- The Federal Government has improved the stability of Nigeria’s power grid by adding over 700MW in transmission capacity through the Presidential Power Initiative.
- Nigeria sets new records in energy consumption and transmission capacity.
The Federal Government announced a significant improvement in the stability of Nigeria’s power grid, attributing it to the installation of an additional 700 megawatts in transmission capacity. Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu revealed this information when he received EU Ambassador to Nigeria Gautier Mignot in his office in Abuja this weekend.
According to a statement released on Sunday, April 13, by the Special Adviser to the Minister on Media and Communications, Bolaji Tunji, Adelabu said the government achieved the transmission capacity through the Presidential Power Initiative, which secured £1.8 billion financing to revamp and transform transmission segments.
Adelabu explained that previously, the system had become unstable and prone to collapse when the grid supply approached 5,000MW.
“We have installed almost 90 per cent of this, and they are working,” Adelabu stated. “That has improved transmission capacity by over 700 megawatts, which is the result of what we see now in relative stability in the transmission grid.”
The Minister added, “We have almost completed the pilot phase of that project, which involved the importation, installation, commissioning, and energisation of 10 power transformers across the country and another set of 10 mobile substations.”
“Before now, when the supply to the grid enters 5,000, the grid is unstable; it shakes, collapses and all that. Now, we have an average of 5,000, 7,000, 8,000 megawatts. So it’s not by accident. It’s because of these government activities,” he explained.
The Minister further highlighted that this administration has recorded two major milestones in Nigeria’s power sector. “Number one, the highest average daily power consumption. Over 20,000 kilowatt hours it achieved, which has never been achieved before,” he said.
Additionally, the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry has transmitted and distributed the highest energy of 5,801.63MW, breaking the previous record set in 2021. The country has also achieved a valuable generation capacity of 6,003 megawatts, the highest ever in Nigeria.
“When you put in some level of activity, you see the results,” the Minister emphasised.
Adelabu called on European Union member states to continue providing technical, financial, and other assistance to Nigeria, especially in the power sector, which he described as “the driving force of the economy.”
He expressed Nigeria’s readiness to continue working and collaborating with the Union and all its development partners to achieve bilateral and multilateral agreements.