- Nigeria and Germany signed a new agreement to accelerate Siemens’ Presidential Power Initiative (PPI).
- The initiative includes expanding the power grid, installing Siemens equipment, and training Nigerian engineers.
- Recent progress added 335 megawatts, with plans to rehabilitate 15 substations and build 22 new ones.
Nigeria and Germany agreed to speed up Siemens’ Presidential Power Initiative (PPI), which aims to upgrade Nigeria’s power transmission and distribution by 2025.
Critical aspects of the agreement include:
– Expanding and modernising the power grid.
– Ensuring project sustainability and maintenance.
– Transferring technology to Nigerian engineers.
– Installing Siemens-manufactured equipment.
– Training Nigerian engineers.
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s visit to Abuja in August 2018 initiated the PPI, originally the Nigeria Electrification Roadmap Initiative. The project set goals of 7,000 megawatts of reliable power by 2021 and 11,000 megawatts by 2023, but various challenges caused delays.
The initial agreement in 2019 faced setbacks from financing, regulatory, and logistical issues. President Bola Tinubu and Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently signed a new deal in Germany to overcome these hurdles.
At the ongoing Energy Access Investment Forum 2024 in Lagos, Adedayo Olowoniyi, an aide to Nigeria’s Minister of Power, announced progress. Six projects have added 335 megawatts to the grid’s capacity in the last three months.
“The integration of these projects marks a significant milestone,” Olowoniyi said.
Nigeria’s infrastructure can generate 13,000 megawatts of power, but its grid can only distribute a third, leading to reliance on costly generators. The Siemens deal seeks to finance and upgrade transmission lines and substations.
The next phase involves rehabilitating 15 brownfield substations and building 22 new substations. German banks will provide financing as loans to the Nigerian government, with repayment through higher tariffs on improved power supply. This move has sparked opposition from labour unions.
As Nigeria moves forward with the PPI, these efforts are crucial for a reliable, modern power grid supporting the nation’s growth.