The federal government plans to invest $800 million in constructing sub-stations and distribution networks as part of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI). This is contained in a statement by Bolaji Tunji, the minister of power’s media aide in Abuja on Sunday. Mr Tunji said Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu said this during a TBEA Southern Power Transmission and Distribution Industry tour in Beijing, China. He said the minister was in Beijing for the China-Africa Cooperation Summit. Mr Adelabu said the investment would be divided into two lots: $400 million for Lot 2, covering Benin, Port Harcourt, and Enugu Distribution Companies (DisCos) franchise areas, and $400 million for Lot 3, covering Abuja, Kaduna, Jos, and Kano DiSCos franchise areas. The minister expressed concern over the rejection of power by Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos), which recently reduced generation capacity from a peak of 5,170 megawatts by 1,400 megawatts due to their inability to manage the supply.
He said that despite the setback, the government aimed to increase power generation to 6,000 megawatts by the end of the year. Mr Adelabu reaffirmed the government’s commitment to collaborating with world-class organisations like TBEA to realise President Bola Tinubu’s vision for the power sector. The minister said that Nigeria had in 1984 generated 2,000 megawatts, and it took over 35 years to add another 2,000 megawatts. Mr Adelabu said the problems in the power sector were partly due to the fragile transmission and distribution infrastructure, which had become old and dilapidated. “This has led to a historical epileptic power supply to households, industry and businesses. More than 59 per cent 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. Mr Adelabu said the present administration was determined to transform the power sector, adding that a lot of activities had started that were gradually bringing back confidence in the sector.
“When this administration came on board in 2023, we met about four gigawatts (4,000 megawatts) of power but within a year, we were able to generate a milestone of 5,170 megawatts. Our plan is that by the end of the year, we aim to achieve 6,000 megawatts of power through a combination of hydroelectric power plants and our gas-fired power plant. We are also targeting 30 gigawatts of power to be generated, transmitted and distributed by the year 2030, out of which 30 per cent will be renewable energy,” he said. On the construction of the super grid, the minister said the national grid in its present state could 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,” he said. The statement also quoted the president of TBEA, Huang Hanjie, as assuring the audience of the organisation’s continued support for Nigeria’s government vision for the power sector. He said TBEA operates across 100 countries worldwide and would be willing to work with the Nigerian government to achieve its vision and contribute to the ongoing power sector revolution in the country. NAN
