Fashola optimistic of power sector privatization success

Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola has expressed optimism that the privatization of the power sector would be a success despite the challenges in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.

Fashola who spoke at the Wilson Centre in Washington DC, USA, while presenting a paper on “Leadership and Politics of Reform In Africa: Lessons from Nigeria”, said the problem of the power sector was that of insufficient power to distribute.

He listed some of the projects currently being implemented to increase power to include the 450MW Azura Power Plant in Edo State, the 700MW Zungeru Hydro Power Plant in Niger State, the Gurara Hydro Power Plant in Kaduna, the Kashimbilla Plant and the 115MW Kaduna Plant.

The Minister expressed delight that in spite of the ongoing vandalism and sabotage of power assets, incremental power was being achieved, adding that in the last two weeks about 400 megawatts of electricity has been added to the National Grid from the hydro plants.

He explained: “We have increased the capacity of the hydros by fixing turbines that were abandoned or unmaintained for about three decades. In the last one year, we have done a lot of repair and maintenance work. Of course, there is increased circle of rainfall and water levels, but if you have three turbines and only one is working you can only depend on one.

“So where we had one working, we now have two, where we had two, we now have three. So the hydros are giving us almost 400MW of power and that is a lot of power given our situation. And we have added about 1MW of Solar and there is more coming. So I think we are on our way”, he said.

The Minister, in a statement by his media team, also listed areas where transmission expansion projects are currently ongoing to strengthen transmission to include the Eastern Axis where the Ikot-Ekpene – Alaoji Transmission project takes off up to Enugu from where it would boost power all the way to Makurdi adding that the local issues that earlier hindered work had been resolved.

He pointed out that out that some of the transmission projects have already been completed, while work are on-going on the Kano-Kaduna Transmission Station, Lambe Transmission Station, Kumbotsu Transmission Station and the Alagbon Transmission Station in Lagos.

He said the Okada transmission station in Edo State has been completed and added that “there are more that have been awarded this year; the Gurara Transmission project to take power from Gurara into Kaduna is nearing completion”.