By Akinsuroju Olubunmi
Nigeria to generate 6,000MW by December.
The Federal Government announced on Friday that Nigeria will generate 6,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity by the end of this year.
Currently, Nigeria’s power generation ranges between 4,000 and 4,500MW for its population of about 200 million. For instance, on Friday, the power generation was 4,553.82MW as of 6 am.
During a ministerial address in Abuja, Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu highlighted the achievements since President Bola Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023. He noted that on May 3, 2024, Nigeria’s power generation rose to 5,000MW for the first time in three years.
Adelabu confidently stated that power generation would reach 6,000MW before the year’s end, citing significant improvements in the sector over the past year.
“Regarding generation capacity, we achieved 5,000MW in May 2024 for the first time in three years. On May 3, 2024, we generated, transmitted, and distributed 5,003.45MW of power. Our goal is to achieve 6,000MW before the end of this year, marking a historic milestone for Nigeria,” the minister declared.
He attributed this progress to a series of infrastructural upgrades and the ongoing Presidential Power Initiative, which has enhanced power assets in Nigeria.
“In November 2023, President Tinubu and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz signed an accelerated performance agreement to expedite the Presidential Power Initiative, improving electricity supply in Nigeria. The pilot phase has increased grid evacuation capacity by 2,230MW, with an additional 183MW to be commissioned by the end of June 2024,” Adelabu stated.
The government is finalising contracts for Phase 1 of the Presidential Power Initiative, which includes the rehabilitation of 15 brownfield substations expected to be contracted by August 2024 and the construction of 22 greenfield substations with contracts expected by October 2024.
On the topic of metering, Adelabu mentioned that the presidential metering initiative plans to provide two million meters annually for the next five years, aiming to improve the sector’s liquidity and reduce estimated billing.
Generation Initiative.
Nigeria to generate 6,000MW by December