Nigeria To Invest $800M In Presidential Power Initiative To Boost Electricity Supply

The federal government announced that it will soon release $800 million under the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) to improve the country's power supply.

The federal government's planned $800 million investment is part of a three-phase project to expand Nigeria's electricity capacity to 25,000 MW. This funding is seen as part of Nigeria's contribution to the project.

Speaking at the China-Africa Cooperation Summit during his visit to TBEA Southern Power Transmission and Distribution Industry in Beijing, Minister of Power Chief Adebayo Adelabu explained that the funds will be used to build electricity substations and distribution lines as part of the Siemens project.

The PPI deal with the German Government aims to upgrade and expand the national power grid. This includes improving the generation, transmission and distribution systems in the electricity sector.

"The money will ensure the construction of substations for Lot 2 as well as substations and distribution lines for Lot 3 at a cost of $400 million each. Lot 2 covers Benin, Port Harcourt as well as Enugu Distribution Companies (Discos) franchise areas, while Lot 3 covers Abuja, Kaduna, Jos and Kano Discos franchise areas," Adelabu said, ThisDayLive reported.

Adelabu also noted that over 59% of industries in Nigeria were not connected to the national grid because they did not trust its reliability.

He also criticized the distribution companies (Discos) for rejecting power supplies. For example, last week, when power generation reached 5,170 megawatts, it had to be reduced by 1,400 megawatts because the Discos could not handle the supply.

In a separate meeting with TBEA's management, Adelabu promised that the federal government was committed to partnering with top organizations like TBEA to support Tinubu's vision for the power sector.

He emphasized the importance of improving transmission and distribution across the power sector and expanding Nigeria's renewable energy efforts. Adelabu pointed out that the transmission and distribution infrastructure was outdated and in poor condition, contributing to the sector's problems.

TBEA President Huang Hanjie also spoke during the event earlier and assured that the company will continue to support Nigeria's vision for the power sector. He mentioned that TBEA operated in 100 countries and was ready to share its experience in energy provision.