•NIPP tower collapses in Calabar

•Siemens equipment arrive in September

By Ediri Ejoh

THE country’s power generation, Wednesday, rose by 12.59 percent to 4,354 megawatts, MW, against 3,868mw recorded on Tuesday, according to data obtained from the Independent System Operator (ISO) portal, a semi-autonomous unit at the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

However, this increase did not translate to improved power supply to Nigerians as electricity remains abysmally poor nationwide.

This development is coming against a report of poor maintenance of the Federal Government’s National Independent Power Project, NIPP towers across the country.

Checks by Vanguard showed that the power sector might suffer yet another crisis due to the fall of the NIPP tower caused by erosion in Calabar, Cross River State.

An operator, who spoke on condition of anonymity, blamed operators for lack of proper maintenance and insecurity in many parts of the nation.

Meanwhile, the Siemens power deal is expected to experience a major leap in September, this year when electricity equipment, including transformers and mobile power substations begin to arrive from Germany.

Speaking in Abuja, yesterday, at the close-out of pre-engineering of distribution systems for the project, Managing Director, FGN Power, Kenny Anuwe, stated that by the time the power equipment is installed, there would be an improvement in the supply of electricity nationwide.

According to Anuwe, the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) in Phase 1 seeks to modernise, rehabilitate and expand the national grid by investing in the electricity value chain, including generation, transmission, and distribution systems of the power sector.

The federal government, he said, was prepared to solve problems of epileptic power supply in Nigeria once and for all, and this was the reason it launched the PPI to support the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) towards achieving commercial autonomy by facilitating investments in critical infrastructure for power delivery.

He said: “We will start to see the implementation of the transformers and substations which have been purchased across the country starting from September, right through to December. We have some significant amount of equipment which will start to come in.

“Part of the minister’s objective in visiting Germany only a month ago, if you recall, was to engage the principals at Siemens on the president’s agenda for the PPI to ensure that we were able to deliver on the objectives.

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“I am happy to report that this has borne some fruits and we will start to see the delivery of equipment starting off in September this year.”

He added: “Siemens equipment must comply with the local laws and regulations. And these are the things that we have put together to ensure that the Discos are all aligned with the FGN Company Power Company and Siemens to implement the presidential initiative.”

Similarly, the Minister of Power, Aliyu, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Mr. Nebolisa Anako, stated: “The objective of the PPI is to improve the end-to-end operational grid of the power supply in Nigeria to 25,000 MW, but the purpose in the next 18 months is to deliver additional 2,000 mw.

“This administration is prepared to solve the problem of epileptic power supply in the country once and for all and it’s the reason the FG launched this important programme.

This initiative will create rapid transformation in the electricity value chain, spur economic growth and create jobs and opportunities for the Nigerian youths and enterprises.”

Vanguard News Nigeria