Power Ministry Targets 10,000MW By Q4 2013

Power Ministry Targets 10,000MW By Q4 2013

 
The ministry of power has said it  was targeting 10,000 Mega Watt (MW) of generation capacity by the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2013.

This was contained in a power sector update presented to the Presidential Action Committee on Power by the Minister of Power, Zainab Kuchi, on Tuesday.

It is however, not clear how the ministry intends to achieve this target considering the fact that power generation has only increased by about 1,700MW in the last two years. Generation capacity was about 2,800MW at the onset of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration in May 2011.

Meanwhile, the target contradicts the 6,873MW target the ministry had earlier disclosed after reviewing all strategies put in place.
Speaking during the ministry’s performance contract signing ceremony in Abuja, the CEO of Egbin Power Plant, Mr Mike Uzoigwe, who spoke on behalf of his colleagues said after reviewing the capability of all PHCN successor generation companies (GENCO) which generated a combined 2,829MW in the Q4 of 2012, 3,879MW was projected for 2013.

He explained that with an additional 2,500MW expected to be generated from the Independent Power Plants (IPPs) and the National Integrated Power Plants (NIPPs) the total available power to the national grid by 2013 would be 6,873MW.

However, the minister who didn’t give much details of how this new target would be achieved listed the diversification of energy mix to include renewables as part of plans to grow capacity to 10,000MW by the end of 2013.

She further listed scaling up of rural access to electricity and stimulating investment in the sector by fostering bilateral relations as some of the ministry’s long-term work plans and goals.

She also explained to the Committee that the ministry would source for ways of funding power transmission development projects outside of the budgetary provisions, adding that the ministry would also focus on developing new policy initiatives to address post- privatisation challenges.