NIPPs to increase power generation by 5,000MW –FG

Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo

The Federal Government on Monday said it expected power generation in the country to increase by 5,000 megawatts in the next few months.

It said this would be achieved with the inauguration of the National Integrated Power Projects across the country in few months from now.

For a long time, power generation in the nation had hovered around 3,500MW and 4,000MW.

During at the inauguration of the 2x60MVA 132/33KV transmission sub-station in Karu, Abuja, the Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, said President Goodluck Jonathan inaugurated the 434MW Geregu 2 power station two weeks ago in Kogi State.

He said the President also inaugurated the Omotosho 2 power plant with capacity for 500MW on Saturday, adding that the projects were increasing the quantum of generated power in the country.

“These developments kick-started the releasing of nearly 5,000MW of electricity into the national grid within the next few months from the 10 completed NIPP plants, under the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited. And this is only part of the power generation plans under the reform programme,” Nebo said.

The minister recalled that the President had inaugurated a similar transmission substation in Kubwa, another community in the Federal Capital Territory, on September 23, 2010.

He noted that the transmission substations were a World Bank-assisted project awarded to Shreem-Jyoti-MBH Power Engineering at a total cost of $6.067m (N94.6m).

“With today’s inauguration, the transmission inadequacy in Karu area has been squarely addressed, more so with the upgrading of the over-stretched 33KV transmission line all the way from the Apo transmission substation to the current 132KV line at the doorstep to reduce technical losses,” Nebo said.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Transmission Company of Nigeria, Mr. Don Priestman, said vandalism of power installations by miscreants in recent times had become worrisome.

“As the Federal Government continues to work towards expanding the power sector, I enjoin every citizen of this great country to join hands with us in protecting all electricity installations from the activities of vandals, including miners, who evacuate minerals, laterite and sand around the foundations of power transmission towers, causing some of them to collapse,” he said.

On the impact of the project, the General Manager, Project Management Unit, TCN, Mr. Joseph Ciroma, said the substation was providing 120MVA transformers capacity to the national grid.

He stated that the project had additional six 33KV outgoing feeders that were providing qualitative power to customers in communities around the substation.

Source