The Federal Government is set to inject $800 million into Nigeria’s power infrastructure as part of the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), Minister of Power Chief Adebayo Adelabu announced.
This investment is to enhance the nation’s electricity distribution and transmission networks.
According to Adelabu, the funding will be allocated in two equal portions: $400 million for Lot 2, which covers the franchise areas of Benin, Port Harcourt, and Enugu Distribution Companies (DISCOs), and $400 million for Lot 3, covering Abuja, Kaduna, Jos, and Kano DISCOs.
The announcement was made during Adelabu’s visit to the TBEA Southern Power Transmission and Distribution Industry in Beijing, China, where he attended the China-Africa Cooperation Summit.
In a statement released by his Special Adviser on Media and Strategic Communication, Mr. Bolaji Tunji, Adelabu expressed concerns over the recent power generation challenges.
He highlighted that a rejection of power by DISCOs led to a reduction in generation capacity by 1,400 megawatts, bringing it down from a peak of 5,170 megawatts.
Despite this, the government is determined to reach a power generation target of 6,000 megawatts by the end of the year.
“We are fully committed to collaborating with world-class organizations like TBEA to achieve President Bola Tinubu’s vision for the power sector,” Adelabu stated during an interactive session with TBEA management.
The Minister underscored the urgent need to upgrade Nigeria’s outdated and fragile transmission and distribution infrastructure, which has been a major obstacle to industrial growth.
He noted that over 59 percent of Nigerian industries depend on self-generated power due to the unreliable grid.
Reflecting on past achievements, Adelabu mentioned that Nigeria’s power generation capacity had risen from 2,000 megawatts in 1984 to 5,170 megawatts today.
The administration’s ambitious goals include boosting this figure to 6,000 megawatts by year-end and achieving 30 gigawatts by 2030, with 30 percent coming from renewable sources.
Adelabu emphasized the importance of constructing Western and Eastern supergrids to enhance the transmission network’s capacity and stability.
TBEA’s Chairman, Huang Hanjie, praised Nigeria’s recent improvements in power generation and transmission and expressed the company’s commitment to supporting the country’s power sector goals.
Hanjie confirmed TBEA’s interest in contributing expertise to the proposed supergrid project.
