Engr. Abubakar Aliyu, Minister of Power,has said that the Mohammadu Buhari administration will in May 29,2023 bequeath additional 4000 MW generating capacity to the incoming administration, effectively positioning the country for industrialization.
He spoke when he appeared on the 11th edition of the ongoing President Mohammadu Buhari administration’s scorecard in Abuja.
He informed that massive investment and reform of the power sector has substantially raised the installed capacity to 22,000 MW.
According to him,the 4000 MW generating capacity was based on the expected completion and commissioning of the 700 MW Zungeru Hydro Power Plant in the 1st quarter of 2023 as well as the operationalization of the 240MW Afam III and 300MW Okpai Phase II electricity projects, amongst others.
He also said that the administration has boosted the transmission capacity of Transmission Company of Nigeria by over 6000megawatts.
He added:”We will set the country on a stable path for 10,000MW of supplied energy . Today we are at 8,000MW with 5,000MW on-grid and 3,000MW+ of industrial captive off-grid . And we will leave an installed capacity of almost 22,000MW. We also have robust programs ongoing with facilities and investments secured of over $3 billion to eliminate the
large gap between our transmission capacity and supplied energy”.
He explained that the Hydropower component of the Kashimbilla Multipurpose Dam was
designed and upgraded from 6MW to 40MW with Phase I of the evacuation infrastructure completed in March 2020 covering 245km of
132kV transmission lines and 3 substations, connecting Takum, Wukari, Rafin Kada, Dounga and Yandev in Taraba and Benue States.
He said Phase II of the evacuation infrastructure, is currently at 45% completion level covering 56km extension of the 132kV transmission line from Yandev to
Makurdi and complete rehabilitation of the Yandev substation.
He also said Phase II of the evacuation infrastructure would lead to the electrification of 24 host communities, including Zaki-Biam, Anyi, Buruku, Birama, Bibi, Shibong, among others within Benue State.
He said:”We have changed the narrative of the sector from consumption spending
(on subsidies) to real infrastructure spending. A total of 105 Power Transformer projects were completed during the period 2015 – 2022, adding a capacity of 6,216MVA to the grid, with 73 of the power transformers installed by TCN engineers in substations across the nation.
According to him,the administration sacked or restructured six no performing distribution companies whose poor showing has failed to address yawning gap in the sector.
The entire management of the six Discos: Abuja Disco, Kano, Kaduna , Benin, Ibadan and Port Harcourt have been sacked and taken over by the lenders , namely Central Bank of Nigeria,CBN and Bureau of Public Enterprises,BPE,he said.
He added:”When I was making my presentation,i said we have restructured six Discos. Restructuring means we have sacked the core investors, we have sacked the management and allowed the lender to take over. Now it is either banks or AMCON that is holding the franchise, which we were unable to do for a very long time.
“And this will tell you clearly , the banks have taken over the sixty percent ownership (of the Discos) and we have allowed the BPE and the Central Bank to take control. The lenders provided the chairmanship of the Disco, the BPE Provided part of the management, Managing Directors, the CBN provided the Chief Financial Officer and Auditor.
This is the position we are now with the six Discos”.
The minister gave passmark to Eko Electricity Distribution Company,Ikeja Electric and the one in Enugu, saying they are not doing badly.
He spoke on Jos and Yola Discos, adding that the two power distribution companies were reconcessioned in August 2022 and last year respectively and are working very hard to improve and has to be given time.
He said that since banks are not in the business of providing electricity,the lenders have been given up to one year transition period to find a suitable core investors to take over the management of the Discos.
The minister listed other areas of massive achievement to include the National metering system, he said would be a legacy of Buhari administration.
He added: “We have executed the most successful metering program post
privatization with 1 million meters rolled out in the first phase of the National Mass Metering Program. The Central Bank of Nigeria and the
Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission were fundamental in designing and implementing this program.
“We are perfecting plans for an additional 6 million meters under the second and third phases of the program that will commence in the 1st quarter and 2nd quarters of 2023 respectively. The first phase generated 10,000 jobs in installation and assembly and we anticipate over 20,000 additional jobs would be generate in the second phase. Both the phases have sustainable financing structures”
