· Nigeria aims to achieve 6,000 megawatts (MW) of power by the end of 2024 and 30 gigawatts by 2030, says the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu
· Adelabu said the Federal Government plans to invest $800 million in the construction of substations and distribution networks as part of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI)
· With perennial challenges like the constant collapse of the national grid, Adelabu says many Nigerians have opted for off-grid power generation
Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, says Nigeria aims to achieve 6,000 megawatts (MW) of power by year-end through a combination of hydroelectric and gas-fired power plants and targets to generate, transmit and distribute 30 gigawatts (GW) by 2030, 30 per cent of which will be renewable energy.
Adelabu also said power generation under President Bola Tinubu’s administration increased from four MW to 5,170 MW within a year of being in office.
This was contained in a statement issued by Mr Bolaji Tunji, the Special Adviser, Media and Strategic Communication to the Minister of Power in Abuja, on Sunday, September 1.
Tunji said the minister said this during a tour of the TBEA Southern Power Transmission and Distribution Industry in Beijing, China, for the China-Africa Cooperation Summit.
He said, “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.
“That is about 1, 000 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 hydroelectric power plants and our gas-fired power plant.
“We are also targeting 30 gigawatts of power to be generated, transmitted and distributed by year 2030 out of which 30 percent will be renewable energy.”
‘We plan to invest $800 million in the power sector’
Adelabu added that the Federal Government plans to invest $800 million in the construction of substations and distribution networks as part of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI).
He 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.
Recall that the Federal Government, in July, sought a fresh $50 million loan to support state governments in installing solar plant pilots and infrastructure upgrades, tariff frameworks, market reforms and co-financing the Transmission Company of Nigeria’s Performance Improvement Plan.
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, while chairing a meeting with World Bank delegates led by Dr Ndiamé Diop, Country Director for Nigeria and Ms Olu Verheijen, Special Adviser to the President on Energy, in his office, said the meeting discussed innovative ways to accelerate Nigeria’s power sector, including the roll-out of 3.5 million metres to enhance power distribution.
He added that the World Bank-supported initiatives, including the Power Sector Recovery Operation (PSRO) and the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP), aimed at improving power distribution and management systems to ensure economic growth and development.
Also, on May 30, the Federal Government secured a $500 million loan from the World Bank to strengthen the country’s electricity distribution sector.
According to the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), the loan will help tackle the challenges facing DisCos and focus on key areas of improvement such as bulk procurement of customer/retail metres and metre data management systems, implementation of Data Aggregation Platform and strengthening governance and transparency within the DisCos.
The government also secured approval from the World Bank for a $750 million loan to boost Nigeria’s power sector through the Power Sector Recovery Performance-Based Operation on June 19, 2023.
‘Power sector challenges drove many off-grid’
Speaking on the challenges facing Nigeria’s power sector, Adelabu said the challenges have hindered industrial growth and were due partly to the fragility of the transmission and distribution infrastructure, which had become old and dilapidated.
He said, “This has led to a historical epileptic supply of power 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.”
Band A customers to pay extra N2.70 as DisCos increase electricity tariff
Meanwhile, TheRadar reported that Band A customers of electricity distribution companies (DisCos) will have to pay an extra N2.70 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) following an announcement of an increase in electricity tariff.
The DisCos, which include Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) Plc, Kaduna DisCo, and Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED), said the tariff has been adjusted from N206.80/kWh to N209.50/kWh effective July 1.
