms from onshore and offshore winds.
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On the issue of the construction of the super grid, he said the national grid in its present state can not support the vision for the power sector.
‘If we look at the strength, the capacity and the age of our existing network on the National grid, it cannot really support our vision for the power sector hence the need for the construction of the Western and Eastern super grid.
‘Though we have been on this since my resumption, I can also tell you that the President is in full support of this because this will improve our transmission network, stabilise the grid and also expand the capacity and the flexibility of the National grid.’
The Minister, however said 90 percent of the approval req
uired is in place and would be concluded soon.
Speaking earlier, the President of TBEA, Huang Hanjie pledged the organisation’s continuous support for Nigeria’s vision for the power sector.
Mr. Hanjie said TBEA operates across 100 countries in the world and would be willing to share its experience in the provision of energy.
According to him, TBEA is presently working with the Omotosho, power plant, Ondo State owned by the Niger Delta Power Holding (NDPHC) stressing that the company is not new in the country.
He also commended the Minister for the improvement in the power sector as evidenced in improved generation and transmission since his assumption of office.
He also acknowledged the short term improvement to 6 gigawatts by December 2024 and 30 gigawatts by 2030, stating that TBEA would be willing to work with the Nigerian government to achieve the vision of the ongoing power sector revolution in the country.
On the proposed Super grid by the Nigerian government, he indicated TBEA’s interest in parti
cipating, by contributing its expertise in the project to guarantee its success.
Source: Voice of Nigeria