Monday, 27 August 2012

FG Earmarks N7bn for New Transformers; Plans nationwide electricity demand survey

Federal Government has earmarked about N7 billion for the purchase of new transformers and other ancillary facilities to boost the generation and supply of electricity in the country. Minister of Power, Prof. Bart Nnaji, disclosed this in Asaba, the Delta State capital during a two-day summit and retreat organized by the ministry for CEOs and other stakeholders with the theme: “Stable Power Supply; The Path towards Achieving System Reliability”.
Nnaji, recalled some of the challenges faced by the ministry towards ensuring a smooth privatization process of the power sector. He said a transformer of 60mva, 100mva, 150mva to 300mva capacity was necessary to boost power generation and distribution in the country, stressing that the procurement was made possible through the counterpart funding from the African Development Bank (ADB).
According to him, this forms part of the initial implementation plans for transmission as the transformers which would be imported from Europe would go into the existing station in the three geo-political zones of the country, adding that the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) power distribution capacity in the country was estimated at 5,436megawatts as plans were in the pipeline to improve on the figure in future.
Meanwhile, the minister also said that a national study will be carried out on the extent of demand for electricity supply in the country. He said that there was no real figure as to how much power was needed in the country, adding that data from the study, which would take the form of a census, would be captured in the 2013 census.

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