FG earmarks $800m for construction of power substations, distribution lines
CHIGOZIE AMADI
The Federal Government has earmarked $800 million for the construction of substations and distribution lines under the Presidential Power Initiative.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu revealed this in a statement issued by the ministry on Sunday.
The Minister who is currently in China along side President Bola Tinubu, to attend the China-Africa Cooperation Summit.
According to the statement, the minister disclosed this during a facility tour of TBEA Southern Power Transmission and Distribution Industry in Beijing, China.
The Minister stated that the funds will be allocated for the construction of substations for Lot 2 and substations and distribution lines for Lot 3, with $400 million designated for each.
Lot 2 covers the franchise areas of Benin, Port Harcourt, and Enugu Distribution Companies (DISCOs), while Lot 3 covers the franchise areas of Abuja, Kaduna, Jos, and Kano DISCOs.
Adelabu further disclosed that on Friday, 30th August, generation peaked at 5,170 megawatts; however, it had to be reduced by 1,400 megawatts due to the DISCOs’ inability to take up the supply.
“This is truly regrettable, considering that the government is on course to increase generation to 6,000 megawatts by the end of the year,” he said.
During an interactive session with TBEA management, Adelabu also assured the federal government’s commitment to working with world-class organisations like TBEA to achieve President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope vision for the power sector in Nigeria, particularly in the areas of transmission and distribution across the entire power sector value chain, as well as Nigeria’s renewable energy segment.
Speaking on the challenges in the power sector that have hindered industrial growth, the Minister noted that these issues are partly due to the fragility of the transmission and distribution infrastructure, which has become outdated and dilapidated.
“This has led to the historical epileptic supply of power to households, industries, and businesses,” he said.
He further highlighted that more than 59 per cent of industries in Nigeria are off the grid.
“They do not consider the national grid reliable and dependable. As a result, many now operate their own captive, self-generated power.”
He stressed that the Tinubu’s administration is determined to transform the power sector, noting that several initiatives have commenced that are gradually restoring confidence in the sector and among power sector consumers, particularly industries.
Reflecting on the government’s different initiatives, Adelabu recalled that in 1984, about 40 years ago, Nigeria was able to generate 2,000 megawatts, and it took over 35 years to add an additional 2,000 megawatts.
“When this administration came in last year, we inherited around 4 gigawatts (4,000 megawatts) of power, but within a year, we achieved a milestone of 5,170 megawatts, adding about 1,000 megawatts of power within the first year. It may seem small, but compared to the country’s history, this is commendable.
“Our plan is to achieve 6,000 megawatts of power by the end of the year through a combination of hydroelectric power plants and gas-fired power plants. We are also targeting 30 gigawatts of power to be generated, transmitted, and distributed by 2030, with 30 per cent of that being renewable energy.”
The Minister noted that the renewable energy segment would be sourced from a combination of hydroelectric power from small dams, solar energy, and wind farms from onshore and offshore winds.
TCN has capacity to transmit 6,000MW of electricity –MD
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), says it has capacity to transmit 6,000 MWS of electricity to distribution load centres nationwide.
Mr Sule Abdulaziz, the Managing Director of TCN said this in an interview with Newsmen in Abuja on Sunday.
Abdulaziz said that in the last three years, TCN had upgraded several sub-stations.
He said that the company had also built new sub-stations funded through its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) and donor agencies.
The TCN boss said that the company had installed new transformers to ensure increase in capacity.
“TCN has a comprehensive list of proposed projects, which are in batches, taking into cognisance those that require little investment to benefit the grid in the first batch for quick additional capacity.”
He said that the grid capacity was confirmed through an acceptable scientific method of capacity determination.
“The last grid simulation test carried out revealed that it has a capacity of 8100 MWS. In March 2021, TCN successfully wheeled 5,801 MWS from generating companies to distribution load centres nationwide.
“From then to date, we have continued to add more transformers, conduct transmission lines and build new transmission sub-stations among others.
“All these we know have continued to further strengthen our grid capacity. So, yes, we can comfortably transmit 6,000 MWS and more before the end of this year,” he said.
He said TCN was a key stakeholder of the Nigerian Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) as undertaken by the Federal Government of Nigeria Power Company (FGNPC).
“This initiative aims to resolve existing challenges in the nation’s power sector and further expand the capacity of the transmission and distribution networks to achieve an operational capacity of 25,000 megawatts (MW).
“Through a series of projects spanning three phases, projects under this PPI initiative is currently ongoing and it is also adding to the capacity of the grid,” he said.
