FG plans for Steady Power Supply in 2018

Fri, Nov 24, 2017 | By publisher


Featured, Power

 

 

  • By Anayo Ezugwu

 

STARTING from 2018, the federal government is determined to ensure that the minimum amount of electricity that would be generated and supplied to homes and offices across Nigeria everyday would not be less than 4500 megawatts, mw. This is one of the action plans the government has included in the new Power Sector Recovery Programme, PSRP, it developed with the World Bank to revive Nigeria’s electricity industry from its declining status.

The World Bank has pledged to support Nigeria in making the programme work creditably with almost $2.5billion.

A copy of the detailed plan of the government for the power sector in the PSRP was provided by the ministry of power during a recent workshop to educate media houses in the country on how the recovery document would be implemented by the government over a period that would extend into 2021.

In it, the government would prioritise operational and technical interventions that would stabilise supply of electricity to Nigerians.

To accomplish this, the government explained in the document that key actions would be implemented, including completing select power plants, transmission and distribution systems that are under the National Integrated Power Projects, NIPP, by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Ltd, NDPHC.

The government equally noted that, “to facilitate the execution of a tariff trajectory that ensures sustainable and appropriate tariffs within the next five years,” it was necessary to, “improve customers’ perception of service delivery by ensuring a minimum of 4500MW generation supply is available daily from 2018 to ensure grid stability.”

The action steps to be taken would specifically support four NIPP plants – Omoku, Egbema, Alaoji, and Gbarain, as well as distribution and transmission projects to help it achieve this plan. “The performance of distribution companies will also be improved by, among other strategies like customer enumeration, ensuring their financial restructuring and recapitalisation, establishing a metering programme, implementing credible business continuity plans and expanding the distribution networks.”

To ensure that fuel to power generation plants to sustain this minimum generation plan was available, the government noted that it would, “project manage the delivery of key gas pipeline infrastructure including the OB-OB pipeline, in order to ensure that gas is readily available where it is needed.”

Other measures to meet up with the baseline supply plan include a phased activation of the power purchase agreements, PPA, and gas supply agreements, GSA, that have been signed in the sector, as well as full activation of the vesting contracts the electricity distribution companies, Discos, signed with the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, NBET.

The federal government is also ready to complete the remaining four power stations being built under the National Integrated Power Project, NIPP, in 2018.  It stated that the 750-megawatt capacity Alaoji Power Station in Abia State, 225-megawatt capacity Omoku Power Plant in Rivers, 338-megawatt capacity Egbema Power Station in Imo State and the 225-megawatt-capacity Gbarain Ubie Power Station in Bayelsa State, which are at various stages of completion, would be completed by the end of 2018.

The four power stations, which are being constructed by Rockson Engineering, would be completed in the first, third and fourth quarters of 2018. Some units of the four stations have been completed while work has been ongoing in the remaining units.

The NIPP Scheme, which was originally designed in 2005 to build seven-medium sized power stations in the Niger Delta, was later expanded to include additional three power stations in the 676MW-capacity Olosunsogo II Power Plant built in Olorunsogo in Ogun State by SEPCO III Electric Power Construction Corporation of China; the 451MW-capacity Omotosho II Power Plant built by China Machinery Engineering Corporation, CMEC, in Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State and the 434MW capacity Geregu II Power Station built in Ajaokuta, Kogi State by Siemens Nigeria Limited, which have all been completed.

The remaining three completed stations include: the 451MW – capacity Ihovbor Power Plant built by Maurbeni Engineering West Africa Limited in Benin, Edo State; the 561MW-capacity Calabar Power plant at Ikot Nyong, near Calabar, also built by Maurbeni Engineering; and the 451MW-capacity Sapele II Power Plant built also by Maurbeni in Ogorode, Sapele in Delta State.

 

– Nov. 24, 2017 @ 11:10 GMT /

 

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